The Silence of the International Community on Aliyev's Statements May Lead to Irreversible Consequences

• 03.19.2018, 19:35
•  Region,  World,  Armenia,  NKR

RFE/RL

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s presidential campaign seems to be carried out mainly based o anti-Armenian propaganda. Today Ilham Aliyev declared as if Armenia is a "historical Azerbaijani lands." According to Aliyev, who, by the way, graduated from the Moscow State University, "books on history indicate that at the beginning of the 19th century, the absolute majority of the population of the Irevan Khanate, or more precisely 80 percent, was inhabited by Azerbaijanis. This is history, historical reality. Let those, who do not know about this become aware, and the most important thing is that the Azerbaijani youth knows this. Let the Azerbaijani youth knows that most of the territory of today's Armenia is the historical lands of Azerbaijan, we have never forgotten it and will not forget."

Such a confident statement by Aliyev makes think that either he really does not know the history of his country - when Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis appeared, or he just fools his society, thinking that no one would question his words or dare to voice that there was no Azerbaijan and there were no Azerbaijanis in the 19^th century.  

It is noteworthy that the main message of Aliyev is directed towards the youth, which clearly shows that he wants to bring up the youth with hatred towards Armenians, which, of course will have its negative influence on the psychology of the Azerbaijani society. Moreover, what Aliyev is doing contradicts its commitments towards peaceful resolution of Karabakh conflict, for which the creation of atmosphere of trust is of great importance.

It should be mentioned that this is the second time after appointing snap presidential elections that Aliyev declares about his territorial claims towards Armenia. Many, among them the international community, do not take these statements seriously, considering them as words said just during the campaign for fooling the society. However, no matter how impossible or ridiculous the international community may find the territorial claims of Azerbaijan towards Armenia, inaction and the absence of any response create an atmosphere of impunity in Azerbaijan, giving the authorities of the country a signal that military rhetoric is quite normal.

This concern was also voiced by the RA Foreign Ministry. "As expected, the absence of a proper international response to the territorial claims of President Aliyev to Armenia inspired him to demand more territories," Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan wrote this on his Twitter with a hashtag #StopAliyev.

Thus, to avoid further escalation of the situation, to stop Aliyev from poisoning his own society, the international community should not remain silent, as that silence can lead to irreversible consequences.