Azerbaijan Maintains Deep-Seated Hatred and Hostility Towards Armenians, Ombudsman

Azerbaijan's President [and other authorities] speaks about the Armenian people and the population of Armenia in terms of explicit threats of ethnic cleansing and genocide. This was stated by the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, on his Facebook page.

“They openly insult the dignity of the Armenian people, incite hatred, and do so with the aim of humiliating the personal dignity of every Armenian in the world and every person living in Armenia. The monitoring conducted by the Office of the Human Rights Defender confirms that this is a state-level policy of deep-seated hatred and hostility towards Armenians. It has an institutional nature and is based on ethnic, and in some cases, religious belonging.”

“One must also always consider the comparisons made by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey regarding the war in Artsakh during September-November 2020, with the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire and the mass pogroms of Armenians in Baku - for example, the praise given to the organizers and perpetrators of these actions, including members of the Caucasian Islamic Army, in speeches on December 10, 2020.”

“A fundamental question is that during this war, when the Armenian military personnel and civilians were being tortured, beheaded while still alive, and the corpses of the dead were being desecrated, Azerbaijani armed forces used exactly the same words and expressions as their president. Moreover, the statements of the Azerbaijani president and other public figures became slogans that inspired the atrocities against Armenians during this war (for example, 'Azerbaijani soldiers drive them like dogs,' 'Armenia is a worthless country... it is an artificial state created on ancient Azerbaijani lands,' 'Azerbaijan comes to put an end to Armenian weddings,' etc.).

It is evident what the real causes of these war crimes are. Moreover, these Azerbaijani soldiers boast about their atrocities, fully aware that they will only be encouraged and praised for these actions in their country. Below, I present some evidence, while further details are reflected in the joint urgent report of the Human Rights Defenders of Armenia and Artsakh in 2020,” wrote the Ombudsman.