POLITICS
Gunay Afandiyeva: We must also strive to create cultural foundations for the return to Western Azerbaijan

Baku, February 4, AZERTAC
Gunay Afandiyeva, a member of the Milli Majlis and deputy chairperson of the parliamentary committee on culture, was interviewed by AZERTAC regarding the creation, inter alia, of cultural foundations for the return to Western Azerbaijan.
- Mrs. Afandiyeva, a video was recently released of the first Armenian president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, admitting facts of ethnic cleansing and genocide against Azerbaijanis. What is your take on this?
- Due to Armenian atrocities in the 20th century, our compatriots were subjected to staged deportations from their ancestral lands in Western Azerbaijan four times solely because of their ethnicity.
A number of historical examples of Azerbaijan’s cultural heritage in these lands have also been plundered, destroyed or appropriated by Armenians, our ancient place names were replaced with ugly Armenian names. Acts of vandalism have been deliberately committed to erase traces of Azerbaijanis as original inhabitants of these lands, ethnic signs of the Azerbaijani people. As was the case in Karabakh and East Zangezur during the 30-year occupation of our lands, the destruction of our cultural heritage in Western Azerbaijan has been carried out at the level of state policy in Armenia over the past century.
It is a well-known historical fact that the Iravan Khanate was one of the Azerbaijani khanates. As a result of the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the Iravan Khanate was incorporated into the Russian Empire and the resettlement of Armenians there began. This opened a new stage in the course of historical events.
The blind Armenian bigotry, which turned into a national ideology at the end of the 19th century, brought about serious problems for the peoples living in all the surrounding geography, including the Armenian people themselves. Parties and movements such as “Ginchak”, “Dashnaktsutyun” and others, which were created in the territories of the Ottoman Empire, received the material and moral support of great empires and poisoned the minds of the Armenian population, which led to deplorably negative consequences. The Armenian population, which had lived in peace and prosperity for hundreds of years by then, betrayed its state en masse. Despite the fact that more than a hundred years have passed, we are still living witnesses to the extent of this bigotry, which stems from national and moral limitations. It is no coincidence that political leaders or the Armenian lobby abroad, who raised Armenian racism to the level of fascism, are using this ideology primarily for their own personal and political interests.
The interview of the first president of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, published in a number of media outlets in recent days is a visible demonstration of Armenian bigotry, fascism and Nazism.
As we all know, justice always prevails in life, albeit with a delay. Lies and slander are always exposed. The fact that Ter-Petrosyan, who was once the first person of Armenia, openly acknowledges the policy of ethnic cleansing against Western Azerbaijanis means that Armenia has already exposed itself. This statement is further evidence of Armenia's aggressive policy. It is a manifestation not only of the nature of a former leader in Armenian public administration, but also of Armenian policy and ideology in general.
Ter-Petrosyan's statement shows how deeply-rooted Armenian nationalism and inhumane attitude are. This can lead to serious consequences both on a regional and global scale. Therefore, I think that if Armenia is interested in normalizing its relations with Azerbaijan and, as a continuation of this, participating in some global projects, then its officials should be sincere about their past and officially recognize the ethnic cleansing and crimes they committed.
On the other hand, as President Ilham Aliyev said at the opening of the office building of the Western Azerbaijan Community, ancient cities usually have historical sites, historical centers – as is the case in Baku, Ganja, Nakhchivan, Sheki, Gabala and other ancient cities. But then why isn’t there a historical center in Yerevan? Because those centers were the historical heritage of the Azerbaijani people, and the Armenians have destroyed this heritage. Under the disguise of urban planning, all our historical monuments, including the Iravan Fortress and the palace of Sardar Khan, were destroyed.
The Blue Mosque, the only surviving Azerbaijani monument in Yerevan, is currently introduced by Armenian officials to visitors from abroad as an “Iranian mosque.” Armenia even tried to have this mosque included on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a historical site of Iran. It is interesting how the “Blue Mosque” of the Turks, built by the Khan of Iravan, Huseynali Khan Qajar, in 1799 and is considered as one of the pearls of Azerbaijani architecture, can be portrayed as someone else’s monument.
- What can you say about the policy of spiritual return to Western Azerbaijan?
- This is based on historical facts. Geographical location, historical migration realities, place names and many other signs are clear evidence of Azerbaijan's legitimate right to these places, their historical and cultural heritage. As President Ilham Aliyev said, our work should be based on this history. We have been able to completely change the distorted perception of the Karabakh conflict. We returned our lands at the cost of our lives and blood. We must and are working to bring the realities of Western Azerbaijan to the attention of the world community. The President's tireless activity in this area is visible.
We have the rationale and historical evidence that Western Azerbaijan is indeed our ancestral land and the Azerbaijanis have been repeatedly deported from there, subjected to a policy of ruthless and brutal ethnic cleansing. We should translate these materials into many world languages, prepare and publish books based on them. We must hold joint events, conferences and symposia with prestigious research institutes, universities and think tanks. We must discuss these issues with politicians, pundits and international lawyers. We must expose the oppression, refugee and displaced life people have been subjected to. A lot of work has been done in this area, but this is not enough compared to the importance and complexity of the problem.
We must defend our rights not only domestically, but also on a global scale with even greater energy and determination. In other words, we must not just talk. The tragedies and injustices that have befallen us must be communicated at the international level, in different languages and to different countries. To this end, each of us must, as I said, carry out more active and systematic work to widely promote these issues and bring them to the attention of the international community.
As you may remember, in 2021, a decree was signed by President Ilham Aliyev on state celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ashig Alasgar. At that time, I was the head of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation. That year, we printed the “Three Ozans Together” postage stamp featuring prominent figures of the Turkic world – Yunus Emre, Jambul Jabayev and Ashig Alasgar. The stamp was put into circulation and sent to our member countries. We brought together great folk artists of the Turkic world within the framework of a single project. On the other hand, we tried to introduce the heritage of Western Azerbaijan to a wider geography through the example of Ashig Alasgar, a native of the historical Goycha district.
The foundation for the spiritual return to the lands of Western Azerbaijan has already been laid. Based on the decree signed by the President, a monument to Ashig Alasgar was erected in Baku. In his speech at the ceremony to unveil the monument on September 30 last year, the President of Azerbaijan stated that the day would come when we would restore the monument to Ashig Alasgar destroyed by Armenians and hold a similar ceremony in the village of Aghkilsa. We had wished for that with regard to Shusha and all of Karabakh for 30 years. What happened in the end? Our wishes came true.
On December 5 last year, I participated in the Second International Conference of the Western Azerbaijan Community on the topic “The Right of Return – Securing Justice for the Azerbaijanis Expelled from Armenia”. More than 100 representatives from 51 countries attended that event. Experts, politicians and researchers from different countries of the world spoke about the history, material and spiritual heritage of Western Azerbaijan. The conference was also attended by representatives of the descendants of our ancestors – the Iravan Khan Sardar Khan. Those people are living history and living proof. Such events are, of course, very important in terms of sharing our historical truth with an international audience.
- What kind of work can be done to preserve the material and spiritual heritage of Western Azerbaijan?
- The cultural heritage of Western Azerbaijan is an integral part of our national identity, historical memory, customs and traditions, and the values that we will pass on to future generations. I think that we should work on creating, inter alia, the cultural foundations for the return to Western Azerbaijan.
In Iravan, samples of Azerbaijan's historical and cultural heritage, religious sites, including the Sardar (Abbas Mirza), Demirbulag, Tapabashi, Rajab Pasha, Haji Novruzali Bey, Haji Jafar Bey, Khudabanda and other mosques, the Iravan Fortress, the Sardar Khan Palace, Ashig Alasgar's tombstone in the village of Aghkilsa in Goycha district and others were completely destroyed by the Armenians. I think that providing information about these monuments to the world community should become a priority for us. For example, we can create virtual museums by taking advantage of modern technology.
On the other hand, we must closely cooperate with international organizations working in this field. Because we are talking about the destruction of material and spiritual heritage, as well as the destruction of collective memory.
Again, sharing my experience from the period when I worked at the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, I can say that in 2022-2023, we implemented a large-scale project called “Cultural Heritage of the 19th Century Turkic World in the Yildiz Palace Photo Collection”. The Yildiz Collection of the Ottoman state is one of the richest photo archives in the world. Within the framework of that project, we collected photographs from the Yildiz Palace related to the ancient cities of the Turkic World - Samarkand, Bukhara, Kokand, Khiva, Turkestan, Istanbul, Konya, Ashgabat, Baku and Iravan in one book and shared them with the international community.
At the beginning of 2023, we organized a spectacular exhibition of photographs from that book at the National Palaces Dolmabahce Art Gallery in Istanbul. Later, in November 2023, we held this exhibition in Astana as part of the 10th anniversary Summit of the Turkic States Organization with the participation of foreign ministers of the Turkic states, heads of international organizations and other officials. Why am I saying this? Because such events reveal and promote our heritage, as well as introduce historical facts to the international community. As an MP and, in general, an Azerbaijani, I am always ready to do my best to contribute to the protection and promotion of our material and spiritual heritage.
- On January 7 this year, President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to local television channels and touched on the issues of Armenia and Western Azerbaijan. How do you see the future of these issues?
- I look to the future with great hope and confidence. President Ilham Aliyev stated in that interview that the Zangezur corridor must and would be opened. There is no other option. The Armenian prime minister would do well to receive representatives of the West Azerbaijani Community and listen to their demands. This would be a very important step towards peace. Armenia must prove that it is truly ready to live in peace with Azerbaijan. In other words, there will be no territorial claims against Azerbaijan at some point in the future. Armenia must show this in its constitution, declarations and peaceful relations with its neighbors. This is the only way out for Armenia.