Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan#Official statements

There have been numerous cases of anti-Armenianism in Azerbaijan throughout history. Between 1905 and 1907, the Armenian–Tatar massacres resulted in the deaths of thousands of Armenians and Azerbaijanis. According to historian Firuz Kazemzadeh, writing in 1951: "it is impossible to pin the blame for the massacres on either side. It seems that in some cases (Baku, Elizavetpol) the Azerbaijanis fired the first shots, in other cases (Shusha, Tiflis) the Armenians."{{cite book|last=Kazemzadeh|first=Firuz|author-link=Firuz Kazemzadeh|title=The struggle for Transcaucasia, 1917–1921|year=1951|publisher=Hyperion Press|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=9780830500765|pages=18–19}}

File:Ruins of the Armenian part of the city of Shusha after the March 1920 pogrom by Azerbaijani armed units. In the center - church of the Holy Savior.jpg after destruction by the Azerbaijani army in 1920]]

A wave of anti-Armenian massacres in Azerbaijani-controlled territories started in 1918 and continued until 1920, when both Armenia and Azerbaijan joined the Soviet Union. In September 1918, a massacre of the Armenians of Baku, now known as the September Days, took place, leaving an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 ethnic Armenians killed in retaliation for killing about 12,000 Muslims during the clashes of the March Days.{{cite book|last=Hovannisian|first=Richard G.|title=Armenia on the road to independence, 1918|url=https://archive.org/details/armeniaonroadtoi00hova|url-access=registration|year=1967|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, California|isbn=978-0520005747|page=[https://archive.org/details/armeniaonroadtoi00hova/page/227 227]}}Human Rights Watch. [http://hrw.org/reports/1995/communal/ Playing the "Communal Card": Communal Violence and Human Rights]. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1995.Andreopoulos, George (1997). Genocide: Conceptual and Historical Dimensions. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, {{ISBN|0-8122-1616-4}}, p. 236. Up to 700 Armenians were killed in KhaibalikendHovannisian, Richard. The Republic of Armenia: Vol. I, The First Year, 1918–1919. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1971, pp. 176–177, notes 51–52.{{in lang|hy}} Vratsian, Simon. Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն (The Republic of Armenia). Paris: H.H.D. Amerikayi Publishing, 1928, pp. 286–87. in a massacre organized on 5–7 June 1919 by Karabakh's Governor-General Khosrov bek Sultanov and led by his brother, Sultan bek Sultanov.{{sfn|Waal|2004|p=128}}Hovannisian. Republic of Armenia, Vol. I, p. 177. As a result of the Muslim uprisings in Kars and Sharur–Nakhichevan, some 10,000 Armenians in 45 villages in Nakhchivan were massacred throughout 1919. In March 1920 a pogrom of Shusha's Armenians occurred in retaliation of the Novruz attack committed by Armenians against the local Azerbaijanis as well as the Azerbaijani army. Estimates of casualty figures are uncertain and vary from a few hundred{{sfn|Waal|2004|p=128}} to 20,000 victims.{{cite web|title=The Nagorno-Karabagh Crisis:A Blueprint for Resolution|work=Public International Law & Policy Group and the New England Center for International Law & Policy|date=June 2000|page=3|url=http://www.nesl.edu/center/pubs/nagorno.pdf|quote=In August 1919, the Karabagh National Council entered into a provisional treaty agreement with the Azerbaijani government. Despite signing the Agreement, the Azerbaijani government continuously violated the terms of the treaty. This culminated in March 1920 with the Azerbaijanis' massacre of Armenians in Karabagh's former capital, Shushi, in which it is estimated that more than 20,000 Armenians were killed.}}{{Cite book|title=1700 Years of Faithfulness: History of Armenia and its Churches|publisher=FAM|location=Moscow|year=2001|isbn=5-89831-013-4|chapter=Armenia between the Bolshevik hammer and Kemalist anvil|last=Guaita|first=Giovanni|chapter-url=http://www.grazhdanin.com/grazhdanin.phtml?var=Vipuski/2004/4/statya17&number=%B94}} Before and during the Russian Revolution of 1917, anti-Armenianism was the basis of Azeri nationalism, and under the Soviet regime Armenians remained the scapegoats who were responsible for state, societal and economic shortcomings in Azerbaijan.{{cite book|title=Muslims of the Soviet empire: a guide|year=1986|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington|isbn=9780253339584|author=Alexandre Bennigsen, S. Enders Wimbush|page=145|quote=The Armenian presence is strongly felt by Azeris traditionally, the Azeri elite have regarded the Armenians as rivals. Before and during the Revolution this anti-Armenianism was the basis of Azeri nationalism, and under the Soviet regime Armenians remain the scapegoats who are responsible for every failure.}} During the Soviet era, the Soviet government tried to foster a peaceful co-existence between the two ethnic groups, but many Azerbaijanis resented the high social status of Armenians in Azerbaijan, as many Armenians were deemed part of Azerbaijan's intelligentsia. When the atrocity-laden conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh broke out, however, the public opinion in both countries about the other hardened.{{cite book|last=Diller|first=Daniel C.|title=Russia and the independent states|year=1993|publisher=Congressional Quarterly|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=978-0871878625|page=[https://archive.org/details/russiaindependen00dill/page/270 270]|url=https://archive.org/details/russiaindependen00dill|url-access=registration}}

