Voice of America’s program on Nagorno-Karabakh unfair, biased
By Sara Rajabova
Baku has strongly condemned a documentary film about Azerbaijan's occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region aired by the "Voice of America".
The radio program prepared by the Voice of America about the so-called regime on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan promotes separatism and aggression, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev said on October 20 regarding the program.
Hajiyev said the program, which doesn't take into account and doesn't reflect the position of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as refugees and internally displaced persons who were expelled from their native lands as a result of the Armenian aggression, is unfair and biased.
The "Voice of America" radio broadcasted on October 18 a program titled "Karabakh: Peaceful life near the ghosts of war."
Hajiyev noted that "Voice of America" radio, who speaks about the principles of "objectivity" and "impartiality", should shed light on the current situation of refugees and IDPs in an objective manner.
He went on to say that the "Voice of America" radio's program contributes to the promotion of separatism, invasion and aggression.
This step by Voice of America also reflects a lack of respect for the rights and feelings of refugees and internally displaced persons, Hajiyev added.
The bloody war, which flared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor, left over a million of civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh and the regions adjoining it, as well as the regions bordering with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh without homes.
They are temporarily settled in more than 1,600 settlements across 62 cities and regions of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijanis who had displaced from their homes as result of the brutal war were forced to live in refugee camps, tents and wagons in very difficult conditions.
Moreover, thousands of Azerbaijanis were expelled from Armenia and became refugees due to Armenia's ethnic cleansing policy after the emergence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.
As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.
The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.