The genocide, which the people of Azerbaijan suffered more than once, and which has not been given a political assessment for many years, constitutes one of the most tragic pages of our history.

The goal of the policy of genocide, pursued against our people by Armenian nationalists over almost two hundred years, was to oust the Azerbaijanis from their historic lands, and create there - with the help of their foreign patrons - an Armenian state.

The Decree by the President of the Azerbaijan Republic “On genocide of Azerbaijanis” of 26 March, 1998 reads that “all the tragedies of the Azerbaijanis occurred in 19th - 20th centuries and accompanied by occupation of lands, were different stages of the deliberate policy of genocide regularly pursued by Armenians against Azerbaijanis. Military, ideological and organizational measures have been consecutively taken to realize this insidious idea. Centuries-old history of our nation was roughly distorted, while that of Armenians was artificially exaggerated and presented as “more ancient”. Azerbaijanis were gradually ousted from their homelands, and the Armenians moved here from other countries, and armenianizing the Azerbaijani toponyms.

During decades, total ideological aggression and terror against Turkish and Azerbaijani people and their outstanding representatives accompanied the genocide. In conditions of discrimination concerning the Turkic-Muslim people in days of imperial Russia and the USSR, this policy was continued with more skilful and dangerous methods, deportation and genocide of Azerbaijanis have acquired mass character.

If to address to chronology of the genocide conducted against Azerbaijanis, it cannot but cause anger and indignation the scale and methodology of the evil deeds and crimes accomplished concerning our people. Mass moving of the Armenians on our historical lands after division of Azerbaijan as a result of war between the former Russian Empire and Iran, the slaughter committed by Armenian dashnaks in 1905 and 1918 with assistance of imperial Russia and Bolsheviks, transfer in parts of our territories to Armenia in 1920s of last century, deportation of our compatriots from Armenia in 1948-1953s according to the decision of the Soviet Government as a component of a common plan, have been carried out under the special script. Provoked by the management of Armenia and the USSR, separatist claims of the nationalists of Nagorno Karabakh in the end of 1980s, which then acquired the present large-scale war, presence about one million Azerbaijan refugees and IDPs, occupation by Armenia of 20 percent of territory of the Azerbaijan Republic is only incomplete list of the wounds, caused to the Azerbaijani people by the militant Armenian chauvinists, obsessed with crazy idea about the “Great Armenia”, and their patrons.

In 20s of the 18th century, tsar Peter I ordered on moving the Armenians on the historical lands of Azerbaijanis - in Baku and Derbent. In 1802, tsar Alexander I has directed to the governor of the Caucasus a concrete instruction about use at any cost of the Armenians in capture of Azerbaijani khanates.

In 19th century, upon termination of the Russo-Iranian and Russo-Turkish wars, on the Azerbaijani lands, 40 thousand Armenians from Iran and 85 thousand - from Turkey, has been moved to the territory of Iravan and Nakhchivan khanates where was arranged “the Armenian Oblast”. As a matter of fact, it was the foundation of the future Armenia created due to the Azerbaijani lands. To note, at that time, 7331 Azerbaijanis and 2369 Armenians lived in Iravan.

In spring of 1918, the Armenians, including Stepan Shaumian, who, under the mask of a Bolshevik, pursued insidious dashnak policy and evil deeds concerning Azerbaijanis in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Karabakh, Lankaran, Ganja, Zangezur and other regions, with special cruelty have destroyed over 70 thousand innocent people, have wiped out many villages, and drove their inhabitants. The Armenian armed gangs have destroyed 229 villages in the Baku outskirts, 272 - in Ganja, 115 - in Zangezur area, 157 - in Karabakh. In 1918-1920s, the dashnaks with an unprecedented atrocity have exterminated in the Western Azerbaijan of 565 thousand Azerbaijanis.

In connection with the slaughter made in Baku and adjoining districts, S. Shaumian on April 13, 1918, wrote to the Council of People’s Commissars of Russia: “We used as a pretext the armed attack on our cavalry squadron and attacked on all front. We already possess armed forces in structure of 6 thousand people. The dashnaks have armed national units in structure of 3-4 thousand, who, too, are in our disposal. Their participation has given to civil war character of national slaughter. However, it was impossible to prevent it. We have deliberately admitted it. Otherwise, if Azerbaijanis have won, they could proclaim Baku capital of Azerbaijan”.

The genocide conducted against Azerbaijanis has old history, however, the truth about it has been brought to the public owing to resoluteness of our national leader Heydar Aliyev. Only after his Decree dated March 26, 1998, the genocide was given the political-legal assessment. Since then, March 31 is marked at the state level as the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, are conducted ceremonies of respect of the memory of victims of genocide, the attention of world public is drawn to the said question.

Using opportunities of foreign Armenian Diaspora and the Armenian lobby in the large states, the Armenian nationalists continue to create the image of “distressful, oppressed Armenian nation”, aspire to hide the truth about the genocide accomplished by them against Azerbaijanis and the Turks, to reconcile world community to the fact of occupation of Azerbaijani lands. However, they should not forget that their monstrous acts should receive political-legal assessment as a crime against humanity. The states of the world should refuse the stereotypes, which have generated as a result of the Armenian propagation in the said question, not to succumb to false tears of the “distressful nation”. Let Allah calm the souls of the victims of genocide!