GUBA, Azerbaijan, March 31. Hatred towards Azerbaijanis is the basis of genocide crimes committed by Armenians, Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva said, Trend reports.
Aliyeva made the remark at a conference on "Legal aspects of the crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the context of historical facts" dedicated to March 31 - the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis in Guba.
"From March 30 to April 3, 1918, Azerbaijanis who lived in Baku city and various districts of the Baku province, in Shamakhi, Guba, Khachmaz, Lankaran, Hajigabul, Salyan, Zangazur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan and our other territories were subjected to genocide by Armenian Bolshevik-Dashnak armed detachments,” she noted.
According to official sources, as a result of these acts of genocide, about 12,000 Azerbaijanis were killed with particular cruelty, and tens of thousands of people went missing, the ombudsman reminded.
She also noted that the first stage of the genocide committed by Armenians against the Azerbaijani people was carried out in 1905-1906 in all Azerbaijani lands, including Iravan.
"From 1918 through 1920, the territory of Western Azerbaijan, now called Armenia - Iravan city, Zangazur, Daralayaz, Goycha, Vedibasar, Garnibasar, Zangibasar, Aghbaba-Shorayel, Loru-Pambak, Derechichek, Dilijan, Garagoyunlu and other historical regions - underwent another terrible genocide,” Aliyeva said.
Besides, according to her, the policy of ethnic cleansing against our people through violence, genocide, massacres and other crimes against humanity led to gross violations of all fundamental rights of Western Azerbaijanis.
“The crimes of genocide committed by Armenians were based on centuries of hatred towards Azerbaijanis, a policy that instill discrimination, and completely unfounded territorial claims. Looking back, we see that the implementation of this process was especially brutal in 1905-1906, 1918-1921, 1948-1953 and 1987-1991,” the ombudsman further reminded.
According to international law, genocide is considered the most serious crime because it’s directed against peace and humanity, she said.
“In this regard, the deliberate and purposeful murder of thousands of innocent people by Armenia as a result of its policy of ethnic cleansing, racial, and religious hatred towards Azerbaijanis confirms that this crime against humanity is precisely an act of genocide,” Aliyeva added.
Besides, as the ombudsman noted, the UN General Assembly resolution of December 11, 1946, indicates that genocide is one of the most serious crimes against humanity, along with a violation of the human right to life.
"According to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crimes of Genocide, adopted by the resolution of the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1948, an act of genocide is a crime committed intentionally with the intent to completely or partially mass extermination of any national, ethnic, racial or religious group,” she further said.
Therefore, the facts of the massacre of tens of thousands of civilians in 1918 on the basis of ethnic and religious affiliation, a pre-planned and stage-by-stage criminal act, including one committed in various territories of Azerbaijan, should be characterized precisely as a crime of genocide, Aliyeva explained.
“After return of the national leader of our people Heydar Aliyev to political power at the insistent demand of the people, along with other crucial issues of Azerbaijan, on March 31 - the Genocide of Azerbaijanis - was first put on the political agenda,” the ombudsman pointed out.
According to the decree of March 26, 1998, signed by the great leader Heydar Aliyev, March 31 was declared the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis, these events were given a political assessment and for the first time the genocide of Azerbaijanis by Armenia was officially announced, she reminded.
“In order to fulfill the relevant order of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, in 2018, an appropriate action plan was prepared and implemented in connection with the 100th anniversary of the genocide, and a special meeting was held by the Azerbaijani Parliament," Aliyeva stressed.
The ombudsman added that as a result of investigative actions and scientific research conducted in recent years, a large number of reliable facts and documents confirming the crimes of genocide committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis were revealed.
“In this context, the mass grave found in the city of Guba is one of the bloody episodes of the crime of genocide committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis. The Guba Genocide Memorial Complex established here also contains clear evidence of this fact,” she said.
The policy of ethnic cleansing, genocide, terror and occupation based on hatred towards Azerbaijan, and carried out over the years, continued in subsequent years. The consequence of this is that in modern times, many of our compatriots also became victims of war crimes in Armenia, were brutally killed, received various injuries, were captured, taken hostage or disappeared without a trace, Aliyeva noted.
“The discovery of mass graves in the territories liberated from occupation [in the 2020 second Karabakh war] once again confirms that the Azerbaijanis captured and taken hostage during the first Karabakh war were killed with cruel torture and buried inhumanly - contrary to the norms of international humanitarian law," she concluded.