The Azerbaijani authorities are doing everything for the Talysh people to give up their language and culture. Said the Talysh national movement activist fleeing from Azerbaijan to Armenia, Shahin Mirzoyev, during the “Xenophobia and its consequences from human rights point of view” discussion held at the Ombudsman’s office. “The Azerbaijani authorities have forced numerous Talysh people to give up the Talysh language, even the Talysh name is prohibited by the law. No matter what organization it is, if its name contains the word Talysh it is not registered. The textbooks are forbidden, the television is prohibited. There are even restrictions on having an elementary dictionary. Recently, the authors of a published dictionary were arrested, and it is forbidden to distribute it,” told Shahin Mirzoyev about the abuses of Talysh people’s rights. He also mentioned that in recent years, the Talysh resided villages are abandoned because of the activities of Azerbaijani authorities.
Speaking about the escalation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line, Mr. Mirzoyev said that therewith Azerbaijan is trying to divert the public attention from domestic problems, “Everybody knows that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev appointed his wife vice-president and his son Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. These appointments cause a major reason for discontent among the public. Consequently, the Aliyev regime is trying to escalate the situation on the border to distract the public attention.”
