Cultural Figures and Intelligentsia in Azerbaijan Publicly Encourage and Disseminate Hate and Calls for Violence Against Ethnic Armenians: Human Rights Defender

In Azerbaijan, cultural figures and intellectuals are publicly encouraging and disseminating hate and calls for violence against ethnic Armenians, gaining praise from society.

Moreover, the style and vocabulary used are hardly distinguishable from the anti-Armenian rhetoric and speeches of governmental officials and political figures. Evidence supporting all of this has been collected through ongoing monitoring by the Human Rights Defender of Armenia.

The current targeted attacks by the Azerbaijani armed forces against peaceful settlements, the massive destruction they cause, the atrocities, and inhumane treatment are the result of deeply rooted and systemic anti-Armenian sentiment built over the years.

For years, anti-Armenianism and Armenian genocide have been actively encouraged in Azerbaijan, with the perpetrators receiving state awards.

The Armenian Human Rights Defender regularly presents evidence of anti-Armenian sentiment to international organizations. This time, the focus is on cultural figures and intellectuals.

The speeches and rhetoric containing hate against Armenians by cultural figures and intellectuals, alongside governmental and political figures, indicate that the dissemination of hatred towards ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan is encapsulated in a closed chain and is encouraged from all sides.

- Human Rights Defender of Armenia