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Azerbaijanâ€™s Human Rights Commissioner issues statement on March 31 â€“ Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis

29 March 2012 13:44 (UTC +04:00)

The statement says that Azerbaijani people faced sufferings and troubles as a result of genocide, ethnic cleansing and deportation policy perpetrated by the Armenian nationalists and their supporters in the past two centuries: â€œOur compatriots were expelled from their historical and ethnic lands and were victims of mass killings and massacres as a result of this gradual policy. The purpose of this heinous policy was to expel Azerbaijanis from their historical lands and to realize the idea of â€œGreat Armeniaâ€ fabricated by Armenian historians and ideologistsâ€.

The human rights of the Azerbaijanis deported from their homelands in 1905-1907, 1918-1920, 1948-1953, 1988-1993 were violated and they suffered from the ethnic cleansing accompanied by inhuman and offensive actions. As a result of Armenian aggression since 1988, 20 percent of the Azerbaijanâ€™s territory has been occupied, tens of thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis have become refugees and internally displaced persons. The most terrible bloody tragedy committed by Armenians is the genocide against Azerbaijanis on March 31, 1918. Armenian-Bolshevik units fired on Baku from ships early in the morning on March 30. After that armed dashnaks rushed into the houses of Azerbaijanis and killed them. There were mass slaughters on March 31 and April 1-2, 1918.

It was noted that according to the international law, genocide is the most serious crime and is related to the group of crimes against peace and security of mankind like war and international terrorism. The atrocities committed against Azerbaijanis in 1918 March events must be assessed as genocide. The genocide policy pursued by the aggressor Armenia has been occurring for many years in front of the eye of the world community.
However, according to the norms of the international law, the inviolability of the borders of the state must be respected and the violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty is inadmissible.

Ombudsperson announced that the occupied Nagorno Karabakh and surrounding regions were the integral part of Azerbaijan. It was noted that the non-fulfillment of UN resolutions by Armenians and indifference by the world community create very bad precedent: â€œ94 years have passed since the 1918 March events, but it is impossible to forget these atrocities committed by Armenian nationalists. The world community aiming to combat international terrorism, at last, must give objective political assessment to the violence against the Azerbaijani people, which continues todayâ€.

The statement was sent to the UN Secretary General, UN Security Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, European Commission, OSCE, Council of Europe, International and European Institute of Human Rights Commissioners, Asian Association of Human Rights Commissioners, International Peace Bureau, Universal Peace Federation, human rights commissioners of different countries, foreign embassies in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations.