Baku, September 3, AZERTAC

Bangladesh-based The Daily Observer newspaper has published an article by Azerbaijani MP, doctor of historical sciences, professor Anar Isgandarov.

Headlined “UN remains silent on Armenian atrocities”, the article reads: “Armenians, resettled by tsarist Russia to the ancient lands of Azerbaijan, have been disturbing peacefulness of the South Caucasus for more than two centuries. Since, beginning of 19th century, Armenians began to carry out ethnic cleaning and genocide against our (Azerbaijani) people with the helping of Russia. By the way, historical facts show that, with the help of the Russian Empire, significant Armenian population from Iran and Turkey moved to the territory of present-day Armenia, as well as to the mountainous part of the Karabakh, region of Azerbaijan.

As the result of this conspiratorial policy, the demography of some regions has been changed in favour of Armenians. In 1823 there lived 15,729 Azerbaijani and 4,366 Armenian families in Karabakh. The increase of Armenian population in the mountainous part of Karabakh took place in the 1920s, especially after the Russian occupation of the South Caucasus. More than 200,000 Armenians who lived in Iran, Turkey and South Azerbaijan were resettled to Yerevan and Karabakh in those years. Tsarist Russia allocated more than 200 thousand hectares of land for them. This patronage continued in the following periods: from 1896 to 1908, another 400,000 Armenians were resettled to Azerbaijan.

Patronage of Russia encouraged Armenian nationalists to defend their claims to "Great Armenia". They created the Armenakan Party in Marseilles, the Hnchag Party in Geneva and the Dashnaktsutyun Party in Tbilisi (Georgia) to implement these ugly plans at the end of 19th century. Each of these parties pursued the policy of terror, ethnic cleansing and genocide. As a result, Armenians, with the help of their foreign patronages, carried out unprecedented terror and genocide against Azerbaijanis, as well as pursued a policy of ethnic cleansing in the region, since the beginning of 20th century.

Armenians committed the massacre in Baku, Ganja, Karabakh, Yerevan, Nakhchivan, Daralayaz, Tbilisi, Zangazur and Gazakh, burned cities and villages, brutally killed civilians in 1905-1906. The Armenians destroyed more than 200 Azerbaijani settlements in Yerevan and Ganja provinces, as well as in Shusha, Zangazur and Jabrayil regions, expelled the population from their native lands.

Bolsheviks, who came to the authority in Russia also gave the green light to their closest allies, especially the Dashnaktsutyun party and the newly formed Armenian National Congress in the South Caucasus after the 1917 revolution. This opened up the large square for terrorism and ethnic cleansing in the region. Lenin - the leader of the Russian Bolsheviks, appointed an Armenian nationalist named Stepan Shaumyan as temporary extraordinary commissioner for the Caucasus during this period. According S Shaumyan's order - the real organizer of the looting and robberies of our compatriots , more than 520 settlements were destroyed in the Iravan region, Zangazur region, Karabakh and other regions inhabited by our compatriots. Civilians were killed from the beginning of 1917 to March 1918.

Since the beginning of 1918 Armenians had committed unprecedented atrocities in Baku, as well as in the Azerbaijani cities of Guba, Shamakhi, Kurdamir, Salyan, Lankaran and Shusha, Iravan region, Zangazur, Nakhchivan and other regions. On March 31, 1918 and in the first days of April, 12 thousand Baku residents were killed. In general, in March-April 1918, about 50 thousand Azerbaijanis were killed by special forces in Baku and other parts of Azerbaijan.

Consecutively, Republic of Armenia was created in 1918 on the territory of Azerbaijan--the territory of the former Iravan Khanate--with the insistence of the Bolsheviks. Ancient Yerevan, the ancient city of Azerbaijan, was declared the capital of this republic on May 29 of the same year.

With the blessing of pro-Armenian Mikhail Gorbachev, Armenians took over Nagorno-Karabakh, the ancient land of Azerbaijan. Shusha came under artillery and rocket fire from Armenian military units, on May 8, 1992-- resulting expulsion of 71,000 people from Lachin, 74,000 from Kalbajar, death of 511 people and missing of 321 people. As a countermeasure, UN Security Council adopted Resolution 822 on the illegal occupation of Kalbajar region by Armenian military units in April 1993. Paragraph I of this resolution reflected the demand for the immediate withdrawal of the occupying forces both from Kalbajar and from other occupied regions of Azerbaijan.

Armenian military units occupied the centre of the Aghdara region of Azerbaijan and its villages on June 26-28 of the same year. Again, on July 23-24, the city of Aghdam, located outside of Nagorno-Karabakh, was occupied by Armenians. 165,000 inhabitants of the city were forced to leave their homeland while 6000 people were killed. UN Security Council adopted Resolution 853 in connection with the occupation of the Aghdam on July 29, 1993. Paragraf III of this resolution reflects the demand for the unconditional liberation of the Aghdam region and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

Numerals of people which were killed and expelled were great: 146,000 from Fuzuli were killed, 66,000 people were expelled from Jabrayil, from Zangilan 39,500 people were expelled. As a result of Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan 900 settlements, 150,000 private houses, 7,000 public buildings, 693 schools, 855 kindergartens, 695 medical enterprise, 927 libraries, 9 mosques, 44 churches, 9 historical palaces, 464 historical monuments and museums, 40 thousand museum exhibits, 6,000 industrial and agricultural enterprises, 280 thousand hectares of forest and 1 million hectares of agricultural land were destroyed during 1988-1994.

In general, the amount of financial damage inflicted on Azerbaijan as a result of the Armenian aggression is estimated at $ 60 billion. As a result of Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan, 20,000 people were killed and over 50,000 were injured or maimed. Even after the announcement of a ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia on May 12, in 1994, more than 5,500 military personnel and civilians were killed by Armenian militants. Armenia has occupied the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh for more than 25 years, and more 7 regions of Azerbaijan remains under their occupation.

Azerbaijani government is negotiating for returning of its lands, which occupied by Armenian military units. Although, there are four UN Security Council resolutions issue, unfortunately there is no outcome. Armenia doesn't intend to stop the aggression yet. The illusion of "Greater Armenia" is making every effort to reignite the conflict. As a result, Armenian army often fires aiming Azerbaijani positions, as well as to the civilian settlement.

Unfortunately, the UN is still remaining silent against the century long conspiracy against the Azerbaijani people.”