Between 1921 and 1990, under the control of the Azeri SSR within the USSR, Armenians in the region faced economic marginalization and cultural discrimination, leading to a significant exodus.{{Cite journal |last=Yamskov |first=A. N. |date=1991 |title=Ethnic Conflict in the Transcausasus: The Case of Nagorno-Karabakh |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/657781 |journal=Theory and Society |volume=20 |issue=5 |pages=631–660 |doi=10.1007/BF00232663 |issn=0304-2421 |jstor=657781 |s2cid=140492606}}Laurila, Juhani. [https://publications.bof.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/45048/92219.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y "Power Politics and Oil as Determinants of Transition: the case of Azerbaijan."] (1999). "The Azerbaijanis can be accused of depriving the 130 000 Armenians living in the Nogorno-Karabakh of their possibilities to watch TV broadcasts from Yerevan, of their right to study Armenian history and their access to Armenian literature. The Azerbaijani government, too, can be said to have conducted racial, cultural and economic discrimination against the Nagorno Karabakh Armenians. Over 80 000 Nagorno-Karabakh residents signed an address asking for annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. Based on this address the Council of Representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh turned to Supreme Council of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Armenia with request to transfer the Nagorno-Karabakh under Armenia." Meanwhile, authorities encouraged the inflow of Azeris from outside Nagorno-Karabakh.Starovotova, Galina Vasilevna. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150905002501/https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/pwks19.pdf Sovereignty after empire: self-determination movements in the former Soviet Union]. Vol. 31. No. 19. US Institute of Peace, 1997. "Limited employment opportunities and discrimination against Armenians contributed to the gradual emigration of the Armenian population from the region, while republican authorities encouraged the inflow of Azeris from outside Nagorno-Karabakh." This policy – sometimes called a "White Genocide"New Times, New Times Publishing House, 1994 "This would inevitably result in a "final solution," a new carnage of Karabakh Armenians or, at best, if international control is established, in "white genocide," that is, the breaking up and ousting of the national group by economic means...".Tsypylma Darieva, Wolfgang Kaschuba. Representations on the Margins of Europe: Politics and Identities in the Baltic and South Caucasian States, Campus Verlag GmbH, 2007, {{ISBN|9783593382418}}, p. 111 "Thus, the notion of 'genocide', as perceived by the people, included the expressions 'white genocide' (bearing in mind the example of the ethnic cleansing of Nakhichevan and Nagorno- Karabagh of Armenians)...".Ole Høiris, Sefa Martin Yürükel. Contrasts and solutions in the Caucasus, Aarhus Univ. Press, 1998, {{ISBN|9788772887081}}, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dOloAAAAMAAJ&q=%22White+Genocide%22+armenian 234] "...the Azerbaijanization of Nakhichevan is called a 'white genocide', that is, one that operates by erasure of evidence of Armenian residence"Mark Malkasian, [https://books.google.com/books?id=aRJJ9qs6PeQC&dq=%22Gha-Ra-Bagh%22:+The+Emergence+of+the+National+Democratic+Movement+in+Armenia&pg=PP1 Gha-ra-bagh!: the emergence of the national democratic movement in Armenia], p. 56Stuart J. Kaufman, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Plw98pTk5wC&q=Modern+Hatreds:+The+Symbolic+Politics+of+Ethnic+War Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War], p. 55James Sperling, S. Victor Papacosma, [https://books.google.com/books?id=lQiJm-R82g0C&q=Limiting+Institutions%3F:+the+challenge+of+Eurasian+security+governance Limiting Institutions?: the challenge of Eurasian security governance], p. 51 – aimed at "de-Armenizing" the territory culturally and then physically and followed a similar pattern to Azerbaijan's treatment of Armenians in Nakhchivan.{{Cite book |title=Armenia and Karabagh: the struggle for unity |date=1991 |publisher=Minority Rights Group |isbn=978-1-873194-00-3 |editor-last=Walker |editor-first=Christopher J. |series=Minority Rights Publications |location=London |quote="[The exodus of many Armenians is] not a matter of chance, but is due to the persistent policy of Baku, whose aim is to 'Nakhichevanize' the territory, to de-Armenize it, first culturally and then physically."}} The suppression of Armenian language and culture was widespread; many Armenian churches, cemeteries, and schools were closed or destroyed, clerics arrested, and Armenian historical education was banned.Chorbajian, Levon. The making of Nagorno-Karabagh: from secession to republic. Springer, 2001. "There was overwhelming evidence demonstrating the existence of anti-Armenian policy in Nagorno-Karabagh sanctioned by Azerbaijan. Accounts of forced migrations and resettlement were substantiated by the decreasing and increasing percentage of Armenians and Azeris respectively in the population.61 The lack of economic development and demographic manipulations had been accompanied by cultural suppression. In the 1930s, 118 Armenian churches were closed, clerics arrested and text- books on Armenian history banned from schools. During the 1960s, 28 Armenian schools were closed, churches and cemeteries destroyed and Azeri was imposed as the official language of the republic. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, cultural ties with Armenia were severed and Azeris began to be appointed in Nagorno-Karabagh’s law enforcement and economic bodies." The Armenian educational institutions that remained were under the administration of the Azeri Ministry of Education, which enforced prohibitions against teaching Armenian history and using Armenian materials and led to a curriculum that significantly differed from that of Armenia itself.{{Cite web |title=Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict in the South Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh and the Legacy of Soviet Nationalities Policy |url=https://www.routledge.com/Ethnicity-Nationalism-and-Conflict-in-the-South-Caucasus-Nagorno-Karabakh/Geukjian/p/book/9781138279032 |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=Routledge & CRC Press |language=en |quote=The Armenian schools were attached to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Education and were prohibited from teaching Armenian history. The employed staff was Azerbaijani. Armenian books and journals from neighbouring Armenia and the Armenian diaspora were totally banned. These measures were taken to ‘hamper Armenian cultural development’ in N-K [Nagorno-Karabakh].}}{{Cite web |title=Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict in the South Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh and the Legacy of Soviet Nationalities Policy |url=https://www.routledge.com/Ethnicity-Nationalism-and-Conflict-in-the-South-Caucasus-Nagorno-Karabakh/Geukjian/p/book/9781138279032 |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=Routledge & CRC Press |language=en |quote="80 per cent of the population of Mountainous Karabakh are Armenians and they constitute about 130,000 individuals. The region is about 4500 square kilometers. There are 187 Armenian schools, which unfortunately are administered not by the Ministry of Education of Armenia, but that of Azerbaijan, in which there is not a single inspector or a single person who knows Armenian. This is a very dangerous thing and it is harming us."}} Moreover, restrictions limited cultural exchanges and communication between Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and Armenia, with significant neglect in transportation and communication infrastructure. The Azerbaijani government's decree in 1957 that Azerbaijani was to be the main language and the alteration of educational content to favor Azerbaijani history over Armenian exemplify the systemic efforts to assimilate the Armenian population culturally.Malkasian, Mark. Gha-ra-bagh!: The Emergence of the National Democratic Movement in Armenia. Wayne State University Press, 1996 The 1981 "law of the NKAR" denied additional rights, restricted cultural connections between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, and removed provisions that had explicitly listed Armenian as a working language to be used by local authorities.{{Cite web |title=Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict in the South Caucasus: Nagorno-Karabakh and the Legacy of Soviet Nationalities Policy |url=https://www.routledge.com/Ethnicity-Nationalism-and-Conflict-in-the-South-Caucasus-Nagorno-Karabakh/Geukjian/p/book/9781138279032 |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=Routledge & CRC Press |page=109 |language=en}} In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Armenians protested against the cultural and economic marginalization they faced in the region.Broers, Laurence, ed. [https://rc-services-assets.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/The_limits_of_leadership_Elites_and_societies_in_the_Nagorny_Karabakh_peace_process_Accord_Issue_17.pdf The limits of leadership: Elites and societies in the Nagorny Karabakh peace process]. Conciliation Resources, 2005. p.93 In the 1980s, resentment against what was perceived as a forced "Azerification" campaign led to a mass movement for reunification with Armenia.{{Cite web |title=Armenia and Azerbaijan: Between war and peace {{!}} Think Tank {{!}} European Parliament |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2023)747919 |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Palmer |first=James |date=2024-02-12 |title=Why Are Armenia and Azerbaijan Heading to War? |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/28/why-are-armenia-azerbaijan-heading-to-war-nagorno-karabakh/ |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Conflict in the Caucasus |url=https://www.ft.com/content/47c6ef77-1f84-48e6-81a3-83ad11d078b7 |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=www.ft.com}}

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict started with demonstrations in February 1988 in Yerevan, demanding the incorporation of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijan SSR into the Armenian SSR. Nagorno-Karabakh's regional council voted to secede from Azerbaijan and join the Armenian SSR.{{sfn|Waal|2004|pp=10–12}} These events triggered the anti-Armenian riots that culminated in the Sumgait pogrom, during which 32 people, including 26 ethnic Armenians,{{efn|sources other than the Prosecutor General of the USSR estimate the number killed to be in the hundreds{{cite book|last=Kenez|first=Peter|url=https://www.academia.edu/24876372|title=A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to the End|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|edition=2nd|page=272|author-link=Peter Kenez}}}} were murdered. The pogrom was marked with a great number of atrocities – the apartments of Armenians (which were marked in advance) were attacked and the residents were indiscriminately murdered, raped, and mutilated by the Azerbaijani rioters.Financial Times. 16 March 1988New York Times. 22 May 1988.Rodina (Motherland) magazine (# 4, 1994, pp. 82–90) Looting, arson and destruction of Armenian property was also perpetrated.{{sfn|Waal|2004|p=31}} The Azerbaijani authorities and the local police took up no measures whatsoever to stop the atrocities.Shahmuratian. Sumgait Tragedy, Interview with Rima Avanesyan, pp. 233–237. Russian political writer Roy Medvedev and USSR Journalists' Union described the events as genocide of the Armenian population.Glasnost: : Vol. 2, Issue 1, Center for Democracy (New York, N.Y.) – 1990, p. 62, cit. 'The massacre of Armenians in Sumgait, the heinous murders in Tbilisi—these killings are examples of genocide directed by the Soviet regime against its own people.', an announcement by USSR Journalists' UnionTime of change: an insider's view of Russia's transformation, Roy Medvedev, Giulietto Chiesa – 1991 – p. 209

