Western Azerbaijan Community Condemns Former Armenian President’s Speech as Evidence of Racist Policies

Baku, The Gulf Observer: A recently circulated video of a 1993 speech by former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan at the “Yerkrapa” volunteer union meeting has sparked outrage for its depiction of deeply rooted racism, hatred towards Azerbaijanis, and aggressive policies in Armenia’s political framework, according to a statement by the Western Azerbaijan Community.

The community highlighted an excerpt from Ter-Petrosyan’s speech, which it claims reflects an endorsement of ethnic cleansing:

“Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh solved a problem that the Armenian people have not been able to solve for 600 years. Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh were completely cleansed of foreign nations… Imagine that if today there were 180,000 representatives of foreign nations in Armenia, as there were in 1988, we would not have a state today. We would not be able to protect Zangazur, our northeastern regions, or the banks of Sevan. Even several autonomies would have been created here. Do not forget that Azerbaijanis were in the majority in three regions – Vardenis, Masis, and Amasya. Their number in Zangazur was extremely high. Now this problem has been solved.”

The community asserts that this statement exemplifies Armenia’s policy of “if there is no population, there is no problem,” reflecting a systematic effort to cleanse the Azerbaijani population from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

A Legacy of Ethnic Cleansing

The Western Azerbaijan Community accuses successive Armenian leaderships—from Levon Ter-Petrosyan to Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, and now Nikol Pashinyan’s administration—of perpetuating this policy. The statement emphasizes that the goal of the 1987 conflict was the establishment of a mono-ethnic Armenia by eradicating Azerbaijanis and creating a so-called “greater Armenia” through ethnic cleansing.

Call for Accountability and Dialogue

The community condemned the Armenian society and diaspora for continuing to support or downplay Ter-Petrosyan’s speech over three decades later.

“The fact that even after more than 30 years since the events, the Armenian society and the Armenian diaspora continue to support or try to cover up the above-mentioned speech of Levon Ter-Petrosyan deeply disappoints us Western Azerbaijanis. However, Armenia will not succeed in losing track of these systematic bloody crimes and denying them,” the statement declared.

The Western Azerbaijan Community urged the international community to condemn Armenia’s policies and called for dialogue to ensure the peaceful, safe, and dignified return of Western Azerbaijanis to their ancestral lands.

The statement concludes with a commitment to pursuing justice through international legal frameworks, holding Armenia accountable for its actions, and ensuring the preservation of human rights and historical justice.