By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova

Hostile attitude towards Azerbaijan still prevails in Armenian society, and Azerbaijanophobia is growing in that country despite the end of the war, chairman of Baku-based Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) Farid Shafiyev has told Azertag.

Shafiyev said that Armenia promoted discrimination, xenophobia, and enmity against Azerbaijan and other nations and races before the Second Karabakh War (2020) and during the post-war period.

“The most recent report of the AIR Center, which marks the second year of its establishment this year, addresses the problems of IDPs and refugees, who have endured suffering and are traumatized as a result of the conflict over the past 27 years. Despite the liberation of our lands from the occupation, this issue will always remain the focus of attention,” Shafiyev said.

He noted that the ideology founded by the Nazi collaborator of WW II Garegin Nzhdeh is widely promoted today by Armenian leaders and other influential figures in the Armenian society. Shafiyev said that the policy of Azerbaijanophobia is prevailing in Armenian society.

“Nzhdeh’s policy is now being pursued by the [former Armenian presidents] Kocharyan-Sargsyan duo. The sad thing is that this policy is being pursued as a main direction of the state policy in Armenia,” the expert added.

In a report addressed to international organizations on May 4, Human Rights Commissioner Sabina Aliyeva urged drastic international steps to prevent ethnic hatred policy against Azerbaijanis in Armenia and beyond.

In her report, Aliyeva expressed her concern over the irresponsibility of, non-respect for human rights and freedoms, and disregard for the rule of law principle by the Armenian state and its institutions that ignore the international legal obligations and evade responsibility. 

She called on the relevant international human rights organizations and national human rights institutions to join their efforts to end similar actions leading to the creation of new hotbeds of disputes.

Some experts believe that the scale of destruction in Azerbaijan’s formerly-occupied territories suggests deep hatred and animosity against Azerbaijanis, with many describing these mass destructions as genocide.

Azerbaijan and Armenia entered the second war after that latter started firing at Azerbaijani civilians and military positions starting September 27, 2020. The war ended on November 10 with the signing of a trilateral peace deal by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centres and historic Shusha city. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.