After several days of ongoing unrest the Soviet authorities occupied the city with paratroopers and tanks. Almost all the 14,000 Armenians in Sumgait fled the city after the pogrom.{{sfn|Waal|2004|p=40}} In February 1988 at the session of Politburo of the Central Committee in Moscow it was officially acknowledged that mass pogroms and murders in Sumgait were carried out based on ethnicity.{{sfn|Waal|2004|p=31}} It was then that the academician Ziya Bunyadov, whom Thomas de Waal, a British journalist, calls "Azerbaijan's foremost Armenophobe" in his book, Black Garden, became famous for his article "Why Sumgait?" in which he blamed the Armenian victims for organizing the pogrom.{{sfn|Waal|2004|p=42}} According to Memorial, the thorough investigation of the massacre by Soviet authorities has not been made in a timely fashion and its perpetrators have never been held accountable for their crimes,{{Cite book|last=Aslanyan|first=Andranik Eduard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Brm9DwAAQBAJ&dq=https%3A%2F%2Fregnum.ru%2Fnews%2F1131088.html&pg=PA385|title=Energie- und geopolitische Akteure im Südkaukasus: Der Bergkarabach-Konflikt im Spannungsfeld von Interessen (1991 – 2015)|date=2019-11-11|publisher=Springer-Verlag|isbn=978-3-658-28516-6|pages=62–63|language=de}}{{Cite book|last=Cheterian|first=Vicken|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/243545841|title=War and peace in the Caucasus : Russia's troubled frontier|date=2008|publisher=Hurst & Co|isbn=978-1-85065-929-7|location=London|pages=111|oclc=243545841}} which escalated inter-ethnic tensions.[http://www.memo.ru/hr/hotpoints/karabah/getashen/chapter1.htm МЕМОРИАЛ. ХРОНОЛОГИЯ КОНФЛИКТА] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305185925/http://www.memo.ru/hr/hotpoints/karabah/getashen/chapter1.htm|date=5 March 2012}} "Своевременного расследования обстоятельств погромов, установления и наказания виновных не было проведено, что привело к эскалации конфликта." Those who participated in the massacre were hailed by numerous Azeri demonstrators as national heroes.{{Cite journal|last=Khazanov|first=Anatoly M.|date=1993|title=Samvel Shakhmuradian, Sumgaitskaia Tragedia v Svidetel'stvakh Ochevidtzev ("Sumgait Through the Eyes of the Victims"). Erevan: Armianskii Fond Kul'tury, 1989.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nationalities-papers/article/abs/samvel-shakhmuradian-sumgaitskaia-tragedia-v-svidetelstvakh-ochevidtzev-sumgait-through-the-eyes-of-the-victims-erevan-armianskii-fond-kultury-1989/7EA6475FE24E26BBA092670609D0328C|journal=Nationalities Papers|language=en|volume=21|issue=2|pages=230–232|doi=10.1017/S0090599200021760|s2cid=189221116 |issn=0090-5992}}{{Cite book|last=Kaufman|first=Stuart J.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1160511946|title=Modern hatreds : the symbolic politics of ethnic war|date=2001|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-1-5017-0199-3|location=Ithaca, New York|pages=65, 205|oclc=1160511946}}{{Sfn|Waal|2004|p=41}}

As time went by, the tensions between two nations grew rapidly, which resulted in new pogroms taking place in rapid succession. In November 1988, the Kirovabad pogrom was put down by Soviet troops, prompting a permanent migratory trend of Armenians away from Azerbaijan.{{cite book|last=Kaufman|first=Stuart J.|title=Modern hatreds: the symbolic politics of ethnic war|year=2001|publisher=Cornell university press|location=Ithaca|isbn=9780801487361|page=77}} In January 1990, Azeri nationalists organized a pogrom of Armenians in Baku, killing at least 90 Armenians and displacing a population of nearly 200,000 Armenians.{{cite book|last=Dawisha|first=Karen|title=The International Politics of Eurasia|year=1994|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|location=Armonk, NY|isbn=9781563243530|author2=Parrot, Bruce|page=242}}[https://www.un.org/esa/gopher-data/ga/cedaw/17/country/Armenia/C-ARM1C1.EN Committee on the elimination of discrimination against women] De Waal stated that the Popular Front of Azerbaijan (forerunner of the later Azerbaijani Popular Front Party) was responsible for the mass pogrom, as they shouted "Long live Baku without Armenians!"{{sfn|Waal|2004|p=91}}

In July 1990 "An Open Letter to International Public Opinion on Anti-Armenian Pogroms in the Soviet Union" was signed by 130 intellectuals and scholars all over the world, which stated:[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1990/sep/27/an-open-letter-on-anti-armenian-pogroms-in-the-sov/ An Open Letter on Anti-Armenian Pogroms in the Soviet Union. Jacques Derrida, Isaiah Berlin, et al., 27 September 1990 Issue]

{{Cquote

| quote = The mere fact that these pogroms were repeated and the fact that they followed the same pattern lead us to think that these tragic events are no accidents or spontaneous outbursts... we are compelled to recognize that the crimes against the Armenian minority have become consistent practice – if not consistent policy – in Soviet Azerbaijan.

}}

During the war, on 10 April 1992, Azerbaijanis carried out the Maraga Massacre, killing at least 40 Armenians.{{sfn|Waal|2004|p=176}}

File:Location Artsakh en.png

From 1991 to 1994 the inter-ethnic conflict evolved into large-scale military actions for the occupation over Nagorno-Karabakh and some of the surrounding regions. In May 1994 a ceasefire was signed, but it did not definitively settle the territorial dispute to the satisfaction of all parties. The Armenian forces occupied large areas beyond the borders of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), the question of refugees is still unresolved and Azerbaijan continues to enforce an economic blockade on the breakaway territory. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Council of Europe's anti-discrimination watchdog, stated that the "overall negative climate" in Azerbaijan is a consequence "generated by the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh."

The Russian historian and essayist Andrei Polonski, who has researched the formation of the Azerbaijani national identity at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, pointed out that "the Karabakh crisis and growing Armenophobia contributed to the formation of the stable image of the enemy which has to a great extent influenced the nature of the new identity (primarily based on aggression and victory)."{{cite web|last=Polonski|first=Andrei|script-title=ru:Ислам в контексте общественной жизни современного Азербайджана|url=http://his.1september.ru/1999/his28.htm|publisher=Газета "История". № 28/1999. Издательский дом "Первое сентября"|access-date=22 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622192852/http://his.1september.ru/1999/his28.htm|archive-date=22 June 2014 |quote=Обстоятельства благоприятствовали абстрактным размышлениям интеллектуалов о национальных корнях, об истории и традиции, о своем месте и миссии в мире. Впрочем, в Азербайджане расслабленного гуманизма было меньше, чем в большинстве республик СССР. Карабахский кризис и нарастающая армянофобия способствовали формированию устойчивого образа врага, который в известной степени повлиял на характер новой идентичности (первоначально агрессивно-победительной).|language=ru}}

Vladimir Kazimirov, the Russian Representative for Nagorno-Karabakh from 1992 to 1996 and co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, has many times accused certain forces in Azerbaijan up to the level of state authorities of inciting anti-Armenian sentiment.{{cite news|script-title=ru:Что делать?! А не "Кто виноват?": ответ Владимира Казимирова армянским НПО|url=http://regnum.ru/news/559308.html|access-date=19 January 2013|date=13 December 2005|agency=Regnum|quote=...в Азербайджане больше раскручивают кампанию неприязни и даже ненависти к армянам, чем наоборот; больше угроз вернуться к силовому решению, пренебрежения к обязательствам и обещаниям. Но всё это идёт вовсе не от азербайджанского народа и не от НПО, а именно от руководства Азербайджана.|language=ru}} At the beginning of 2004, characterizing the decade following the conclusion of the ceasefire, Kazimirov stated:

{{cquote|Having found itself in the position of long-term discomfort, Baku has actually started pursuing a policy of a total 'cold war' against the Armenians. All types of economic "dampers" as well as any contacts with the Armenians (even those on the societal level) are rejected from the very start and those who maintain these contacts are prosecuted. In the enlightened Soviet state someone would be quite willing to instill such sentiments as fundamentalism, revanchism and Armenophobia, which as such only prevent the elimination of both causes and consequences of the conflict. Currently there is growing fanaticism and extremism even on the level of non-governmental organizations.{{cite news|script-title=ru:Владимир Казимиров: Опиум для своего народа: Как пропагандисты вредят урегулированию по Карабаху|url=http://www.regnum.ru/news/233278.html|access-date=19 January 2013|date=17 March 2004|agency=Regnum|quote=Очутившись надолго в дискомфортном положении, Баку практически взял курс на тотальную "холодную войну" против армян. Отвергаются с порога и экономические "амортизаторы", и любые контакты с армянами (даже по линии общественности); травят тех, кто поддерживает эти контакты. В просвещенном светском государстве кое-кто рад был бы насадить подобие фундаментализма, реваншизма и армянофобии, что лишь мешает устранению как причин, так и последствий конфликта. Все больше проявлений фанатизма и экстремизма даже на уровне общественных организаций.|language=ru}}}}

