PRESIDENT CHIDES ARMENIAN CAUSE IN NATIONWIDE ADDRESS

AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
March 30 2006

President Ilham Aliyev said on Tuesday that Armenia’s policy of
aggression and genocide against Azerbaijan has a history of nearly
200 years. “The bottom-line of this crafty policy is aimed to drive
Azerbaijanis out of their historic land and to implement the ‘Great
Armenia’ obsession conjured up by Armenian historians and ideologists.

“To pursue this policy, ideological, military and organizational
work was systematically carried out using different methods and
techniques,” Aliyev said in an appeal to Azerbaijani citizens over
March 31, the anniversary of a brutal carnage unleashed by Armenians
in early 20th century. In March 1918, over 50,000 Azerbaijanis were
brutally killed by Armenian terrorists, including women and children,
in Baku, Shamakhi, Khachmaz, Lankaran and other regions.

In the Azeri capital alone, the number of victims made up 12,000. The
president said the history of the Azerbaijani nation was blatantly
distorted, its cultural and material monuments and geographical names
appropriated by Armenian bigots. The head of state went on to say
that the Armenians were propagating the principles of nationalism and
chauvinism by establishing “national”, political and even terrorist
organizations to promote the concept of hatred for neighboring
peoples. In doing so, the opportunities of the Armenian lobby were
mobilized, the president said. Aliyev added that Armenia was still
continuing its policy of aggression, which is also affecting the
fates of its own people. “Armenian ideologists are very experienced in
political and ideological propaganda and misinformation. The Armenian
lobby has unleashed a propaganda war on Azerbaijan and its people
using very subtle technologies. They are misleading the international
community by making false allegations. This is being done to distract
the attention of the world from Armenia’s policy of aggression.” Aliyev
blamed the unresolved status of the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh issue on
Armenia’s non-constructive position in the protracted negotiations. At
a time when the principles of peaceful co-existence and cooperation are
gaining ground in the world and all countries are aspiring to mutual
integration, the Armenian ideology represents a clear defiance of
international law, aims to set people against each other and promotes
the policy of discrimination and aggression. “However, this policy
pursued by Armenia and its benefactors is doomed to failure, as it
runs counter to the key trends of world politics. The ever-growing
military and economic potential of the Azerbaijani state, as well as
its political standing in the world and a powerful army will simply
not let this happen,” the president said.

Calls for condemnation Ombudman Elmira Suleymanova has appealed to
the world community over the Day of Azerbaijanis’ Massacre. In a
statement, the rights champion condemned the carnage, which went down
as a bloody page in Azerbaijan’s history and one of the horrendous
manifestations of Armenia’s hostile policy. Suleymanova said that
under international law, the massacre is classified as aggression
and a grave crime against humanity similar to war and international
terrorism. “It is time for the international community, which has set
out a goal to combat terror worldwide, to start acting rather than
talking. They should give an unbiased political and legal assessment
to the tragedy that beset the Azerbaijani people.” Suleymanova
said Armenia has been trying to use fabricated documents alleging
that it was subjected to genocide itself. She reminded that it
was this country that occupied Azerbaijan’s upland Garabagh region
between 1990 and 1993 with the aid of Russian forces, ruthlessly
killing and wounding tens of thousands of people, and committing
acts of vandalism. The Ombudsman urged influential international
organizations to back Azerbaijan’s fair cause and impose sanctions
on Armenia. The appeal was forwarded to the UN Secretary General,
the Council of Europe, OSCE, international rights organizations and
foreign embassies accredited in Baku. The World Azerbaijanis Congress
(WAC) plans to hold public actions and events in a number of European
cities over the anniversary of the tragic date to convey the truth to
the international community. It will also launch protests in April
to condemn the fake Armenian genocide, in particular, in countries
with a strong presence of Armenian chauvinism, including Russia.