Azerbaijan, Baku, 29 March / Trend / President Ilham Aliyev has addressed the Azerbaijani nation on occasion of March 31, the day of genocide of Azerbaijanis.
Dear fellow countrymen! Dear compatriots! Today, as in previous years, I address you on the occasion of March 31, the day when all Azerbaijanis throughout the world, with great sorrow and grief, are remembering the victims of the genocide. For nearly two hundred years, aggressive Armenian nationalists have been pursuing the policy of genocide against our nation. For decades, Azerbaijani and Turkish nations have regularly been subject to ideological, military and cultural aggression by Armenians whose objectives were ousting Azerbaijanis from their native lands and creating the mythical state of "great Armenia". The history of our nation was grossly misrepresented by Armenians, with our culture and toponyms being appropriated. The genocide policy differed in various periods of time, being accompanied by mass killings and military operations. The forcible change of the demographic situation in Karabakh and Zangazur thanks to resettling there in the first half of the 19th century of great number of Armenians from Ottoman Empire and Iran; mass killings of Azerbaijani population in 1905 and 1918; creation of an Armenian state in Azerbaijan`s historic lands and granting Iravan, one of Azerbaijan`s important centers of culture, to Armenia as a capital; the Soviet government`s giving Zangazur to Armenians in 1920; deportation of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from the lands of their ancestries in modern Armenia between 1948 and 1953 and other facts are tragic and bloody pages of the policy of genocide. In 1988, the Armenian nationalists incited by the USSR leadership and foreign supporters started an open aggression against Azerbaijan in order to forcibly incorporate Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia; and in a short period of time, this turned into large-scale military operations. The Khojaly tragedy, which was committed by the Armenian military units in February of 1992, will go down in history of humankind as a black spot and an unprecedented act of genocide in terms of cruelty and inhumanity. Today, the Armenian nationals, who have rich experience in committing acts of political-ideological sabotage and misinformation, are continuing to conduct a propaganda war against our country and our nation trying to mislead the world community and make it forget the fact of occupation of Azerbaijani territories. In the light of civil co-existence and cooperation principles, as well as integration processes gaining more success in the world, the Armenian nationalists' falsified genocide propaganda and territorial claims against neighboring states play a destructive role in undermining the regional stability and world order, lead to confrontation of nations and create national and religious hostility. However, the aggressive policy of Armenia and Armenian lobby is destined to failure. The experience of recent years shows that possibilities of Armenian occupants and their masterminds are not unlimited, and these possibilities are narrowing down. This policy is opposed by the economically powerful Azerbaijan, its political influence, increasingly strengthening solidarity of world Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijan`s friends, and eventually, the strong Azerbaijan army. We regularly and fruitfully work with great powers that have serious influence in the world politics, try to shatter stereotypes and false approaches formed over decades, succeeding to achieve it in many cases. In spite of double standards and pressure of pro-Armenian forces, the international community must acknowledge the truth, facing the established facts. The events to commemorate genocide victims become more mass, more organized, and cause great response. Today, Azerbaijan is regarded as a rapidly developing country in the region and the world as well as the place of cooperation and tolerance. There is a social and national-religious solidarity in the country. Irrespective of how hard it is, we are not going to use genocide facts for creating hostility and hatred against other nations. We want just the historical justice and truth be restored, and ensure that such tragic events will never be repeated in any place of the world. On the contrary, the economic and moral-political regress deepens in the aggressive Armenia, and social problems and demographic situation are worsening. With its aggressive policy, Armenia left itself out of all regional economic-energy and transport-communication projects. The political crisis and anti-democratic processes taking place in the country are the result of the short-sighted policy of Armenian leadership, and indicator of the distrust of the Armenian people to its government. The sooner Armenian leadership gives up its aggressive policy, and establishes a policy based on cooperation and mutual respect, the better it will for them. Dear fellow countrymen! Dear compatriots! I assure you that thanks to the patriotism, unity and solidarity of our nations, and political will of the leadership of Azerbaijan we will achieve all our outstanding goals, including restoration of the territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as exposure of those who committed the genocide, and who are arousing hostility and hatred among peoples and nations. Once again, I pay tribute to the blessed memory of the victims of the genocide and pray for Allah to rest their souls in peace, and wish our people prosperity and happiness.