At the 2009 Eurovision contest, Azerbaijani security services summoned 43 Azerbaijanis who voted for Armenia at Eurovision for questioning, accusing them of lack of patriotism and "ethnic pride", which was widely reported by international media.{{Cite news|date=2009-08-19|title=Спецслужбы вызвали на допрос азербайджанцев, голосовавших на Евровидении за Армению|language=ru|trans-title=Special services summoned Azerbaijanis who voted for Armenia at Eurovision for interrogation|work=InoSMI|url=https://inosmi.ru/sngbaltia/20090819/251734.html}}{{Cite web|last=Michaels|first=Sean|date=2009-08-18|title=Azerbaijan authorities interrogate music fans in Eurovision probe|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/aug/18/azerbaijan-authorities-interrogate-music-fans|access-date=2022-02-10|website=The Guardian|language=en}}{{Cite news|title=Azerbaijani Authorities Interrogate Music Fan Over Armenia Vote|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1800013.html|access-date=2022-02-10|website=Radio Free Europe|date=24 August 2009 |language=en}}

The ECRI notes that the mainstream media of Azerbaijan is very critical of Armenia and that it doesn't make "a clear distinction between that state and persons of Armenian origin coming under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan." It further implicates certain TV channels, prominent citizens, politicians, and local and national authorities in the "fuel[ing of] negative feelings among society towards Armenians" According to the watchdog, anti-Armenian prejudice is so deeply built in people's conscience that describing someone as an Armenian may be considered as an insult so strong that it justifies initiating defamation lawsuits, which in some cases is true even if the person who is called that way is an Armenian. There is also wide media coverage of some statements made by Azerbaijani public figures and statesmen which demonstrate intolerance.{{Cite web |date=7 June 2016 |title=ECRI REPORT ON AZERBAIJAN |url=https://rm.coe.int/fourth-report-on-azerbaijan/16808b5581 |publisher=Council of Europe |pages=9, 17}}{{Cite web |date=3 September 2013 |title=Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/5229cf374.html |publisher=Council of Europe |pages=15–16}} For instance, in 2008, Allahshukur Pashazadeh, the religious leader (Grand Mufti) of the Caucasus Muslims made a statement that "falsehood and betrayal are in the Armenian blood."{{cite web |url=https://ombuds.am/images/files/3101f60c869b0f378dbc737b002e5054.pdf |title=The Azerbaijani Policy of Hatred and Animosity towards Armenians as Root Causes of Ethnically Motivated |date=February 2022 |publisher=Human Rights Defender of Armenia |page=38 |access-date=4 February 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204181139/https://ombuds.am/images/files/3101f60c869b0f378dbc737b002e5054.pdf |archive-date=4 February 2022}}{{cite news|title=Haji Allahshukur Pashazadeh: "Falsehood and treason run through Armenians' blood"|url=http://www.today.az/news/society/46565.html|access-date=25 January 2013|date=22 July 2008|agency=Today.az|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622192916/http://www.today.az/news/society/46565.html|archive-date=22 June 2014 |quote=We are making all efforts to solve this problem peacefully and holding meetings for this goal, but we don't see results of these meetings, because falsehood and treason run in Armenian's blood. They ate our bread, but spoke against us while leaving".}}{{cite news|script-title=ru:Глава Духовного управления мусульман Кавказа: "Ложь и предательство в крови у армян"|trans-title=Head of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Caucasus: "Lies and betrayal in the blood of Armenians"|url=http://news.day.az/society/125166.html|access-date=20 January 2013|date=22 July 2008|agency=Day.az|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622192949/http://news.day.az/society/125166.html|archive-date=22 June 2014 |quote="Мы делаем все возможное для урегулирования конфликта мирным путем. С этой целью проводим встречи. Однако не видим результатов этих встреч. Потому что ложь и предательство в крови у армян. Они сидели за нашим столом и ели наш хлеб, а, выйдя на улицу, говорили против нас".|language=ru}}

The Azerbaijani historian Arif Yunus has stated that various Azerbaijani school textbooks label Armenians with epithets such as "bandits", "aggressors", "treacherous", and "hypocritical".{{cite web|last=Yunusov|first=Arif|script-title=ru:Мифы и образы "врага" в исторической науке и учебниках по истории независимого Азербайджана|url=http://www.amudarya.net/fileadmin/_amudarya/bs/ay.pdf|publisher=Georg-Eckert-Institut|pages=6–8|access-date=25 January 2013|quote=В дальнейших разделах учебника авторы все больше и больше внимание уделяют армянам, которые и начинают восприниматься как "главные неверные в черных одеяниях". При этом, в отношении армян также используются все возможные негативные эпитеты ("бандиты", "агрессоры", "коварные", "лицемерные" и т.д.). Именно "коварные" армяне помогли России в покорении Азербайджана, именно в результате "восстания армянских бандитов" в Карабахе в 1920 г. основные силы азербайджанской армии оказались оттянуты от северных границ, чем воспользовалась 11-ая Красная Армия и вторглась в Азербайджан. Таким образом, "неверные в черных одеяниях вновь сделали свое черное дело".|language=ru|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108115754/http://www.amudarya.net/fileadmin/_amudarya/bs/ay.pdf|archive-date=8 January 2014|url-status=dead}} He and his wife were jailed for allegedly spying for Armenia.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27202134|title=Azerbaijan's Leyla Yunus, human rights defender, held|date=29 April 2014|newspaper=BBC News}}

Yasemin Kilit Aklar in her study titled Nation and History in Azerbaijani School Textbooks comes to the following conclusion:

Azerbaijani official textbooks misuse history to encourage hatred and feelings of ethnic and national superiority. The Armenians... are presented as historical enemies and derided in very strong language. [The fifth grade history textbook by] Ata Yurdu stimulates direct hostility to Armenians and Russians. Even if the efforts to establish peace in Nagorno-Karabagh are successful, how can it be expected to survive? How can a new generation live with Armenians in peaceful coexistence after being inculcated with such prejudices? As of now, the civic nationalism that Azerbaijani officials speak of appears to be a distant myth or a mere rhetorical device.[https://web.archive.org/web/20150402134004/http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/32957028/nation-history-azerbaijani-school-textbooks Yasemin Kilit Aklar. NATION AND HISTORY IN AZERBAIJANI SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS. Ab Imperio 2005, Issue 2, p. 469]

{{see also|Armenian Cultural Heritage in Azerbaijan|Historical negationism#Azerbaijan}}

According to the US Department of Justice:

{{Cquote|Despite the constitutional guarantees against religious discrimination, numerous acts of vandalism against the Armenian Apostolic Church have been reported throughout Azerbaijan. These acts are clearly connected to anti-Armenian sentiments brought to the surface by the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.{{cite web|title=AZERBAIJAN: THE STATUS OF ARMENIANS, RUSSIANS, JEWS AND OTHER MINORITIES|url=http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/ins/azerba93.pdf|publisher=Immigration and Naturalization Service Resource Information Center|access-date=1 September 2013|page=10}}}}

Starting in 1998, Armenia began accusing Azerbaijan of embarking on a campaign of destroying a cemetery of khachkar carvings in the Armenian cemetery in Julfa.{{cite news|last=Harris|first=Lucian|title=World watches in silence as Azerbaijan wipes out Armenian culture|url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/article01.asp?id=281|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060911033444/http://www.theartnewspaper.com/article01.asp?id=281|archive-date=11 September 2006|access-date=23 January 2013|date=25 May 2006|agency=The Art Newspaper}} Several appeals were filed by both Armenian and international organizations, condemning the Azerbaijani government and calling on it to desist from such activity. In 2006, Azerbaijan barred members of the European Parliament from investigating the claims, charging them with a "biased and hysterical approach" to the issue and stating that it would only accept a delegation if that delegation visited Armenian-occupied territory as well.Castle, Stephen. "[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/azerbaijan-flattened-sacred-armenian-site-480272.html Azerbaijan 'flattened' sacred Armenian site]." The Independent. 16 April 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2007. In the spring of 2006, a visiting journalist from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting reported that no visible traces of the Armenian cemetery remained.{{cite news | last = IWPR staff in Nakhchivan, Baku and Yerevan | title = Azerbaijan: Famous Medieval Cemetery Vanishes | publisher = Institute for War and Peace Reporting | date = 19 April 2006 | url = http://www.iwpr.net/index.php?p=crs&s=f&o=261191&apc_state=henpcrs261191}} In the same year, photographs taken from Iran showed that the cemetery site had been turned into a military firing range.Maghakyan, Simon. "[http://www.historytoday.com/MainArticle.aspx?m=32351&amid=30251142 Sacred Stones Silenced in Azerbaijan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324230357/http://www.historytoday.com/MainArticle.aspx?m=32351&amid=30251142 |date=24 March 2008 }}." History Today. Vol. 57, November 2007, pp. 4–5.

