Today, March 31, is the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis. Although this date is connected with the large-scale ethnic cleansing carried out by Armenians against Azerbaijanis in different regions of Azerbaijan in 1918, in fact, Armenians' hostility and hatred towards Azerbaijanis and, in general, Turks, goes back to earlier times.

Armenians, who committed massacres on a smaller scale at different times, first openly perpetrated bloody acts against Azerbaijanis in 1905-1907. Thousands of Azerbaijanis were brutally killed in these massacres committed in Azerbaijan and in the Azerbaijani villages of present-day Armenia. However, the Armenian massacres of Azerbaijanis in the Caucasus were not limited to this, and in March-April 1918 in Baku and other regions of Azerbaijan, thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed for their national and religious affiliation. Settlements, historical monuments, mosques and cemeteries were looted and destroyed.

After the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) in May 1918, the Extraordinary Commission of Inquiry was formed to investigate the violence. The documents of the commission reflect the terrible statistics of the tragedy. Armenian Dashnaks massacred the Turkish Muslim population and did not spare even children, the elderly and women. The occupation of Azerbaijan by the Soviet army in 1920 and the collapse of the ADR prevented the investigation process and the political and legal recognition of the tragedy.

Only after the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1991 did this issue gain importance; and on the initiative of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, an investigation into this bloody genocide began. With a historic decree signed on March 26, 1998, March 31 was declared the "Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis." Since that date, every year in our country and other places where Azerbaijanis live, March 31 is marked as the day of genocide and the memory of its victims is commemorated.

In general, when we look at the history of the 20th century, it is impossible to ignore the numerous crimes perpetrated by Armenians against the Azerbaijani people. Raised in the spirit of hatred for Azerbaijanis because they are Turks, Armenian nationalists used every opportunity to commit crimes against our people. Intolerance against Azerbaijanis reached such a level that despite the presence of thousands of Armenians in Azerbaijan during the Soviet era, Azerbaijanis were not allowed to live in their historical lands located in present-day Armenia. Azerbaijanis were deported from Armenia twice in 1948-1953 and 1988-1989.

During Armenia's undeclared war, which began in 1988 with unfounded territorial claims against Azerbaijan, Armenian armed forces committed unprecedented atrocities against the civilian population of Azerbaijan, culminating in the Khojaly genocide of Feb. 26, 1992, one of the most horrific crimes in the history of humanity. As a result of the genocide, 613 Azerbaijanis were brutally killed due to their ethnic identity, and thousands of people were taken prisoner or went missing.

What history tells us

Analyzing history, it is clear that the Armenians have always waited for the weakest times of those whom they consider their enemies and realized their insidious intentions in those moments. The collapse of the Russian Empire in 1918 amid the absence of a centralized government in Azerbaijan, the restoration of independence in 1992 and internal turmoil in Azerbaijan provided the Armenian Dashnaks with this opportunity. Armenians committed this betrayal not only against neighboring Azerbaijan but also against the Ottoman Empire, which they lived in for years. They organized against the Ottomans who were at war with the Russian Empire, and in 1915 revolted and tried to realize their dream of establishing an Armenian state in eastern Anatolia. Armed Armenian groups cooperated with the enemies of the Ottomans and committed massacres against the Turkish population in eastern Anatolia as well.

No legal assessment according to international law has been made of the massacres committed by Armenians, whose history is rich in betrayals and genocides against Turks. Despite numerous historical facts and documents about the Armenian atrocities, unfortunately, a number of states that consider themselves "impartial," in accordance with their interests, refuse to confirm any atrocities against the Turkic peoples, and, instead, enthusiastically support the Armenians' baseless "genocide" while insistently rejecting Turkey's offer to open the archives and investigate the facts.

Despite this injustice to our peoples and states, our belief in the restoration of historical justice is unshakable. Important work is being done in this direction. As a result of the Patriotic War that began on Sept. 27, 2020, Azerbaijan liberated its occupied territories and restored its sovereignty in this area. During the Patriotic War, Turkey's unity, moral and political support with Azerbaijan continued after the end of the war. At present, our states are working together on the restoration and construction work in the liberated territories. We hope that the comprehensive cooperation and mutual support between Azerbaijan and Turkey on all international platforms and their increasingly growing importance in the region and world will contribute to the elimination of double standards applied to our countries and other oppressed peoples.