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ARMENIANS IN BAKU WANT TO REMAIN IN 'HOMELAND'
Ä°pek Yezdan
Hurriyet
hurriyet.com.tr
July 25, 2011
Turkey
Many of the 20,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan say they are
determined to stay in the country even if war breaks out between Baku
and Yerevan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Four Armenian women speaking on condition of anonymity told the
Hurriyet Daily News that they have been living in Baku since birth
and that they had never thought of leaving Baku. All of them married
Azerbaijani men and have children, some of whom served in the
Azerbaijani army.
"There was no difference between Azeris and Armenians in our
childhood," said C.R., 54, who studied at the Neft (Oil) University
in Baku. "We all grew up in the same place with Azeris, and we were
all one, we did not know who was Azeri and who was Armenian, the
separation began after the war," she said.
Å~^.G., 48, said they had felt anxious during the 1990s war in
Nagorno-Karabakh, but had never thought of leaving Azerbaijan's
capital. "We were born here, our parents are from Baku, this is our
land, how can we ever leave here? Besides this, I have not personally
witnessed any harsh reaction from anyone because of my Armenian
identity," said Å~^.G. when asked if she ever considered leaving
Azerbaijan during the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"Especially after Heydar Aliyev came to power, our problems were
reduced. Armenians living in Baku were protected by the state.
Policemen were giving us their own telephone numbers and telling us
to call them directly if something happened," said Å~^.G.
Aliyev's son, Ä°lham Aliyev, succeeded his father as president of
the country.
"My son served in the Azerbaijani army, my neighbor's son who was also
an Armenian, died in the Karabakh war while fighting for Azerbaijan,
another neighbor's son was lost in Karabakh. How can we say that we
are different than the others here? We are all one," said A.R., 56.
Although the women had not experienced major problems, many Armenians
left Azerbaijan out of fear of being threatened during the war,
said R.N., a 60-year-old housewife. "However, almost all of the
Armenians who left Azerbaijan want to come back to their lands. I
have friends and relatives in Russia, Belgium and the United States,
and they all say they still want to come back to Baku, because this
is their homeland."
Some Armenians also echoed their government's call on the Karabakh
issue. "Karabakh has been Azerbaijani land for decades, they have
the right to ask for it back," said C.K., 54, who is also an Armenian
housewife.
Ä°pek Yezdan
Hurriyet
hurriyet.com.tr
July 25, 2011
Turkey
Many of the 20,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan say they are
determined to stay in the country even if war breaks out between Baku
and Yerevan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Four Armenian women speaking on condition of anonymity told the
Hurriyet Daily News that they have been living in Baku since birth
and that they had never thought of leaving Baku. All of them married
Azerbaijani men and have children, some of whom served in the
Azerbaijani army.
"There was no difference between Azeris and Armenians in our
childhood," said C.R., 54, who studied at the Neft (Oil) University
in Baku. "We all grew up in the same place with Azeris, and we were
all one, we did not know who was Azeri and who was Armenian, the
separation began after the war," she said.
Å~^.G., 48, said they had felt anxious during the 1990s war in
Nagorno-Karabakh, but had never thought of leaving Azerbaijan's
capital. "We were born here, our parents are from Baku, this is our
land, how can we ever leave here? Besides this, I have not personally
witnessed any harsh reaction from anyone because of my Armenian
identity," said Å~^.G. when asked if she ever considered leaving
Azerbaijan during the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"Especially after Heydar Aliyev came to power, our problems were
reduced. Armenians living in Baku were protected by the state.
Policemen were giving us their own telephone numbers and telling us
to call them directly if something happened," said Å~^.G.
Aliyev's son, Ä°lham Aliyev, succeeded his father as president of
the country.
"My son served in the Azerbaijani army, my neighbor's son who was also
an Armenian, died in the Karabakh war while fighting for Azerbaijan,
another neighbor's son was lost in Karabakh. How can we say that we
are different than the others here? We are all one," said A.R., 56.
Although the women had not experienced major problems, many Armenians
left Azerbaijan out of fear of being threatened during the war,
said R.N., a 60-year-old housewife. "However, almost all of the
Armenians who left Azerbaijan want to come back to their lands. I
have friends and relatives in Russia, Belgium and the United States,
and they all say they still want to come back to Baku, because this
is their homeland."
Some Armenians also echoed their government's call on the Karabakh
issue. "Karabakh has been Azerbaijani land for decades, they have
the right to ask for it back," said C.K., 54, who is also an Armenian
housewife.