United Press International
September 24, 2004 Friday

Azerbaijan accuses Armenian of occupation

UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., Sept. 24 (UPI)

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev told the U.N. General Assembly
Friday Armenians are illegally settling in his country.

“Armenia has launched an outrageous policy of massive illegal
settlement of the Armenian population into the occupied Azerbaijani
territories, which is a blatant violation of the international law,”
he said.

The conflict has forced more than 1 million Azerbaijani people to
become refugees, Aliyev said.

“The situation deteriorates with the use of these territories for
drug trafficking, arms transfers, harboring terrorists, illegal
economic activities and smuggling.”

Azerbaijan has asked for U.N. participation in returning the refugees
to their Azerbaijani homes. The two countries have long been in
contention, the Azerbaijani a Muslim nation historically allied with
Iran and Turkey, and the Armenians a Christian people who accuse the
Turks of genocide in the early 20th century.

Aliyev criticized the U.N Security Council for having a “passive and
silent attitude” on the migration issue.

“We expect more responsive strategy by the United Nations in relation
to the situation of a forgotten humanitarian crisis in Azerbaijan,”
Aliyev said.