‘…We have been receiving news, people saying they won’t leave… It’s up to them to decide. They are war criminals. They should not test our patience and leave the lands of their own volition. Where they choose to go is of little interest to us’, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, as he spoke about the removal of illegal settlers from villages of Zabukh and Sus in Lachin.
Head of state reminded them that staying in those territories is a crime of war and contradicts the Geneva Conventions. The occupying power cannot carry out a policy of illegal settlement in the occupied territories: ‘This is a true crime of war. The people who have been settled there, such as the Armenians from Syria and Lebanon, may not know about this, but the Armenian leadership is well aware of the fact.’
Both Azerbaijan and Armenia joined the Fourth Geneva Convention in 1993. Article 49 of the document, which provides for the protection of the civilian population during war, reads: ‘The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.’
The Protocol additional to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 (Article 85, Section 4) and the Statute of the International Criminal Court (17 July 1988) both clearly define the violation of this rule as a crime of war.
Armenians violated all international civil laws with barbarism that has no equals during occupation and this rule was no exception. They carried out a policy of illegal settlement in different parts of the occupied Azerbaijani territories. There are numerous facts evidencing illegal transfer of Armenians from all over the world to Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied regions.
Official Yerevan initially tried to cover its direct role in resettlement projects, but they have been acting openly since 2000. The Armenian government officially launched Return to Artsakh large-scale campaign. The Prime Minister at the time, Andranik Margaryan, personally headed the program which directly involved Armenian officials. Migration services started operations all over the country in 2002, promoting resettlement of the population in the occupied territories.
The 2002 World Refugee Survey by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants reported that about 1,000 settler families from Armenia resided in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin Corridor. The investigation by the Migration Delegates of the International Red Cross Committee for the South Caucasus confirmed that around 15 families were relocated to Nagorno-Karabakh each month. The media regularly reported the facts of illegal settlements in the occupied territories at the time.
An article published on October 5, 2004, on "Yerkir" web portal, reported that the goal of the settlement policy was to ‘double the Armenian population in Karabakh from 150 thousand to 300’. They went on to add that 5,300 families were relocated to Karabakh in 4 years starting 2000.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly raised illegal settlement in appeals to the European Court of Human Rights. The documents sent to court clearly report that Armenians are illegally settling in Nagorno-Karabakh, Lachin, Kalbajar, Zangilan, Gubadly and Jabrayil, referring to facts and official sources.
Azat Artsakh newspaper reported on their website on 26 January 2004 that 23,000 Armenians were illicitly moved to Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan between 1994 and 2004, 130 families being in Zangilan, another 70 in Jabrayil. Armenia’s A1+ channel broadcasted on 30 September 2004 that the program implied bringing the number of settlers into Karabakh up to 67 to 70 thousand by 2010.
As the civil war stroke in Syria in 2011 and the situation in the entire Middle East went downhill, Armenians living in the region found the perfect opportunity to resettle in Nagorno-Karabakh. Over 15 thousand Armenians fled from Syria, some of them relocating to Karabakh. At the same time, Armenians from Lebanon were also moved to Karabakh. A large part of the Armenian population now residing in Lachin is the consequence of that migration wave. Still, it does not stop them from claiming that Lachin has always been their ‘ancestral land’.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan compiled the Illegal Economic and Other Activities in the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan report in 2016, based on facts and evidences. The satellite images clearly showed how they actually pursued the lawless settlement.
Another migrant wave following the Beirut blast on 4 August 2020 resulted in 100-150 ethnic Armenian families relocating to Karabakh. The ‘leadership’ of the so-called entity had even allocated 25 million drams (50,000 USD) at the time. Some ‘humanitarian foundations’ had also joined financially. Those families ended up settling in Shusha back then.
The main goal of Armenia and the separatist organization behind the illicit settlement was to alter the demographic situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan through artificially growing the number of the Armenian population. They were thus trying to reinforce the results of ethnic cleansing and the ‘status-quo’ and prevent the Azerbaijani population of Karabakh and adjacent regions from returning home. The 44-day Patriotic War put an end to all these ‘grandiose’ plans. The illegal residents of Karabakh are now suffering twofold for having participated in the war crimes, tailored by the official Yerevan at the time.
Azerbaijan had repeatedly appealed to international organizations and the occupying country, demanding to stop the illegal settlement. We can only guess what was passing through the minds of people who were trying to build a life in the broken homes of the true owners. But they have disrespected the people and state of Azerbaijan and violated its laws. They are now trying to continue brazenly, thus supporting the occupant policy, becoming an element in it. Which is why, the little interest we have in where they choose to go is basically very humane. All we are saying that they should get a move on.
Vusal Mammadov is an editor-in-chief at AzVision.az news outlet.
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