Heritage leader says no Armenian remains in current-day Baku

PanARMENIAN.Net - No Armenian remains in current-day Baku, despite Azerbaijani officials’ reference to the existence of several thousand ethnic Armenians, Heritage party leader said.

“In a critical but good-faith search for peace, security, and reconciliation in Asia, I came to this beautiful city of Baku, where hundreds of thousands of Armenians once lived before they were forcibly dispossessed and expelled in January 1990 and whose erstwhile presence has been reduced to one remnant church which has been shut down and transformed to foreign purpose. Virtually none remains today, and although our Azerbaijani colleagues make reference to the existence of several thousand ethnic Armenians, I have seen no evidence of that claim. I have asked the authorities here to arrange for me a meeting with even one Armenian who dares to identify himself as such in current-day Baku,” Raffi Hovannisian noted in his speech at the 7th General Assembly of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP).

“I came here with a different, dialogue-driven spirit and intent, but have immediately faced a stark but expected reality of partisanship, selective propaganda, repetitive rhetoric, unparalleled xenophobia, and an untruthful presentation of parochial positions not only in society and political circles but also at the presidential level,” Heritage leader said.