Domestic Migrants

          The expansive migration of the Azerbaijani Armenians started in 1989-1991. These people fled from Armenia at their own discretion, This is witnessed by the fact that even after the massacre of the Armenians in Sumgayit town (Azerbaijan SSR) in February, 1988, and thereafter when the violations against the Armenians spread by the chain reaction throughout the whole of Azerbaiajn in the course of 1988-1989, the legal bodies of the USSR did not identify any case of violence against the Azerbaijani in Armenia, and the signals about the alleged violent actions which arrived from Azerbaijan where denied after scrutinized review by various Central commissions which were created for the investigation of those cases.
          The Armenian Azerbaijani benefited from the situation which was unfavorable for the Armenians in Azerbaijan (complete absence of safety for their lives and property, unpunished anarchy against the Azerbaijani Armenians in public places, government agencies, etc.). Therefore, the Armenian Azerbaijani hurried to exchange their shabby homes which were located mainly in the rural areas with the well-furnished and modern apartments and houses of the Armenians at ridiculously cheap prices. The Armenians resided basically in the largest towns of Azerbaijan (215,000 Armenians lived in Baku, 40,000 in Gyanja, 13,000 in Sumgayit, 5,000 in Mingechuar, etc.) and in the rural areas they were well ahead in running successfully their farms and cultivating fertile land plots. The Azerbaijani Armenians lived in areas with relatively favorable climatic conditions whereas the majority of the Armenian Azerbaijani resided in villages located in remote mountainous areas.
          In this aspect the moral factor had its significant contribution: the discrimination policy run by Azerbaijan towards its Armenian citizens had the effect of the ricochet on the Azerbaijani citizens of Armenia who felt morally repressed, guilty though guiltless. The emissaries sent from Azerbaijan tried to create tension by disseminating various kinds of deceitful information.
          The ruinous earthquake which took place in Armenia in December, 1988 also contributed to the migration of the Azerbaijani from the republic. As the result of the earthquake such large towns as Gyumri, Spitak, Vanadzor, Stepanavan and dozens of villages were completely destroyed. The number of the Azerbaijani residents in these regions (Amasia, Ashots, Akhuryan) was high: over 14,500 households received reimbursement in the total amount of US$ 110 mln for their damaged houses and property and opted to purchase or build houses outside Armenia. Nevertheless, this did not mean that they intended to settle in Azerbaijan. It should be noted that during the said period the exchange of apartments was gaining speed, and many residents of Azerbaijani nationality who lived in the earthquake zone took advantage of the chaotic situation and managed to receive reimbursements for their destroyed dwellings and at the same time exchange their homes.
          It follows that the Azerbaijani left Armenia voluntarily. They either sold, exchanged or received reimbursement for their homes and property which were destroyed or damaged as the result of the earthquake. The government of Armenia took all steps to ensure that the Azerbaijani were able to take with them all their belongings. Inspired by the local authorities, the relocated Azerbaijani flooded the Central Government agencies with letters about the alleged cases of robbery in Armenia and on the roads. However, the investigations conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office of the USSR and the USSR Ministry of the Interior showed that the majority of these complaints was groundless and false. There were cases when the Azerbaijani were compelled to draft such statements. Thus, 160,000 Azerbaijani fled from Armenia (around 29 500 households), of which 14 500 households who migrated from the earthquake zone had received reimbursement, 22,428 households either exchanged or sold their apartments, and over 7,428 households managed to sell, exchange and receive reimbursement concurrently. Therefore, in light of the UN Convention, not a single Azerbaijani who fled from Armenia can be recognized as a refugee by its status. The statements of the Azerbaijani government on the existing 1,000,000 refugees in the territory of Azerbaijan is a myth and has merely a propaganda value for the uninformed.

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