We Are Waiting to Return - IDP from Kalbajar

Baku / 23.11.20 / Turan: The deadline for the withdrawal of civilians and armed forces from the Kalbajar region of Azerbaijan, which was occupied by Armenia, will end on November 25. This territory of Azerbaijan was occupied by Armenia on April 3, 1993. If the invaders do not disrupt the timetable established by the Trilateral Statement, then November 25, 2020 will remain in the history of Azerbaijanis as the Day of Liberation of Kalbajar.

Leaving their homes, Armenians cut down a valuable centuries-old forest, kill domestic animals, burn down residential and non-residential houses of Azerbaijanis, and film what is happening on video cameras. International organizations calling on Azerbaijan to protect the monuments of history and religion, and respectfully treat the captives in the liberated territories, do not say a word about the inadmissibility of the destruction of houses and forests by Armenians.

Answering the question about the reason for this behavior, the Armenians explain: so that the Turks do not get it (Armenians call Azerbaijanis Turks). One of the arsonists said that he built his house from scratch. However, Gambar Bagyrov, a former deputy representative of the executive power of the Vank village of the Kelbajar region, who now lives in the city of Khirdalan (20 km from Baku), said in an interview with Turan that his fellow villagers and he recognized in the videos their houses left by them 27 years ago. Armenians burn houses built by Azerbaijanis, into which the invaders illegally moved.

72-year-old Gambar Bagyrov until 2015 was the deputy representative of the EP of the occupied region in exile, and when he lived in Kalbajar, he headed the local school. He has three grown children and six grandchildren. Each of them dreams of returning to Kalbajar - not only the older generation who saw Garabagh, but also their grandchildren. “Let them say when the roads are opened and the mines are cleared - I will go there barefoot,” Bagyrov said.

- The Kalbajar villages of Vank, Shorbulag, Baglypaya, the territory of the Mercury Plant - in these territories, the Armenians burned down houses built by me and our neighbors and relatives. Fazila Bagyrova, Elman Manashov, Yagub Manashov, Mushvig Babashov, Yusuf Babashov (he was the caretaker of the Albanian temple) are our neighbors; some have died, leaving their children as heirs. The Armenians burned down the houses of these people, and they lie, saying that they built houses in Kalbajar. Lebanese and Syrian Armenians were sent from Yerevan to our lands and settled in the houses of Azerbaijanis. They are now destroying the area.

- What does the leadership of the Kalbajar region say about this?

- We talked with our leaders, everyone saw this video, they know and they identified their houses. We are told that it is impossible to prevent the Armenians. Let them burn it. The native state will build new houses for us. The main thing is that the Armenians leave there, we are waiting for December 1, when the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces and people from the Azerbaijani regions is completed. After that, we will implement the decisions of the country's leadership. When the roads are declared open, we will leave immediately.

- Aren't you sorry to leave your apartment in Khirdalan?

- I will hand it over to the state with a light heart. My family has been waiting for this day for 27 years. We'll all leave, no one will stay here. There is nothing that can detain us in Khirdalan. I want to return to my mountains, go to Lake Ganly - there is no other lake more beautiful than ours in the world. I will return to where my youth passed, where we were happy. We will raise livestock, we will live somehow. One of my daughter married a refugee from Aghdam - they are waiting for permission to return to Aghdam. My son was six years old when we fled, but he is also waiting impatiently for our return to Kalbajar.

- President I. Aliyev spoke several times about the possibility of joint and peaceful residence of Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Garabagh. Are you ready to live next door to the Armenians?

- The Armenians and we have always lived peacefully, we were good neighbors. And now we will live if they are ready to forget hostility and return to good-neighborly relations. We do not mind if they receive secondary education in Armenian. But the Armenians in Garabagh cannot be granted a special status. In general, they are not entitled to any status. Let them live on the same rights that all residents of Azerbaijan have. They receive passports of our state, and if they don't want to, then they can go to Armenia, answered the Kalbajar IDP.

The press service representative of the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan, prosecutor Aynura Efendiyeva, told Turan that the department was collecting and studying numerous evidence of the destruction of houses and forests in the Kalbajar region. It is known that in addition to residential buildings, the Armenians burned the school building there. After November 25, when the Armenians completely leave the region, investigative actions will continue at the crime scene. Based on the results of the investigation, a criminal case will be initiated, and the Prosecutor General's Office will inform the Azerbaijani and world community about it,” A. Efendiyeva said.-0-