As a response to Azerbaijan barring on-site investigation by outside groups, on 8 December 2010, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) released an analysis of high-resolution satellite photographs of the Julfa cemetery site taken in 2003 and 2009. The AAAS concluded that the satellite imagery was consistent with the reports from observers on the ground, that "significant destruction and changes in the grade of the terrain" had occurred between 2003 and 2009, and that the cemetery area was "likely destroyed and later leveled by earth-moving equipment."{{cite web|title=High-Resolution Satellite Imagery and the Destruction of Cultural Artifacts in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan|url=http://shr.aaas.org/geotech/azerbaijan/azerbaijan.shtml|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|access-date=23 January 2013}}

In 2019, Azerbaijan's destruction of Armenian cultural heritage was described as "the worst cultural genocide of the 21st century" in Hyperallergic, exceeding the destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL. The devastation included 89 medieval churches, 5,840 intricate cross-stones, and 22,000 tombstones.{{cite news |last1=Siddiqui |first1=Yasmeen |title=A Regime Conceals Its Erasure of Indigenous Armenian Culture |url=https://hyperallergic.com/482353/a-regime-conceals-its-erasure-of-indigenous-armenian-culture/ |access-date=28 August 2020 |work=Hyperallergic |date=18 February 2019}}{{cite news |last1=Sawa |first1=Dale Berning |title=Monumental loss: Azerbaijan and 'the worst cultural genocide of the 21st century' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/mar/01/monumental-loss-azerbaijan-cultural-genocide-khachkars |access-date=28 August 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=1 March 2019}}

Azerbaijani forces shelled the historical 19th century Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.[https://time.com/6322574/cultural-genocide-armenia-nagorno-karabakh-essay/ What Cultural Genocide Looks Like for Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, Time, 2023] The cathedral was completed in 1887 and is the seat of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic Church.{{cite web |title=European Parliament "Strongly Condemns" Azerbaijan's Destruction of Armenian Heritage |date=29 March 2022 |url=https://hyperallergic.com/720511/european-parliament-strongly-condemns-azerbaijans-destruction-of-armenian-heritage/}}{{Cite web|url=https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/10/09/azerbaijan-targets-armenian-church-and-cultural-house-in-artsakh/?amp|title = Azerbaijan Targets Armenian Church and Cultural House in Artsakh (VIDEO)|date = 9 October 2020}}{{better source needed|date=December 2020}}

{{See also|Armenian POWs during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War}}

In 2004, the Azerbaijani lieutenant Ramil Safarov murdered Armenian lieutenant Gurgen Markaryan in his sleep at a Partnership for Peace NATO program. In 2006, Safarov was sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary with a minimum incarceration period of 30 years. After his request under the Strasbourg convention, he was extradited{{cite news|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/armenia_cuts_ties_with_hungary_in_soldier_dispute/1499725.html|title=Armenia Cuts Ties With Hungary in Soldier Dispute|date=31 August 2012|access-date=2 September 2012|agency=VoA}} on 31 August 2012 to Azerbaijan, where he was greeted as a hero by a huge crowd,{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19463968|title=Azeri killer Ramil Safarov: Concern over Armenian anger|date=3 September 2012|access-date=3 September 2012|agency=BBC News|quote=Ramil Safarov was given a hero's welcome on his return to Azerbaijan last week.}}{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/video/europe/2012/09/201291215548920251.html|title=Hero's welcome for Azerbaijan axe murderer|date=2 September 2012|access-date=2 September 2012|agency=Al Jazeera}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19440661|title=Armenia cuts ties with Hungary over Azerbaijan killer pardon|date=31 August 2012|work=BBC News|access-date=1 September 2012}} pardoned by the Azerbaijani president despite contrary assurances made to Hungary,{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/azerbaijani-military-officer-serving-life-for-murder-in-hungary-is-freed-when-sent-home/2012/08/31/8aae7450-f371-11e1-b74c-84ed55e0300b_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211061543/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/azerbaijani-military-officer-serving-life-for-murder-in-hungary-is-freed-when-sent-home/2012/08/31/8aae7450-f371-11e1-b74c-84ed55e0300b_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 December 2018|title=Azerbaijani military officer serving life for murder in Hungary is freed when sent home|date=31 August 2012|access-date=2 September 2012|agency=Washington Post}} promoted to the rank of major and given an apartment and over eight years of back pay.{{cite news|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/armenia-protest-azerbaijani-killer-pardon-to-osce-minsk-group/24694817.html|title=As Armenia Protests Killer's Pardon, Azerbaijan Promotes Him|date=31 August 2012|access-date=2 September 2012|agency=Radio Free Europe}} Armenia cut all diplomatic ties with Hungary after this incident. On 19 September 2013, President Aliyev stated that "Azerbaijan has returned Ramil Safarov—its officer to homeland, given him freedom and restored the justice."{{Cite news | url = https://apa.az/en/xeber/domestic-news/xeber_azerbaijani_president_____there_will_be_ti_-199733 | title = President Ilham Aliyev's speech}}

In 2007, the leader of Azerbaijani national chess team, Teimour Radjabov, gave to a question on how he felt about playing against the Armenian team and he responded "the enemy is the enemy. We all have feelings of hate towards them."{{cite news|url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4245|title=Teimur Radjabov: The enemy is the enemy – we all hate Armenians|access-date=19 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622193039/http://en.chessbase.com/post/teimur-radjabov-we-believe-common-sense-will-prevail|archive-date=22 June 2014|agency=Chessbase News}}

On 4 April, during the 2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, it was reported that Azerbaijani forces decapitated an Armenian soldier of Yezidi origin, Karam Sloyan, with videos and pictures of his severed head posted on social networks.{{cite web|url=http://ezidipress.com/en/karabakh-conflict-azerbaijani-soldiers-behead-ezidi-soldier-from-armenia/|title=Karabakh conflict: Azerbaijani soldiers behead Ezidi from Armenia – EzidiPress English|date=4 April 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/karabakh/17555/|title=Iraqi Yezidis express solidarity with Armenians|work=mediamax.am}}[http://ekurd.net/azerbaijani-behead-yazidi-kurd-2016-04-04 Azerbaijani soldiers behead Armenian Yazidi Kurd: Karabakh conflict, 4 April 2016 by Editorial Staff], Ekurd.net

During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, multiple videos emerged online showing beheadings, torture and mutilations of the Armenian POWs by Azerbaijani forces. A video showed two captured Armenians being executed by Azerbaijani soldiers; Artsakh authorities identified one as a civilian.{{cite web|title=Azeri troops shoot Armenian war prisoners dead|url=https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/286591/|access-date=2020-10-15|publisher=Panarmenian}} Bellingcat and the BBC investigated the videos and confirmed that the videos were from Hadrut and were filmed some time between 9–15 October 2020.{{cite web|title=An Execution in Hadrut|url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/rest-of-world/2020/10/15/an-execution-in-hadrut-karabakh/|access-date=2020-10-16|website=Bellingcat|date=15 October 2020}}{{cite news|title=Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: 'Execution' video prompts war crime probe|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54645254|work=BBC News|date=24 October 2020}} Another video showing two Azerbaijani soldiers beheading an elderly Armenian as he is begging for his life in Azerbaijani language by repeatedly says "For the sake of Allah". After the Armenian was decapitated, the victim's head was placed on the nearby carcass of a pig. The men then addressed the dead body in Azerbaijani, saying, "you have no honour, this is how we take revenge for the blood of our martyrs," and, "this is how we get revenge - by cutting heads."{{Cite web|date=2020-12-10|title=Armenia/Azerbaijan: Decapitation and war crimes in gruesome videos must be urgently investigated|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/12/armenia-azerbaijan-decapitation-and-war-crimes-in-gruesome-videos-must-be-urgently-investigated/|access-date=2022-02-10|website=Amnesty International|language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/azerbaijani-soldier-horrifically-executes-elderly-armenian-man-as-he-pleads-for-his-life/|title=Azerbaijani soldier horrifically executes elderly Armenian man as he pleads for his life|work=Al-Masdar News|date=8 December 2020|access-date=9 December 2020|archive-date=19 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219031624/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/azerbaijani-soldier-horrifically-executes-elderly-armenian-man-as-he-pleads-for-his-life/|url-status=dead}} Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported about the physical abuse and humiliation of Armenian POWs by their Azerbaijani captors, adding that most of the captors did not fear being held accountable, as their faces were visible in the videos.{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/12/02/azerbaijan-armenian-prisoners-war-badly-mistreated|title=Azerbaijan: Armenian Prisoners of War Badly Mistreated|work=Human Rights Watch|date=2 December 2020|access-date=2 December 2020}} HRW spoke with the families of some of the POWs in the videos, who provided photographs and other documents establishing their identity, and confirmed that these relatives were serving either in the Artsakh Defence Army or the Armenian armed forces.

