The Reality of Western Azerbaijan: Historical Truths Conference.

The opening speeches of the conference held at Altinbas University's Gayrettepe campus were delivered by:

Altinbas University Rector, Prof. Dr. Çağrı Erhan, Consul General of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Istanbul, Narmina Mustafayeva and Member of Parliament and President of the West Azerbaijan Community, Aziz Alekberli

The conference was moderated by Prof. Dr. Vefa Kurban, a faculty member from Ege University's Institute of Turkish World Studies, and it featured various speakers, including Prof. Dr. Ragıp Kutay Karaca, Member of Parliament Hikmet Babaoğlu, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Telman Nüsretoğlu, who is the Director of the Turkish-Islamic Researchers Center.

If you have any specific questions or need further information about the conference or the speakers, please feel free to ask.

During the opening speeches at the conference, Prof. Dr. Çağrı Erhan, the Rector of Altınbaş University, expressed great pleasure in hosting the event. He mentioned the significant developments in the past two years within Azerbaijan's history and in the relationship between Turkey and Azerbaijan. He also emphasized that the "Karabakh issue" is no longer a problem, alluding to recent positive developments.

Narmina Mustafayeva, the Consul General of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Istanbul, spoke about the developments related to Karabakh and highlighted that the year 2023 carries significant importance due to both positive and negative events. She referred to the major event in 2020 when Azerbaijan achieved a glorious victory in the 44-day war, which is now an important chapter in Azerbaijan's state history.

In her speech, Consul General Narmina Mustafayeva emphasized that Western Azerbaijan is part of their historical territory, backed by various historical records and maps that clearly show Azerbaijani place names in the region. She went on to discuss the forced displacement of Azerbaijani compatriots from Western Azerbaijan, a result of Armenian persecution.

She highlighted the extensive presence of Azerbaijani people in Western Azerbaijan, mentioning that there were only Azerbaijanis living in about 170 villages and Azerbaijani-majority populations in nearly 90 villages. There were Azerbaijani populations among the inhabitants of approximately 300 villages. However, she noted that at present, not a single Azerbaijani remains in those areas. They were forcibly expelled from their ancestral lands, subjected to torture, and even killed.

Consul General Mustafayeva also talked about a major ethnic cleansing that took place in the late 1980s with the support of the Soviet regime. She mentioned the occupation of Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, leading to the expulsion of nearly a million Azerbaijani civilians. She pointed out that these people faced genocide, and their suffering didn't receive the necessary attention or compassion from the international community.

She also expressed the resilience of the Azerbaijani people, driven by their hope and faith that they would eventually return to their lands. She concluded by celebrating the significant victory in 2020 when Azerbaijan regained its Karabakh territories after a 44-day war.

In conjunction with the conference at Altınbaş University, an exhibition featuring various documents depicting the history of Western Azerbaijan was organized.

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