September 21, 2023

TORONTO – The Network of Azerbaijani Canadians welcomes the end of the hostilities in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region and the capitulation of the illegal Armenian militant entity, which had invaded and occupied the sovereign Azerbaijani region since the First Karabakh War in 1992. 

Given the relative remoteness of the South Caucasus region and the lack of world awareness about the history of the Karabakh conflict, including Armenian forces’ displacement of over 700,000 Azerbaijanis from the Karabakh region from 1992-1994, causing the largest humanitarian crisis in the region since WWII, outrageous disinformation is easily spread against Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis. It's therefore important to bring clarity to several points:

- There is no religious dimension to the Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan is a multi-faith and multi-ethnic country where communities of all faiths coexist in peace. The weaponization of Islamophobic tropes in order to vilify Azerbaijanis is unacceptable.

- The reports of "forcible displacement" of the Karabakh Armenian population are false. Azerbaijan has offered Karabakh Armenians full rights under the Constitution and has presented plans for the reintegration of Karabakh Armenians into the social, political and economic spectrum of Azerbaijan, as with all other ethnic communities in the country. 

- Official Azerbaijan reiterated yesterday that it recognizes Armenia’s territorial integrity. Despite claims of attacks against Armenia proper, Azerbaijan has no territorial claims toward Armenia. The Karabakh conflict had taken place on the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

- The use of the words “genocide” and “Holocaust” by Armenian and pro-Armenian parties in relation to Azerbaijan is absolutely unacceptable and is a vile manipulation of the gruesome history of the Holocaust for political propaganda purposes.

We welcome the new chapter of peacebuilding and reconciliation in the South Caucasus region and hope to see not only a restoration of ties between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but also a coexistence with Karabakh Armenians in Azerbaijan.

Network of Azerbaijani Canadians
Executive Team
www.azcanet.ca