Western Azerbaijan Community deplores Dutch FM’s unfounded claims

The Western Azerbaijan Community has strongly criticized the Dutch foreign minister’s recent statement alleging that Armenians were forced to leave the Karabakh region.

In response, the Community stated that the Armenians’ departure was voluntary, following their rejection of the Azerbaijani government's offer of reintegration and citizenship, News.Az reports.

“Everyone knows that Armenians refused the Azerbaijani government's offer of reintegration and citizenship and voluntarily left the Karabakh region,” the Community emphasized, describing the Dutch minister’s claims as baseless.

The Community also accused the Dutch government of discrimination, saying, “Mentioning only ethnic Armenians in this context and completely ignoring the forced expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Western Azerbaijan speaks of discrimination on ethnic and religious grounds.”

It further condemned the Netherlands for what they described as a pattern of unfounded accusations against Azerbaijan. They urged the Dutch government to focus on its own responsibilities, particularly regarding decolonization.

“Instead of slandering Azerbaijan, the Netherlands would do better to fulfill its obligations to decolonize territories such as Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten and put an end to the violation of the rights of the indigenous population there,” the Community stressed.

The Community concluded with a demand: “We demand that the Netherlands stop slandering Azerbaijan and show respect for the right of Western Azerbaijanis to return safely.”

News.Az