Chairman of the Azerbaijani Community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan Tural Ganjaliyev has sent a letter of protest to the producers of the movie ‘Gate to Heaven’ which was filmed in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The letter says that it would be better to name the film as ‘Gate to Hell’ since the territories where the film was shot were occupied as a result of the use of force, and that hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were forcibly expelled from their native lands.

“You are certainly well-aware of the fact that as a result of Armenia's military aggression 20 percent of the Azerbaijani territories, including the Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts are under the Armenian occupation. As a result of ethnic cleansing in the territories occupied by Armenia, more than one million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced persons. Suffice to mention the Khojaly genocide, the bloodiest tragedy committed by the Armenian armed forces against the Azerbaijani population in a small Azerbaijani town called Khojaly on the night of February 25 to 26, 1992 in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. As a result of the Khojaly genocide 613 Azerbaijanis, including 106 women, 63 children, and 70 elderly were brutally killed. This tragedy is recognized as the Khojaly genocide, and you can find detail information about this genocide on various websites, including http://www.karabakh.az”, the letter says.

The letter also points out the UN Security Council resolutions (1993) which recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh region as an integral part of Azerbaijan demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

In the letter, the Azerbaijani community of the Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region expresses its deep regret over the Armenia’s initiative to shoot a film in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, saying that this step aims to support separatism and irredentism in the region which has already been destroyed as a result of the Armenian occupation.

“Believing in the soonest peaceful settlement of the conflict and the Azerbaijani community’s return to the Nagorno-Karabakh region, we urge you and all those involved in this initiative to stop supporting the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, as well as encouraging and promoting separatism,” the letter says.

“We invite you to support peace, justice and development, and make joint efforts towards the cooperation between the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of the Nagorno-Karabakh region”, the letter concludes.

azertag.az