Baku, March 29 (AzerTAc). Azerbaijani commissioner for human rights Elmira Suleymanova has issued a statement on the occasion of March 31 – the Day of genocide of Azerbaijanis.
The statement has been addressed to the UN secretary general and deputy secretary general, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, European Commission, the Council of Europe, OSCE, International and European Ombudsmen Institutions, Asian Ombudsman Association, International Peace Bureau, Universal Peace Federation, ombudsmen of numerous countries, embassies of Azerbaijan in foreign countries and foreign embassies in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani Diaspora.
The statement says Azerbaijanis were subjected to Armenia`s policy of genocide, ethnic cleansing and deportation throughout history, adding the aim of this policy was to expel Azerbaijanis from their native lands and to establish “Great Armenia” in these territories.
The Ombudsperson underlines that Azerbaijanis had been deported from their homelands in the territory of Armenia in 1905-1907, 1918-1920, 1948-1953, 1988-1993s, with their rights being roughly violated. The statement notes that 20 percent of Azerbaijan`s territories has been under the Armenian occupation since 1988, with hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis still being refugees and IDPs.