{{main|List of people declared personae non gratae in Azerbaijan}}

Unless a visa or an official warrant is issued by Azerbaijani authorities, the government of Azerbaijan condemns any visit by foreign citizens to the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh (the de facto Republic of Artsakh), its surrounding territories and the Azerbaijani enclaves of Karki, Yukhari Askipara, Barxudarlı and Sofulu which are de jure part of Azerbaijan but are under Armenian occupation. Azerbaijan considers entering these territories through Armenia (as it is usually the case) a violation of its visa and migration policy. Foreign citizens who enter these territories will be permanently banned from entering Azerbaijan and will be included on the list of people who are personae non gratae by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.{{cite web|title=Visa section at the Embassy|url=http://azembassy.ro/consular-issues-2/consular-issues/|publisher=Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Romania|access-date=7 June 2013}}{{Relevance inline|discuss=How is the first paragraph relevant to the anti-Armenian sentiment?|date=February 2022}}

In addition to those declared personae non gratae, several other visitors have been barred from entering the country due to their ethnic Armenian identity. Diana Markosian, a journalist of American and Russian citizenship, who is also an ethnic Armenian, was prevented from entering Azerbaijan due to her ethnicity in 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.cpj.org/2011/07/citing-ethnicity-azerbaijan-bars-photojournalist.php |title=Citing ethnicity, Azerbaijan bars photojournalist|date=7 July 2011 |publisher=Committee to Protect Journalists |access-date=23 January 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://asbarez.com/96695/bloomberg-photojournalist-deported-from-baku/ |title=Bloomberg Photojournalist Deported from Baku |author= |date=28 June 2011 |publisher=Asbarez.com |access-date=23 January 2013}} Zafer Zoyan, an ethnic Turkish professional arm-wrestler, was barred from entering Azerbaijan because his last name resembled that of an Armenian.{{cite news|title=Soyadı 'Ermeni' Diye Azerbaycan'a Sokulmadı|url=http://www.sondakika.com/haber/haber-soyadi-ermeni-diye-azerbaycan-a-sokulmadi-6089254/|agency=SonDakika|date=29 May 2014|language=tr}}{{cite news|title=Soyadı Ermeni diye Azerbaycan'a sokulmadı!|url=http://haber.stargazete.com/dunya/soyadi-ermeni-diye-azerbaycana-sokulmadi/haber-889121|agency=Star Gazete|date=29 May 2014|language=tr}}{{cite news|title=Soyadı 'Ermeni' Diye Azerbaycan'a Sokulmadı|url=http://www.haberler.com/soyadi-ermeni-diye-azerbaycan-a-sokulmadi-6089254-haberi/|agency=Haberler|publisher=Haberler|date=29 May 2014|language=tr}}

In May 2016, an eight-year-old boy with an Armenian last name was refused entry into Azerbaijan. Luka Vardanyan, a Russian citizen, was on a school trip to Azerbaijan from Russia. While at the Heydar Aliyev airport, the boy was detained even though his classmates were allowed past customs. After being detained for several hours, the mother, who accompanied him during the trip, decided to leave Azerbaijan immediately.{{cite news |title=МИД РФ: Баку должен прекратить дискриминацию россиян с армянскими фамилиями|url=https://regnum.ru/news/economy/2296993.html |agency=Regnum|date=5 July 2017}} In 2021, Nobel Arustamyan, a Russian journalist and football commentator of Armenian descent, was denied accreditation for UEFA Euro 2020 at the request of Azerbaijan.{{cite web|title=Нобель Арустамян не аккредитован на Евро-2020. Его блокировал оргкомитет в Азербайджане|url=https://www.championat.com/football/news-4371025-nobel-arustamyan-ne-akkreditovan-na-evro-2020-ego-blokiroval-orgkomitet-v-azerbajdzhane.html|work=Championat.com|date=June 8, 2021|access-date=June 8, 2021}}

File:Azermarka Azerbaijan 2020 stamp.jpg

On 30 December 2020 Azermarka, which works under the Ministry of Transport, Communication and High Technologies of Azerbaijan, issued "Azerbaijan 2020" postage stamps, which according to the Ministry, were dedicated to the significant events of 2020: the COVID-19 pandemic and the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.{{Cite web |title=Postage stamps dedicated to Azerbaijani heroes issued |url=https://aztv.az/en/news/11015/postage-stamps-dedicated-to-azerbaijani-heroes-issued |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=aztv.az}} Postage stamps were provided with an accompanying illustration showing a disinfection specialist standing over an Azerbaijan map and fumigating the area of Nagorno-Karabakh, seemingly depicting ethnic Armenians in the area were a virus in need of "eradicating". This sparked outrage on social media and accusations of anti-Armenian sentiment.{{Cite web |last=de la Torre |first=Lucía |title=Azerbaijani postal stamps accused of spreading anti-Armenian propaganda |url=https://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/12442/azerbaijan-stamps-nagorno-karabakh-war-anti-armenian-propaganda |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=The Calvert Journal}}

The 3rd president of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, in his speech pronounced on 13 October 1999, in Nakhichevan said: "In times of trouble, the people of Azerbaijan saw the help of Turkey and the Turkish people and is grateful for that. Particularly, in 1918-1919, during the struggle for independence under the leadership of the great Atatürk, who cleansed his land of Armenians and other enemies, the Turkish people and Turkey offered their help to Azerbaijan, to Nakhchivan."{{Cite news | url = http://library.aliyev-heritage.org/ru/9530689.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100714055440/http://library.aliyev-heritage.org/ru/9530689.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2010-07-14 | title = Heydar Aliyev Speech}}

Viktor Krivopuskov, who previously served as an officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR and a member of a peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh gives the following assessment of Azerbaijan's current state policy:

"The criminals are promoted to the rank of heroes, monuments are erected on their burial places, which comes to prove that the government of Azerbaijan actually continues the policy of genocide which was initiated at the end of the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th centuries."[http://www.regnum.ru/news/1131088.html Виктор Кривопусков: Преступники в Азербайджане возносятся в ранг национальных героев] "Преступники возводятся в ранг героев, там где они захоронены, возводятся монументы и памятники, что свидетельствует о том, что азербайджанское государство продолжает по сути дела политику геноцида, заложенную в конце 19 – начале 20 веков."

{{multiple image

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| image1 = İlham Əliyev Bakıda Hərbi Qənimətlər Parkının açılışında (23).jpg

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| footer = Helmets of deceased Armenian troops and wax mannequins of captured Armenian soldiers of 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war showcased at Baku military park. President Ilham Aliyev shown in the first image during a visit to the park.

