Hummatov to discuss Azerbaijani Talyshs’ problems in Council of Europe

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe has invited President of the Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic (1993) Alikram Hummatov to attend ‘Reconciliation and Peace-building in the South Caucasus’ conference to he held in Brussels on February 19, 2014 on the initiative of CE, the Talysh section of IRIB news agency (Iran) said.

According to the source, the CE has called upon leaders of the other South Caucasian countries involved in conflicts to participate in the event.

We would remind you that Alikram Hummatov visited Armenia and Artsakh in October 2013. He made a speech at Iranian Studies Sub-Department of Yerevan State University, addressing the problems of Talyshs in Azerbaijan. He said in particular: “The Talyshs in Azerbaijan are deprived of basic rights. We, the Talyshs, are not respected, we are exterminated. A policy of assimilation is being carried out against us, and then they say that we are brothers. This is illogical. We want to read and write in our native language. In response to our demands, they (the Azerbaijani authorities) openly declare: “You, the Talyshs, have no future, you must be assimilated”.

In an interview with the Public Television of Artsakh, when asked by the reporter if they would again fight on the opposite side of trenches in case of a war, the Talysh national figure said: “God forbid. I don’t want the Talyshs to participate in that war. I am making a appeal from here. It will not be our war. We don’t need it. I also say to all the other peoples: Why endanger our lives that God endowed us with in a war which will not give us anything”.