AZE.US
Political analyst, doctor of law and professor Namik Aliyev has said that the return of Azerbaijanis to Armenia is a legal right, not a political threat.
Speaking on the YouTube channel Daily Europe Online, Aliyev said the issue is often used for political speculation, particularly by forces in Armenia that portray the possible return of Azerbaijanis as a demographic or political risk.
According to him, Azerbaijanis who left Armenia in the late 1980s were internationally recognized as refugees.
“The return of Azerbaijanis to Armenia is their legal right. These people were expelled from there as a result of ethnic cleansing,” Aliyev said.
He noted that the right of refugees to return does not expire and applies not only to those who were forced to leave, but also to their descendants.
At the same time, Aliyev dismissed claims that hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis could be sent to Armenia in the near future as unrealistic and politically motivated.
He said many of the areas where Azerbaijanis once lived in Armenia are now in poor condition, with destroyed homes, weak infrastructure, no jobs and no basic conditions for normal life.
“How do you imagine 300,000 Azerbaijanis moving there at once? These are provocations by revanchist forces,” Aliyev said.
The professor compared the situation with Azerbaijan’s own process of returning former internally displaced persons to Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur.
He said even in the liberated territories, where the Azerbaijani state is carrying out large-scale reconstruction, the return process is gradual. People are resettled only after housing, roads, utilities, security and jobs are created.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan does not send people to ruined areas, but prepares conditions for them to live with dignity.
“The state makes sure that people come to a prepared place, receive housing and have the opportunity to work and live a decent life,” he said.
He also noted that Azerbaijanis returning to liberated areas receive housing with property rights.
Speaking about the possible return of Armenians to Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis to Armenia, Aliyev said such issues require serious legal and political preparation, as well as agreements between the two states.
He said the question of restitution is also complicated because many people left their homes before the collapse of the Soviet Union and before privatization laws were adopted.
“In this case, states must reach agreements on a contractual basis. If the matter reaches the point of return, relevant legal acts must be adopted,” Aliyev said.
Aliyev also commented on Armenia’s post-election political situation. He said that if the Armenian authorities have evidence of violations by opposition forces, those claims must be proven through legal procedures.
According to him, political accusations must be backed by evidence collected in accordance with the law.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan supports the peace process with Armenia, but this does not mean idealizing the current government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
“We support the peace process. But we have always said that there are double standards in Armenia, especially on issues related to Azerbaijan,” he said.
AZE.US