Anti-Azerbaijani sentiment in Armenia

There have been numerous cases of Anti-Azerbaijani sentiment in Armenia throughout history. During the Armenian–Tatar massacres of 1905–07, 158 Azerbaijani villages were destroyed or pillaged (compared to 128 destroyed or pillaged Armenian villages),[2] and 3,000 to 10,000 civilians were killed from both sides, with Azerbaijanis suffering higher losses,[3] which stemmed from Azerbaijani mobs being organized poorly and Dashnaks on the Armenian side being more effective.[4] According to the history professor Firuz Kazemzadeh, "it is impossible to pin the blame for the massacres on either side. It seems that in some cases the Azerbaijanis fired the first shots, in other cases the Armenians."[5]

From 1948 to 1953, Azerbaijanis living in the Armenian SSR were deported. The deportations were carried out by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated 23 December 1947 on the resettlement of Azerbaijanis from their settlements in the territory of present-day Armenia. The decision was carried out by force, and more than 150,000 Azerbaijanis were deported from 24 regions and the city of Yerevan.[6]

The borders of the conflict between 1994 and 2020, after the ceasefire was signed. Armenian forces of Nagorno-Karabakh currently control some of Azerbaijan's territory outside the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. Azerbaijani forces, on the other hand, control Shahumian and the eastern parts of Martakert and Martuni.

The Anti-Azerbaijan sentiment grew in Armenia following the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.[21] When talking about the possibility of Azeris and Armenians ever living together again, former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan said the two peoples were "ethnically incompatible".[22]

In 2010 an initiative to hold a festival of Azerbaijani films in Yerevan was blocked due to popular opposition. Similarly, in 2012 a festival of Azerbaijani short films, organized by the Armenia-based Caucasus Center for Peace-Making Initiatives and supported by the U.S. and British embassies, which was scheduled to open on April 12, was canceled in Gyumri after protesters blocked the festival venue.[23][24]

On September 2, 2015, the Minister of Justice Arpine Hovhannisyan on her personal Facebook page shared an article link featuring her interview with the Armenian news website Tert.am where she condemned the sentencing of an Azerbaijani journalist and called the human rights situation in Azerbaijan "appalling". Subsequently, the minister came under criticism for liking a racist comment on the aforementioned Facebook post by Hovhannes Galajyan, editor-in-chief of local Armenian newspaper Iravunk; On the post, Galajyan had commented in Armenian: “What human rights when even purely biologically a Turk cannot be considered a human".[25]

Armenia struck many civilian Azerbaijani settlements outside of the conflict zone during the war, most frequently Tartar, Beylagan and Barda.[26][27] Reported attacks included an attack on Beylagan on 4 October, killing two civilians and injuring 2 others,[28][29] Goranboy on 8 October killing a civilian,[30] Hadrut on 10 October, seriously injuring a medical worker,[31] Tartar on 15 October, targeting a cemetery in the city resulting in three civilian deaths and at least five civilian injuries[32] and Fuzuli on 20 October, resulting in one civilian death and six injuries.[33][34] Subsequently, both a correspondent reporting from the scene for a Russian media outlet and the airport director denied that the airport had been hit,[35] while a BBC News journalist, Orla Guerin, visited the scene and found no evidence of any military target there.[36] Marie Struthers, Amnesty International's Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said that the "firing of cluster munitions into civilian areas is cruel and reckless, and causes untold death, injury and misery".[37] The Azerbaijani ombudsman called the attack a "terrorist act against civilians".[38] The use of cluster munitions was also reported by The New York Times.[39][40] On 11 December, Human Rights Watch released an extensive report about Armenia's unlawful rocket strikes on Azerbaijani civilian areas. The report investigated 18 separate strikes, which killed 40 civilians and wounded dozens more. During on-site investigations in Azerbaijan in November, Human Rights Watch documented 11 incidents in which Armenian forces used ballistic missiles, unguided artillery rockets, large-calibre artillery projectiles and cluster munitions that hit populated areas in apparently indiscriminate attacks. In at least four other cases, munitions struck civilians or civilian objects in areas where there were no apparent military targets. In addition to causing civilian casualties, the Armenian attacks damaged homes, businesses, schools, and a health clinic, and contributed to mass displacement. Human Rights Watch called the Armenian government to conduct transparent investigations into attacks by Armenian forces that violate international humanitarian law, or the laws of war.[41]

An ANAMA employee standing among the ruins of a destroyed residential building in Ganja, second largest city of Azerbaijan after an Armenian missile attack targeting the city.

By 9 November, more than 93 Azerbaijani civilians were killed by Armenian forces,[42] while by 2 November the war had displaced approximately 40,000 Azerbaijanis.[43] Armenia reportedly used cluster munitions[44] and according to Azerbaijan, white phosphorus against Azerbaijani civilians.[45][46]

Incidents of torture and ill treatment of Azerbaijani POWs by Armenian forces were reported during the war. Most famously, in mid-November, videos of two wounded Azerbaijani soldiers, Amin Musayev and Bayram Karimov, receiving first aid by Ukrainian journalist Alexander Kharchenko and Armenian soldiers after the ceasefire came into force were spread on social media platforms. Following this, a video was released showing one of them being abused inside a vehicle. It is reported that Musayev was lying on the ground in the car and asked "where are we going?" In response, the alleged Armenian soldier said, "If you behave well, go home," and cursed, after which it became clear that the Azerbaijani soldier had been kicked and tortured. On 18 November, a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Yerevan said that information about these people was "being investigated." The ICRC's representative in Yerevan, Zara Amatuni, also declined to say whether she had any information about the two alleged Azerbaijani soldiers. The Artsakh's Ombudsman said he had no information about Musayev and Karimov, but that if they were injured, they were "probably in hospital in Armenia." The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the issue was being investigated and will be reported to the relevant international organizations. According to the ministry, "the information about the torture of prisoners is first checked for accuracy and brought to the attention of relevant international organizations."[47][48] On 25 November, ICRC's representatives visited Musayev and Karimov in Yerevan.[49] On 5 December, the families of Musayev and Karimov were informed of their condition thorough ICRC. According to a reported copy of the letter sent by Musayev, he stated that his condition was well. It was also reported that Karimov had sent a letter to his family, but his family denied this.[47]