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Following the 2020 war, the Military Trophy Park was opened in Baku, showcasing the helmets of dead Armenian soldiers, as well as wax mannequins of them. Armenia strongly condemned it accusing Baku for "dishonoring the memory of victims of the war, missing persons and prisoners of war and violating the rights and dignity of their families".{{cite web|title=Fury in Armenia as Azerbaijan displays war trophies|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/13/fury-in-armenia-as-azerbaijan-displays-war-trophies|work=Al Jazeera|date=13 April 2021|access-date=15 April 2021}} The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, the country's ombudsman, called it a "clear manifestation of fascism", saying that it is a "proof of Azerbaijani genocidal policy and state supported Armenophobia".{{cite web|title=Baku's newly-opened "park" a proof of state supported Armenophobia – Ombudsman|url=https://en.armradio.am/2021/04/13/bakus-newly-opened-park-a-proof-of-state-supported-armenophobia-ombudsman/#:~:text=The%20so-called%20"Park",Baku%20on%20April%2012%2C%202021.|work=Armenian Public Radio|date=13 April 2021|access-date=15 April 2021}} Furthermore, in a resolution, the European Parliament said that the park may be perceived as a glorification of violence (by Azerbaijan) and risks inciting further hostile sentiment, hate speech or even inhumane treatment of remaining POWs and other Armenian captive civilians kept by Azerbaijan in violation of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, thereby perpetuating the atmosphere of hatred and contradicting any official statements on reconciliation. The EU Parliament also added that they deplore the opening of the military park and urged its immediate closure, saying it would deepen the long-lasting hostilities and further decrease trust between the nations.{{Cite news | url = https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RC-9-2021-0277_EN.html | title = EU Parliament Resolution on the 19th May 2021}}

In response to a March 2023 resolution released by the EU pariliament which condemned the large-scale military aggression by Azerbaijan in September,{{Cite web |date=2023-04-10 |title=EU's hopes of using Azerbaijan as a gas station at risk of exploding |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-showdown-former-soviet-union-oil-azerbaijan-armenia-conflict-south-caucasus/ |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Texts adopted - EU-Azerbaijan relations - Wednesday, 15 March 2023 |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0082_EN.html |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |language=en}} Azerbaijan's parliament accused MEPs of being influenced by “Armenia and the Armenian diaspora, long since a cancerous tumor of Europe.”

File:Երեւան.JPG —"was a gift to the Armenians in 1918. This was a great mistake. The Iravan khanate was Azerbaijani land, the Armenians were guests here."{{sfn|USHoRCoFA|2008|p=49}}]]

On 28 February 2012, during his closing speech at the widely reported conference{{cite news|last=Adams|first=William Lee|date=11 March 2012|title=How Armenia and Azerbaijan Wage War Through Eurovision|agency=Time|url=https://world.time.com/2012/03/11/how-armenia-and-azerbaijan-wage-war-through-eurovision/|access-date=19 January 2013}}{{cite news|date=7 March 2012|title=Armenia pulls out of Azerbaijan-hosted Eurovision show|agency=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17292360|access-date=19 January 2013}}{{cite news|last=Marshall|first=Sung In|date=10 April 2012|title=Of Guns and Glamour, Snipers and Sequins: Eurovision 2012 proves to be more than just song and dance|agency=Center for Strategic and International Studies|url=http://csis.org/blog/guns-and-glamour-snipers-and-sequins-eurovision-2012-proves-be-more-just-song-and-dance|url-status=dead|access-date=19 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904121700/http://csis.org/blog/guns-and-glamour-snipers-and-sequins-eurovision-2012-proves-be-more-just-song-and-dance|archive-date=4 September 2012}} on the results of the third year of the state program on the socioeconomic development of districts for 2009–2013, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated:

{{cquote|"...there are forces that don't like us, our detractors. They can be divided into several groups. First, our main enemies are Armenians of the world and the hypocritical and corrupt politicians under their control."{{cite web|title=Closing Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the conference on the results of the third year into the "State Program on the socioeconomic development of districts for 2009–2013"|url=http://en.president.az/articles/4423|publisher=Official website of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan|access-date=8 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622193215/http://en.president.az/articles/4423|archive-date=22 June 2014 |date=28 February 2012}} }}

In November 2012, Aliyev launched a twitter rant where he made anti-Armenian and irredentist statements:{{Cite news |date=2012-11-20 |title=Azeri president says Armenia is a country "of no value" |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-azerbaijan-armenia-idUSBRE8AJ1DC20121120 |access-date=2022-10-08}}{{Cite news |last=Phelan |first=Jessica |date=November 20, 2012 |title=Azerbaijan's president launches Twitter rant against Armenia |work=TheWorld |url=https://theworld.org/stories/2012-11-20/azerbaijans-president-launches-twitter-rant-against-armenia}}

{{cquote|Our main enemy is the Armenian lobby ... Armenia as a country is of no value. It is actually a colony, an outpost run from abroad, a territory artificially created on ancient Azerbaijani lands.

}}

In April 2023, amid Azerbaijan's ongoing blockade of the Republic of Artsakh, President Aliyev said the following:{{Cite web |last=ahmedbeyli |first=samira |date=2023-04-19 |title=Ilham Aliyev: "Either they will live under the flag of Azerbaijan, or they will leave" |url=https://jam-news.net/aliyevs-interview-with-state-television/ |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=English Jamnews |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by Azerbaijan Television in city of Salyan » Official web-site of President of Azerbaijan Republic |url=https://president.az/en/articles/view/59451 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512204427/https://president.az/en/articles/view/59451 |archive-date=2023-05-12 |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=president.az |language=en |quote=I am sure most of the Armenian population currently living in Karabakh is ready to accept Azerbaijani citizenship. Simply put, these leeches, these predatory animals, won’t let them do that. They won't let these people live comfortably, having kept them as hostages for 30 years.}}

{{cquote|"I am sure that the majority of the Armenian population living in Karabakh today is ready to accept Azerbaijani citizenship. It’s just that these leeches, these wild animals, the separatists [referring to the de facto Republic of Artsakh representatives] don’t allow it.

}}

The Azerbaijani government officially denies the applicability of the word "genocide" to the 1915 Armenian genocide.{{cite news|script-title=ru:Азербайджан отрицает Геноцид армян со ссылкой на Генпрокуратуру Великобритании|url=http://www.xn--c1adwdmv.xn--p1ai/news/turkey/1502064.html|access-date=9 February 2013|date=22 February 2012|agency=Regnum|language=ru|archive-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216190803/http://www.xn--c1adwdmv.xn--p1ai/news/turkey/1502064.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|script-title=ru:Геноцид армян: Турцией и Азербайджаном не признан|url=http://archive.svoboda.org/programs/RT/2001/RT.021701.asp|access-date=9 February 2013|agency=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|quote=Азербайджан, как и Турция, геноцид армян отрицает.|language=ru}} The then-President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev stated "In history there was never such a thing as the ‘Armenian genocide,’ and even if there had been, it would be wrong to raise the matter after 85 years."{{Cite news | title = Black Garden p.79}} His son Ilham tweeted that Turkey and Azerbaijan are working to "dispel the myth of the "Armenian genocide" in the world."{{Cite news | url = https://twitter.com/presidentaz/status/507430784710361088?lang=en | title = President Aliyev's denial of the Armenian genocide}}

{{Expand section|More examples please|date=February 2022}}

Azerbaijan's largest airline, state-owned AZAL, had an Armenian woman named Mary Sargsyan, who worked for the Netherlands company Kales Airline Services and sold air tickets to AZAL, fired just because she was Armenian. On 8 December 2008, the management of AZAL appealed to the management of the Kales company with a request that the tickets should not be sold by persons of Armenian nationality. In its appeal, AZAL noted that otherwise cooperation with Kales would be terminated and an agreement would be concluded with another company.{{Cite news | url = https://news.day.az/society/142818.html# | title = An Armenian woman who sold air tickets to AZAL was dismissed from work in Brussels}}

In 2011, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly said:

{{Cquote|Baku has turned Armenophobia into state propaganda, at a level that is far beyond dangerous. It is not only our assessment; the alarm has also been sounded by international structures specializing in combating racism and intolerance. Even more dangerously, Armenophobic ideas are spread among the young Azerbaijani generation, imperiling the future of peaceful coexistence.{{cite news|title=Full Transcript of Sarkisian Speech at UN General Assembly|url=http://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/09/25/full-transcript-of-sarkisian-speech-at-un-general-assembly/|access-date=22 January 2013|date=25 September 2011|agency=The Armenian Weekly}}}}

In May 2011, Shavarsh Kocharyan, the Armenian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, suggested a connection between the high level of anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan and the low level of democracy in that country, stating that: "Azerbaijan's leadership could find no factor to unite his people around the hereditary regime except the simple Armenophobia."{{cite news|title=The Interview of the Armenian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan to Panorama.am|url=http://www.mfa.am/en/interviews/item/2011/05/12/pano/|access-date=22 January 2013|date=12 May 2011|agency=Ministry of Foreign Affairs|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025846/http://www.mfa.am/en/interviews/item/2011/05/12/pano/|url-status=dead}}

