The Speeches of the Presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan Are Open Threats and Clear Terrorism Against the People of Armenia, Under Absolute Prohibitions of International Law: Armenia's Human Rights Defender

Today, on December 10, during a military event in the capital of Azerbaijan, the country's president stated that Zangezur, Lake Sevan, and Yerevan [the Republic of Armenia] are Azerbaijan's historical lands. Following this, the President of Turkey praised the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire and the mass massacres of Armenians in Baku in September 1918.

In addition to this, both presidents’ speeches were filled with threats, insults, and expressions of hatred directed at the entire Armenian people and all citizens of Armenia. This was stated by Armenia's Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan.

The investigations by the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia confirm that the speeches of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey today echoed the same themes and words of hatred and enmity that Azerbaijani soldiers use during this war while torturing Armenian servicemen and civilians, brutally killing them, or exhibiting human behavior marked by exceptional cruelty.

Such speeches have created an institutional system of propaganda of hatred and enmity toward Armenians in Azerbaijan over the years, openly encouraging impunity and being patronized at the highest state levels.

The crimes against humanity and wartime crimes committed by Azerbaijani armed forces during September-November 2020 defy human imagination in terms of severity. They are acts of brutality that necessitate scientific studies to understand the extent of cruelty to which humanity is capable.

In his speech filled with incitement of hatred against Armenians and threats to the entire population of Armenia, the Turkish president mentioned that today is a day of glorification for the souls of Ahmet Jevad Bey, Nuri Pasha, Enver Pasha, and members of the Caucasian Islamic Army.

It is a well-established fact that these individuals were Young Turks who organized and executed the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, accompanied by killings, mutilations, tortures, and rapes. Among them, specifically, Enver Pasha was one of the principal perpetrators during the genocide years, serving as the Minister of War of the Ottoman Empire (1913-1918), while Jevad Bey directly organized and carried out genocidal actions during World War I, serving as the governor of Constantinople (now Istanbul) and being a member of the Turkish state's special organization 'Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa', holding the rank of major-general.

Furthermore, these individuals, particularly Nuri Pasha, who was the brother of Enver Pasha, participated in the mass massacres of Armenians in Baku in September 1918, which were characterized by tortures and rapes. The glorification of these figures by the President of Turkey, particularly during a public speech at a military parade, is a blatant indication of genocidal intent. The evident aim of this speech is to further inflame hatred.

Additionally, the two presidents made apparent false claims that Armenians were responsible for the destruction of Azerbaijani or Turkish religious objects or values.

These speeches represent open threats and blatant terrorism against the entire population of Armenia, undermining public security and health, under absolute prohibitions of international law. They also confirm the genocidal policies of Azerbaijan in Artsakh during this war, marked by ethnic cleansing and terrorist methods.

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia calls upon the international community to take fundamental preventive measures against these absolutely condemnable phenomena that violate the core principles of international law and disrupt the entire system of international human rights and humanitarian protection.