Even though Azerbaijan, with the help of Turkish and Israeli weapons and hired Islamic terrorists, won the 2020 Artsakh War, Pres. Aliyev has been destroying his country’s international reputation.
With his barbaric actions during and since the war, Aliyev has undermined the interests of Azerbaijan. As a result, he has made himself a hated pariah and the laughingstock of the entire world. While Russia is coddling him for its own political interests, the West is tolerating him to benefit from Azerbaijan’s oil and gas.
I am very pleased that Aliyev is doing so many negative things in the eyes of not only Armenians, but also the entire world.
There are many examples of Aliyev’s misdeeds. Here are some of them:
During the 2020 war, Azeri soldiers committed barbaric acts that violate international law, such as beheading captured Armenian soldiers and civilians, mutilating their bodies, torturing them, trying the captives in court and sentencing them to lengthy jail terms.
In violation of international conventions, Azerbaijan used banned cluster and phosphorous bombs to kill Armenian soldiers during the 2020 war.
Azerbaijan systematically destroyed and defaced hundreds of Armenian cultural monuments and desecrated dozens of Armenian churches in Artsakh in violation of the Hague Convention on “the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.”
Azerbaijan continues to violate the ceasefire agreement signed by Pashinyan, Aliyev and Putin at the end of the 2020 war. Here are some examples: not releasing many of the Armenian prisoners of war (POWs), shooting at civilians in Artsakh, occupying parts of the territory of the Republic of Armenia, taking new Armenian hostages and threatening Armenia and Artsakh with further attacks if they do not comply with Azerbaijan’s wishes.
Aliyev has dehumanized and demonized Armenians by describing them with vile adjectives, such as “leeches” and “wild animals.” In 2005, during the visit of a German delegation, the Mayor of Baku, Hajibala Abutalybov, shamelessly told them: “Our goal is the complete elimination of Armenians. You, Nazis, already eliminated the Jews in the 1930s and 1940s, right? You should be able to understand us.”
Aliyev dispatched dozens of fake eco-activists to block the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor during the last six months, depriving 120,000 Artsakhtsis of food and medicines. These so-called eco-activists were more like eco-terrorists. Azerbaijan then placed a checkpoint at the Berdzor Corridor further violating the 2020 agreement.
In addition, Azerbaijan periodically cuts off the Internet and electricity of the Artsakh population, keeping them isolated, in the dark and without heat in freezing temperatures.
Instead of a simple transit road, Azerbaijan repeatedly demands a corridor to cross from eastern Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan, which implies Azeri sovereignty over Armenia’s territory, in violation of the 2020 agreement. By insisting on the corridor, Aliyev is actually delaying Azerbaijan’s access to Nakhichevan through Armenia.
Aliyev declares that all of the territory of the Republic of Armenia is “Western Azerbaijan.” This is sheer nonsense. Whereas Artsakh and Armenia are thousands of years old, Azerbaijan did not exist until a century ago.
Aliyev made the ridiculous pledge that Artsakhtsis will live under Azerbaijani rule just like all of its other citizens who are also repressed. Artsakhtsis remember well their barbaric mistreatment by Azerbaijan. Blockading them now shows how much worse they will be treated in the future.
Aliyev repeatedly urges Armenia to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. Any treaty signed by Azerbaijan is a meaningless piece of paper as we see from Aliyev’s violations of the 2020 agreement.
To make matters worse, State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller welcomed Aliyev’s outrageous statement that he will give amnesty to all Artsakh officials who resign. Instead, Miller should have condemned Aliyev’s unacceptable threats to invade Armenia and Artsakh.
Aliyev dismissed the demands of scores of world leaders and international organizations, as well as the UN Security Council, the World Court and European Court of Human Rights to release the Armenian POWs and unblock the Berdzor Corridor.
After the 2020 war, Azerbaijan established a racist Military Trophies Park in Baku displaying wax models of Armenian soldiers with hooked noses and distorted faces. After complaints and condemnations by the international community, the exhibit was closed down.
In February 2004, an Azeri soldier, Ramil Safarov, used an ax to chop the head of a sleeping Armenian soldier in Hungary during a NATO program. In return for Azerbaijan loaning Hungary several billion dollars, Safarov was released prematurely with the understanding that he would serve the rest of his life sentence in a Baku jail. However, Aliyev welcomed Safarov as a national hero, pardoned him, promoted him to the rank of major, and gave him a free apartment and eight years of back pay. This is Azerbaijan’s compensation to Safarov for committing a cold-blooded murder.
As a result of all these war crimes, Aliyev has destroyed his and Azerbaijan’s reputation around the world. He should be arrested and tried by the International Criminal Court as a war criminal.
Despite Aliyev’s reprehensible actions, world powers keep closing their eyes ignoring his many crimes, blinded by Azerbaijan’s oil and gas.
Harut Sassounian
Do a genuine referendum and join Nagorno karabach Or artsakh to Russian federation. Call on them to save the ethnic minority from potential genocide Or cultural oblivion.They will reject it first, and waite for Baku to foolishly launch a military campaign against Russian peacekeeps when they do so they will recognise integration, Because as soon as Russia accepts artsakh as a newly recognised teritory of Russian Federation then any attack on artsakh tetra mount to threat on territorial integrity of Russia and covered by Russian nuclear arsenal. Russia already has the troops to defend nagorno karabach. It will simply nuke it’s way to baku to secure lachin corridor.
Make sure Armenian president puts a demand of 5 times more Russian boots to sure the human rights in artsakh, this way pull in Russia, secure your lives and culture at the expense of your freedom at the hands of a lesser devil. And do it in a democratic manner
Actually, that’s excellent advice from Dwij Fouzdar, so long as only Artsakh is integrated into the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Armenia retains its sovereignty as a UN Nation. I’m not happy with Russia right now, but I truly believe that they’ll take Artsakh more seriously, if it joins the Russian Federation.
Perhaps, PM Pashinyan would go along with it, but not sure if Artsakh itself would invite the idea. Russia has been playing a sinister role in this matter, since 2020, or even 2016; Russia even backstabbed Armenia in recent years; but, unlike the PanTurkic World, I think that Russia would improve its attitude, if they gets a gift like that.
Has anyone wondered what items do they plan to transport via this transit road to (or from) Nahijevan Autonomous Republic? It can’t be fresh fruits and vegetables, since those grow in both places. It is unlikely to be fresh flowers or oil and arms. What then? They have been living fine without a need for this road for decades.