On 7 October 2008, the Armenian Foreign Affairs Ministry statement for the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights claimed that "anti-Armenian propaganda is becoming more and more the essential part of Azerbaijan's official policy."{{cite web|author=Karine Soujian (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia)|title=Anti – Armenian propaganda and hate dissemination carried out by Azerbaijan as a serious obstacle to the negotiation process|url=http://www.osce.org/odihr/34195|publisher=Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights|pages=3–4|access-date=19 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040706/http://www.osce.org/odihr/34195|archive-date=4 March 2016|date=7 October 2008}} [https://archive.org/details/AntiArmenianPropagandaAndHateDisseminationCarriedOutByAzerbaijan Alt URL] The statement blamed the Azerbaijani government for "developing and implementing large-scale propaganda campaign, disseminating racial hatred and prejudice against Armenians. Such behaviour of the Azerbaijani authorities creates a serious threat to regional peace and stability" and compared Azerbaijan with Nazi Germany stating "one cannot but draw parallels with the largely similar anti-Jewish hysteria in the Third Reich in the 1930s and early 1940s, where all the above-mentioned elements of explicit racial hatred were also evident."

The Armenian side also claimed that the Azerbaijani government "actively uses academic circles" for "distortion and re-writing of historic facts." It also accused Azerbaijan for "vandalism against Armenian cultural monuments and cemeteries in the lands historically inhabited by Armenians, as well as against Armenian Genocide memorials throughout the world" and called the destruction of the Armenian Cemetery in Julfa "the most horrific case."

Azerbaijan denies it is in any way propagating anti-Armenian sentiments. President Ilham Aliyev, when confronted with the allegations, started talking about Armenia's crimes during the Nagorno-Karabakh war instead.{{cite news|date=22 June 2011|title=Ilham Aliyev and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso gave joint press conference|agency=Official website of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan|url=http://en.president.az/articles/2502|access-date=22 January 2013}} The delegation of Azerbaijan to the OSCE Review Conference stated that "Armenia should not overlook that the most telling refutation of its mendacious allegations of Azerbaijan in anti-Armenian propaganda and hate dissemination is undoubtedly the fact that, unlike Armenia, which has purged its territory of all Azerbaijanis and other non-Armenians and became a uniquely mono-ethnic State. Azerbaijan has [a] worldwide recognized record of tolerance and peaceful coexistence of various ethnic and religious groups. This tradition is routed in the country's geographic location at the crossroads between East and West, which created opportunities for the Azerbaijani people to benefit from cultural and religious values of different cultures and religions."{{cite web|title=Statement by the Delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan exercising its right of reply|url=http://www.osce.org/home/73792|publisher=OSCE|access-date=22 January 2013|date=28 November 2010}}

{{Flag|European Union}} – On 10 March 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh, condemning Azerbaijan's continued policy of erasing and denying the Armenian cultural heritage in and around Nagorno-Karabakh:{{Cite web |date=2022-03-10 |title=EU Parliament condemns destruction of Armenian heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh |url=https://oc-media.org/eu-parliament-condemns-destruction-of-armenian-heritage-in-nagorno-karabakh/ |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=OC Media |language=en-US}}

"The European Parliament … strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s continued policy of erasing and denying the Armenian cultural heritage in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, in violation of international law and the recent decision of the ICJ...;Acknowledges that the erasure of the Armenian cultural heritage is part of a wider pattern of a systematic, state-level policy of Armenophobia, historical revisionism and hatred towards Armenians promoted by the Azerbaijani authorities, including dehumanisation, the glorification of violence and territorial claims against the Republic of Armenia...;deplores the fact that the conflicts in the Nagorno-Karabakh region have led to the destruction, pillaging and looting of common cultural heritage, which has fuelled further distrust and animosities.{{Cite web |title=Texts adopted - Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh - Thursday, 10 March 2022 |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2022-0080_EN.html |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |language=en}}

“Political leaders, educational institutions and media have continued using hate speech against Armenians; an entire generation of Azerbaijanis has now grown up listening to this hateful rhetoric. Human rights activists working inter alia towards reconciliation with Armenia have been sentenced to heavy prison terms on controversial accusations”{{Cite web |title=ECRI - Country monitoring in Azerbaijan - European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) - publi.coe.int |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/european-commission-against-racism-and-intolerance/azerbaijan |access-date=2023-03-12 |website=European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) |language=en-GB}}

• Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
• Anti-Armenian sentiment
• Armenia–Azerbaijan relations
• Armenia–Azerbaijan border
• Armenians in Azerbaijan
• Azerbaijanis in Armenia
• Anti-Armenian sentiment in Turkey
• Armenia–Azerbaijan relations in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Anti-Azerbaijani sentiment in Armenia
• Armenian cemetery in Julfa
• Death of Anush Apetyan
• Murder of Gurgen Margaryan
• List of conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan
• Western Azerbaijan (political concept)
• Anti-Iranian sentiment in Azerbaijan

; Notes

{{notelist}}

; References

{{reflist}}

• A. Adibekyan, A. Elibegova. "[https://www.academia.edu/19420142/ARMENOPHOBIA_IN_AZERBAIJAN Armenophobia in Azerbaijan]" (2018): 261 p.
• Ebrahimi, Shahrooz, and Mostafa Kheiri. "Analysis of Russian Interests in the Caucasus Region (Case Study: Karabakh Crisis)." Central Eurasia Studies 11.2 (2018): 265–282. [https://journal.ut.ac.ir/article_70592_499d08e42d72922afb5b6b099f8ea64e.pdf online]
• Erdeniz, Gizem Ayşe. "Nagorno Karabakh Crisis and the BSEC’s Security Problems." (2019). [http://www.academia.edu/download/61880533/Nagorno_Karabakh_Conflict_and_BSECs_Security_Problems20200124-32392-1tgx258.pdf online]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
• Khodayari, Javad, Morteza Ebrahemi, and Mohammadreza Moolayi. "Social–Political Context Of Nation–State Building in Azerbaijan Republic After the Independence With Emphasis On Nagorno Karabakh Crisis." PhD diss., University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, 2018. [https://repository.uma.ac.ir/id/eprint/7131/1/%D9%BE%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87%20%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AE%D8%AF%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C.pdf online]
• Laycock, Jo, "Nagorno-Karabakh’s Myth of Ancient Hatreds." History Today (Oct 2020) [https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies/nagorno-karabakhs-myth-ancient-hatreds?mc_cid=f34b1f50df&mc_eid=0f600b0634 online]
• Özkan, Behlül. "Who Gains from the ‘No War No Peace’ Situation? A Critical Analysis of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict." Geopolitics 13#3 (2008): 572–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650040802203919
• Paul, Amanda, and Dennis Sammut. "Nagorno-Karabakh and the arc of crises on Europe's borders. EPC Policy Brief, 3 February 2016." (2016). [http://aei.pitt.edu/71652/1/pub_6287_nagorno-karabakh_and_the_arc_of_crises_on_europe_s_borders.pdf online]
• Valigholizadeh, Ali, and Mahdi Karimi. "Geographical explanation of the factors disputed in the Karabakh geopolitical crisis." Journal of Eurasian studies 7.2 (2016): 172–180. [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?output=instlink&q=info:2Td727CTjhEJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=1,27&as_ylo=2016&scillfp=16169391449393907177&oi=lle online]
• {{cite book|last=Waal|first=Thomas de|title=Black garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through peace and war|year=2004|publisher=New York University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780814719459|page=42}}
• {{cite book|title=The Caucasus: Frozen Conflicts and Closed Borders: Hearing Before The Committee On Foreign Affairs House Of Representatives One Hundred Tenth Congress Second Session |year=2008 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |url=http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/110/43066.pdf |access-date=12 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203152538/http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/110/43066.pdf |archive-date=3 February 2010 |ref={{harvid|USHoRCoFA|2008}} |url-status=dead }}

{{Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict}}

Category:Armenians in Azerbaijan

Category:Armenia–Azerbaijan relations

Category:Nagorno-Karabakh conflict