What is Western Azerbaijan? An interview with Aziz Alakbarov

The South Caucasus is making a geopolitical return. Indeed, regional conflicts, great power struggles and energy developments are encouraging more and more politicians and political scientists to deepen their knowledge about this geostrategical region.

When it comes to geopolitics of the South Caucasus, the Karabakh question is undoubtedly the hot topic par excellence. Two wars have been fought for Karabakh from the 1990s to today, and an Azerbaijani special military operation to reconquest the last separatist-controlled territories began on 19 September.

InsideOver reached out to Aziz Alakbarov, chairman of the Western Azerbaijan Community, to better understand reasons and origins of the disagreements between Baku and Yerevan, in particular the issue of the so-called “Western Azerbaijanis“.

Dr. Alakbarov, you are the chairman of the Western Azerbaijan Community. Can you explain to our readers and to the Italian public who are the members of this Community?

The Western Azerbaijan Community is an organization that represents Azerbaijanis who were forcibly expelled from Armenia. Our organization was established in 1989. Ever since, it has been advocating for the rights of these expellees, with a primary focus on their right to return to their ancestral lands in what is now Armenia.

Azerbaijanis used to constitute up to 10% of Armenia’s total population between the 1950s and the 1980s, that is, more than 250,000 people. Now they’re virtually non-existent. What are Western Azerbaijanis asking for?

You are right to point out to the significant presence of Azerbaijanis in Armenia until their expulsion. Actually, the percentages of Azerbaijanis were even higher in previous periods.

Ethnic cleansing committed against Azerbaijanis was in most cases carried out by state organs through actions of violence, genocide, massacres and other crimes against humanity and gross human rights violations. This process was particularly violent and cruel in 1905–1906, 1918–1921, 1948–1953 and 1987–1991. In Armenia, Azerbaijani historical and cultural heritage, including mosques and graveyards, were massively destroyed, toponyms were changed and systematic racial discrimination was carried out against Azerbaijanis.

We do not accept the injustice committed against us and reject its consequences. Based on the right to return enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other important international acts, we aspire to return to our homes in Armenia in safety and with dignity, and ensure our individual and collective rights after the return.

How do you want to achieve this goal?

We have an exclusively peaceful agenda. We reached out to the international community, pertinent governments and civil societies. We prepared and published “The concept of ensuring the peaceful, safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia”, which was published as an official document of the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly. We asked the United Nations and its specialized organizations, most notably the UNESCO, to help us realize our inalienable right to return, including by dispatching missions to Armenia to assist in the repatriation process.

Dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Special Procedure Mandate holders, and interaction with the UN Human Rights Council and other treaty bodies constitute a significant dimension of our human rights-based agenda. We also embarked on dialogue with leading non-governmental organizations in the field of human rights, such as “Human Rights Watch” and “Amnesty International”, seeking their support to our cause.

Certainly, dialogue with Armenia is the pivotal aspect of our efforts to peacefully address the issue of our return. While we acknowledge the painful history that lingers in our collective memory, we firmly believe that the path towards peace and progress necessitates dialogue and reconciliation. We are fully prepared to coexist peacefully with Armenia after our repatriation to our ancestral lands.

With this understanding and with an unequivocal commitment to international law, particularly the principle of respecting the territorial integrity of states, we extended an offer for dialogue to the Armenian government. Regrettably, our calls remain unanswered. It is unwise for the government of Armenia to disregard an offer of dialogue, especially given the fact that it originates from the community whose rights have been massively violated by Armenia’s actions.

Armenia’s continued refusal to restore our rights is very much hypocritical, given their attempts to position themselves as champions of human rights by speculating on the rights of ethnic Armenians who now reside within Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, we remain hopeful that reason will prevail, and the Armenian government will engage in a constructive dialogue with us.

Is the issue of Western Azerbaijanis part of the ongoing peace talks between Yerevan and Baku?

We strongly believe that addressing the right to return of Azerbaijanis in the peace agreement to be concluded between the two countries is essential for making the peace between the two countries durable.

We took note of the statement by the Government of Azerbaijan that they raised this issue in the peace talks with Armenia. We are extremely grateful to the President Ilham Aliyev for his principled and consistent stance in this issue.

What can countries like Italy do to raise awareness among the international community of these often overlooked victims of the war?

Enabling safe and dignified return of the Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia would contribute to upholding human rights globally. Moreover, it is an issue that has relevance to maintenance of international peace and security. Acknowledging these fundamental aspects are essential to galvanize international attention into this matter.

Countries like Italy can help raise awareness about the Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia by addressing this issue within international organizations dealing with human rights and international security. Additionally, raising this issue bilaterally with Armenia can contribute significantly to enabling safe and dignified return of expelled Azerbaijanis.