Opinion polls taken by European companies, which which were taken in anticipation of the upcoming parliamentary election in Azerbaijan, once again stressed the importance of addressing the primary problem of Azerbaijanis, which has nothing to do with human rights but rather the problem is Nagorno-Karabakh.
France’s Opinionway research company as a result of a public opinion poll in Azerbaijan, followed by the reputable US company Arthur J. Finkelstein & Associates, came to the obvious conclusion: the primary problem for Azerbaijanis remains the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and not a mythical problem of human rights violations in the country, which has been repeated so many times by Western politicians accusing the government of frivolous harassment of individuals.
By the way, the western officials, which hurry from all high tribunes to tell about the “appalling situation” with freedom of expression and human rights in Azerbaijan, should know that given a question by Opinionway about the human rights situation, Azerbaijanis responded as follows: 69.8 percent – "very satisfied", 12.5 percent – "not satisfied", 17.7 percent – "I don’t know".
This is while, answering the question “which are the most important problems in Azerbaijan?” 66.5 percent of the respondents said that it is the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.
Now think: why the influential international institutions and western politicians who are really able to help resolve the long-standing and difficult Nagorno-Karabakh problem, which is the main problem for at least 65 percent of the country’s population, pay so much attention to the problems with human rights with which only 12 percent of Azerbaijanis are dissatisfied.
Moreover, when Azerbaijani delegations try to convey this simple truth to the western politicians, they accuse Azerbaijan of speculating on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Alas, the double standards of the west have long been known to everyone.
However, fortunately, there are such independent polls, the results of which clearly show the lie of some European and US politicians caring for the handful of people who have violated the country’s laws and turn a blind eye to the pain of nine million people and violation of the rights of more than a million refugees from Armenia and from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
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Elmira Tariverdiyeva is the head of Trend Agency’s Russian News Service
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