Azerbaijan, Baku, April 8 /Trend, A.Huseynbala/
The idea of creating the Western Azerbaijani emigrant government must be supported, said deputy chairperson of the Azerbaijani parliamentary committee.
"The idea of the Western Azerbaijani emigrant government is very serious, and I am a supporter of this initiative," deputy chairperson of the Azerbaijan Parliament's committee on international relations and parliamentary relations, Gultekin Hajibeyli, told Trend on April 8.
The mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from Armenia in the 20th century is divided into four phases - 1948-1956, 1987-1988. Statistical data and archival documents indicate that as a result, from Armenia more than 1.5 million Azerbaijanis were expelled from their historical lands. After the formation of the Armenian soviet republic, upon the decision of the supreme council of Armenia, Armenian names were given to 698 out of the 940 settlements, where Azerbaijanis lived and which carried Azerbaijani names. However, the Armenians did not stop there. Renaming continued after the complete deportation of Azerbaijanis from Armenia. The former president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosian issued an order on April 9, 1991, changing the names of the last settlements of Azerbaijanis - 91 settlements - to which were given Armenian names.
The oblivion of people who lived in Western Azerbaijan, whose number may now be millions, would be the oblivion that the Western Azerbaijani lands belong to the Turks. "From this point of view, this idea needs to be kept on the agenda. At the same time, if today Turks do not live in Western Azerbaijan, it does not mean that they will not live there after 50 years. History repeats itself, and I am sure that the lands will someday be returned to first owners - the Turks," she said.
Serious efforts to implement this idea could give new leverage to Azerbaijan in settling the Karabakh conflict, lasting for more than 22 years. "I think that as the realization of this idea, and presenting to agenda the Megrin corridor between Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan in the end will lead to strengthening of Azerbaijan's position in ongoing negotiations," said Hajibeyli.
Today, when the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding occupied regions is the topic of negotiations, the issue of return of Azerbaijanis to the western lands of Azerbaijan in Armenia, where they formerly lived densely, is not presented to the agenda. "This creates a serious imbalance in the negotiating process. I think that if one of the points on which we must be very persistent is Megri corridor, the other important point is precisely the return of Western Azerbaijanis to their historical lands. From this point of view, I think that all have not lost, and we can return to this issue at any time," said the MP.