BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 24. The policy against Azerbaijanis who historically lived in the territory of Armenia was not only ethnic discrimination, but also an integral part of systematically implemented colonial thinking, racial discrimination policy, and a course toward mono-ethnicization, the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) said, TurkicWorld reports.
"The only ‘fault’ of Azerbaijanis was their ethnic identity. In 1905–1906, in 1918, and during subsequent stages of the 20th century, they were subjected to mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and gross violations of political, economic, social, and cultural rights.
The gross violations of law committed against Azerbaijanis were a repetition of the atrocities historically committed by colonial powers against peoples under their rule. The deliberate colonial-style policy pursued by the Armenian SSR served the gradual displacement of Azerbaijanis from their historical places of residence, the erasure of their cultural and religious heritage, and, as a result, the transformation of Armenia into a mono-ethnic republic.
In this regard, the operations of mass deportation of Azerbaijanis covered the years 1948–1953, when more than 150,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from their native lands. These acts resulted in deep tragedies in people’s lives, separated thousands of families from their native lands, and the harsh resettlement conditions dealt a serious blow to people’s lives, health, and social well-being. At the same time, the historical and cultural heritage belonging to Azerbaijanis was deliberately erased, toponyms of Azerbaijani origin were massively changed, and settlements, cemeteries, religious and cultural monuments were destroyed or appropriated. This policy was not limited only to the physical expulsion of people from their lands, but was also aimed at erasing their historical memory and cultural traces.
Since the end of 1987, the Armenian authorities once again revived territorial claims against Azerbaijan, after which more than 250,000 Azerbaijanis still living in Armenia were forcibly expelled from their native homes. Armed attacks on Azerbaijani villages were organized, and people were forced to leave their homes — thus, the policy of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis was completed on the territory of Armenia. This process was not directed only against Azerbaijanis. As a result of the policy of turning Armenia into a mono-ethnic state, other ethnic and religious minorities were also subjected to oppression, and their numbers sharply decreased. This fact shows that Armenia pursued this policy deliberately for many years. Armenia did not stop there and occupied 20 percent of the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan.
Today, when the peace agenda between Armenia and Azerbaijan is advancing, it is of serious concern that rhetoric of hatred toward Azerbaijanis and Turks, revanchist calls, and racist approaches are still preserved in Armenian society. Sustainable peace is possible only on the basis of recognizing historical injustice, respecting human rights, abandoning discriminatory policies, and restoring the rights of forcibly displaced people.
The Baku Initiative Group calls on the international community, human rights institutions, relevant UN mechanisms, and other international organizations to give an objective assessment of the policy of colonial thinking, as well as ethnic discrimination and intolerance pursued by the Armenian state against Azerbaijanis," the statement said.
