Azeri ethnic minority representative condemns Armenian forum of his people

Ekspress, Baku
21 May 05

Text of unattributed report in Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on 21 May
headlined “The former Talis People’s Party condemns separatists” and
subheaded “The conference on the ‘Talis problem’ has political aims”

The Party for Equality of the Peoples of Azerbaijan which operates in
Moscow (formerly the Talis People’s Party) has condemned the conference
in Yerevan devoted to the “Talis problem”. The party chairman, Hilal
Mammadov, has made a statement concerning this.

The statement says that taking into account the events that happened in
the southern regions in 1993 [the Talis-Mugan Republic was proclaimed
in Azerbaijan’s southern districts] and the fact that this conference,
which is described as scientific, is being held in Yerevan which has
tense relations with Azerbaijan, shows that there are political aims
behind this conference.

Mammadov also mentioned other reasons behind the conference. He said:
“The Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia, Ramiz Rizayev, asked me to
meet him at the beginning of March this year. We discussed some of
the problems of our region’s peoples. I was told that this meeting
was arranged on the orders of President Ilham Aliyev. Apart from me,
the meeting was attended by the chairman of Russia’s Talis foundation
and other representatives of the Talis people. The ambassador promised
to us that he would convey to the president all the issues discussed
at the meeting and to arrange a meeting between us and the president.

“At that meeting, I told the ambassador that the Armenians were
planning to hold a conference on the Talis issue. I asked him to
inform the president about this and to help organize a conference in
Baku. I explained to the ambassador that if we failed to do so, the
Armenians would hold a conference and would make loud statements to
the world saying that ethnic minorities are suppressed in Azerbaijan,
linking this with the Karabakh problem. The ambassador, who listened
to me carefully, promised to help me organize the third congress of
the party in Baku, adding that he would personally take part in it.”

Mammadov said that none of the promises made to them by the authorities
has been kept. “This has created conditions for some nationalist
adventurists of our [the Talis] people to launch a slander campaign
against the authorities, the opposition and against us.” Mammadov
strongly condemned the participation of his compatriots in this
conference in Yerevan. “We hope that we will be able to hold such
conferences in our native country and to prove to the whole world
that no-one can breed strife between the peoples of our multinational
Azerbaijan.”