The residents of Khojaly who left the settlement through the humanitarian corridor opened by the Self-Defense Forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic enjoyed unhindered passage of over 10 kilometers and reached the Azerbaijani-controlled city of Agdam. Later, in the immediate vicinity of the Azerbaijani lines, bodies of the dead residents of the settlement were found. The exact number of the killed remains unknown as the official Baku keeps publishing self-contradictory figures. The Parliamentary Commission of Azerbaijan assigned to investigate the tragic demise of the civilians near Aghdam was disbanded on Heydar Aliyev’s orders, and all evidence was classified.
More details about the Aghdam events can be found on www.Xосаli.net or by watching the documentary Between Hunger and Fire: Power at the expense of lives.486
However, the Azerbaijani side would not stop there. After counting some 20 Azerbaijani genocides at the hands of Armenians in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the Azerbaijani propaganda decided to expand the geography of their “genocides”.
In autumn 2012, during the construction of a school in the Iranian city of Urmia an unidentified burial site was discovered.487 “The mass grave discovered during the excavations in the city of Urmia in Iranian province of Western Azerbaijan488 may not be destroyed. It must be preserved and protected as a proof of genocide against Azerbaijanis,” stated Professor Govhar Bakhshaliyeva, Member of the Parliament and director of the Institute of Oriental Studies after Z. Bunyadov of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. According to her, “Iran’s wish to wipe out the grave is an indication of a policy and unjust position in respect of the Azerbaijani people from some chauvinists and paniranists to a single end of aiding Armenians”.489
Bakhshaliyeva asserted that “on the territory of today’s province of Western Azerbaijan, presently a part of Iran, Armenian and Assyrian armed bands perpetrated a monstrous genocide against Azerbaijanis in 1918”. Bakhshaliyeva even announced that an international conference on “the Azerbaijani genocide in Iran” would be held in the following year in Baku.490
Her colleague, Musa Guliyev, the deputy chairman of the Social Policy Committee of the Azerbaijani parliament, went even further and declared that “it is possible that together with Azerbaijanis, Persians, Kurds and representatives of other nations perished because actually they were killed because of their devotion to Islam”.491
The position of the official Baku on the subject was voiced by Ali Ahmedov, the executive secretary of the ruling party Yeni Azerbaijan: “I condemn the destruction of the burial site in Iran which testified to genocide against Azerbaijanis,” stated Ahmedov.492
The reaction from the Iranian side came quick and harsh. “By distorting the history and exploiting ethnic problems, Azerbaijan seeks its own benefit,” stated the Organization for Cultural Heritage of the Iranian province of Western Atrpatakan (Western Azerbaijan). The Organization also noted that groundless claims made by Musa Guliyev, the deputy chairman of the social policy committee of the Azerbaijani parliament were false as research had revealed that the burial site discovered during the renovation works of the historical school in Urmia relates to the events of the World War I when the Ottoman Empire, Russia and England launched an assault to seize north-western regions of Iran leading to a massacre of about 9 million Iranians”.493
This story was rounded off by Mohsen Pak Ayeen, the Iranian ambassador in Azerbaijan, who stated in his interview to SalamNews agency that a law was passed in Iran prescribing that construction works could be authorized at the burial sites dating over 100 years. He confirmed the information that human remains had been found during the construction of a school in Urmia. “Some believe that these are remains of Muslims killed by Armenians. However, there is no evidence to this effect,” stated the Iranian ambassador.494
16. Women’s role in shaping armenophobia
Due to social and cultural peculiarities, women as mothers, educators and teachers play the main role in the process of educating generations.
In the Azerbaijani society, women have historically been the repositories of traditions who continue to cultivate values in daily and family life (but then, such picture is characteristic of all Oriental countries). The educational level, spiritual and moral potential of women as well as their educational effort determine in many respects what the future community members will look like. The shaping of the person in line with the moral code, culture, world view and code of conduct is influenced in the first place by women.
The role of the mother holds a special place in this context. The relationships between the mother and her child have a fundamental significance for human interaction. Understanding the notions of security, freedom and self-appraisal depends on how the relationship between the mother or the person acting in her lieu evolved or will evolve with their children. It is the female and maternal figure that lays the groundwork for the first attitudes, value benchmarks, preservation of traditions and their development.
In the modern world, with a wider range of duties the role of a woman extended beyond the family to cover virtually all aspects of the child’s life. As a matter of fact, children, irrespective of their sex, obtain the lion’s share of information, attitudes, stereotypes, prejudices and images through women: mothers, kindergarteners and teachers. The information is communicated to children through books read out to them, fairy tales narrated to them and songs sung to them.
In this context, the role of the woman in the society and in intersocial links can be defined as the forefront that allows envisaging the future prospects of this society as well as ideological and moral makeup of its future generations.
Akif Melikov, director of Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, Meritorious Worker of Arts: I admire the beauty and wisdom of Azerbaijani women. The Azerbaijani women are simultaneously caring mothers, devoted wives, obedient daughters as well as loved and loving sisters. The outer beauty of the Azerbaijani women is in full harmony with their internal beauty.495
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict made its adjustments in the world view and the set of values of the Azerbaijani society. The fervent zealotry and yearning to partake “in the struggle against Armenians” soared among women. More importantly, these feelings are directed against an ethnic group rather than citizens of Armenia or those who are personally responsible for purported or real human suffering.
I’d rather go to war than wait for another 20 years,” said Shafag Ismailova (34), a sniper courses trainee and refugee. “War is bad for all. But sometimes the situation demands it”.496
Inasmuch as the female role was historically confined to home and family, with women shielded from having to resolve vital issues and rarely facing the cruelty of the outside world, it is generally assumed that the woman is the embodiment of the mercy and compassion. However, at the turn of the 20th century, the stereotypes prevalent in Azerbaijan remain the same, while the philosophy of the modern Azerbaijani woman has changed.