Azerbaijani blogger Mahammad Mirzali, who sought refuge in France, explains how hatred of Armenians in his country is fueled by government propaganda.
Ten days after a lightning offensive by Azerbaijan, the population of the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh has almost completely left its territory. More than 100,000 refugees fled to Armenia fearing reprisals from Azerbaijani soldiers. The authorities of the small republic of Nagorno-Karabakh announced the dissolution of the institutions on January 1, 2024.
Azerbaijani blogger Mahammad Mirzali was arrested and tortured in his country for denouncing political corruption. He has been in France as a refugee since 2016, has suffered several assassination attempts on French soil and lives under police protection.
LE FIGARO. – President Aliyev promised to respect the rights of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Despite this, The population fled en masse. Should she trust the head of state’s word?
MAHAMMAD MIRZALI. – Armenians are not crazy. You, like you and me, have seen videos on social networks in which we see Azerbaijani soldiers with knives in their hands, saying that they are in a hurry to cut off heads. Aliev talks about protecting the rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh while forcing them to leave their homeland. If he were really the good president he claims to be, how would he accept the exodus of his population? These are all lies.
You follow the social networks in your country closely. How was the lightning victory in Nagorno-Karabakh received in Azerbaijan?
The victory in Nagorno-Karabakh is unanimously celebrated in Azerbaijan. Public television channels welcome the idea that Azerbaijanis who fled during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war (from 1988 to 1994, editor’s note) will finally return to their homes in Khankendi (Azerbaijani name for Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh).
On Telegram channels (often run by the state through its troll farms), belligerents brag shamelessly about cutting off heads and physically punishing Armenian soldiers or civilians. Already in 2020, many Azerbaijani soldiers returned from war with a finger, or more often an Armenian ear, to take home as a trophy. Ask the Armenians who recovered the bodies of their soldiers: many will tell you that an ear is missing. If it’s not the whole head… And we can see these images everywhere, including in government media!
Sometimes these atrocities are committed in the name of Islam. For example, in some videos we see Azerbaijani soldiers beheading civilians or Armenian soldiers shouting “Allahu Akbar”. These are the same techniques as Daesh in Iraq or Syria. In addition, in 2020, the Turks called on mercenaries from Syria to fight against the Armenians. There is more than one proof of this.
What do you think of intellectuals like the historian Vincent Duclert, who sees in these events the continuity of the Armenian genocide?
This is unfortunately true. Hatred against Armenians has reached its peak in my country in recent years. Despite all the internal problems such as poverty and unemployment, President Aliyev only talks about the Armenians. Check out his YouTube channel, that’s the only topic! And he instills this hatred even in the youngest. In TV cartoons, the villains are always Armenian soldiers. In school and in textbooks, Armenia is referred to as “West Azerbaijan” and the Armenians are described as dogs, as barbarians who cut off the heads of Azerbaijanis.
All my fellow citizens exiled in European countries who criticize Aliev are accused of being paid by the Armenians. Since my departure in 2016, I have continued to be portrayed in state-affiliated media as a blogger bought by Armenia. I would really like to get paid… (laughs). At the beginning of September they even accused of being in the pay of President Macron! They also don’t like the French because they see them as the defenders of the Armenians.
Was there an increase in anti-Armenian hate speech in the last few weeks before the attack on Nagorno-Karabakh?
Above all, we have seen an intensification of repression. In the week before the attack, several Azerbaijani journalists and activists were arrested and imprisoned for speaking out against the war. My journalist friend Nurlan Kahramanov was arrested on September 21st and sentenced by the court to 30 days in prison. His lawyer told the press that he was tortured before his arrest. The Azerbaijani government forces everyone to be pro-war. Otherwise you risk arrest and prison. At the same time, all newspapers and radio stations in the country celebrate Aliyev as an invincible hero. Eight days after the victory in Nagorno-Karabakh, bookstore kiosks are already filled with a book celebrating the victory, with the president’s photo on the cover! And Aliev multiplies his explanations about Zanghezour (the corridor in the south of Armenia, along the border with Iran, editor’s note). This could be his next target.