Western Azerbaijanis want to return, reintegrate into Armenian society: Community spokesperson
The spokesperson for the Western Azerbaijan Community, Ulviyya Zulfikar, has said that the forced expulsion of Western Azerbaijanis from Armenia was a crime against humanity and an ethnic cleansing.
“Over the past century, Western Azerbaijanis were subjected to massacres and deportations four times, namely, in 1905-1906, 1918-1920, 1948-1953 and 1987-1991,” the spokesperson told Report news agency, News.Az informs.
“The first two deportations, which occurred at the beginning of the century, were notorious for murders and expulsions committed with special cruelty. A decision was made to deport 100,000 Azerbaijanis from the Armenian territory in 1947 upon [political leader who led the Soviet Union] Joseph Stalin’s decree, while 144,600 compatriots were expelled during the deportations of 1948-1953. Over 300,000 of our compatriots were forcibly expelled from their native lands, 216 Azerbaijanis were killed during the deportation of 1987-1991,” she said.
U. Zulfikar emphasized that today Western Azerbaijanis want to return to their native lands, reintegrate into Armenian society, and visit the graves of their relatives.
“This is our fundamental right. We call on Armenia to respond to our unanswered appeal,” the spokesperson added.
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