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The statements of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, along with other public officials and figures became slogans inspiring atrocities against Armenians in the 2020 Artsakh war, Armenia's Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan said in a post on Facebook on Sunday.

"The President of Azerbaijan, and others in positions of authority there, speak of the entire Armenian people and population of Armenia with open threats of ethnic cleansing and genocide.

"They openly insult the dignity of the Armenian people, incite hostility, and they do so to humiliate the personal dignity of every Armenian in the world and every person living in Armenia," the ombudsman wrote. 

"The monitoring of the staff of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia confirms that this is a policy of deep state hatred and enmity towards Armenians. It is institutional in nature and is based on ethnicity and, in some cases, religious affiliation.

"It should always be taken into account that the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey in Artsakh in 2020, when drawing comparisons of the September-November war with the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire and the massacre of Armenians in Baku, for example, during their respective December 10 speeches, praised their organizers and perpetrators, including members of the Caucasus Islamic Army.

"It is a matter of significance and quite telling that during the torture of the Armenian military and civilians during this war, while beheading Armenians alive, mutilating the bodies of the victims and committing other atrocities, the servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces use the same words and expressions as the President of Azerbaijan.

"Moreover, the statements of the President of Azerbaijan, along with other public officials and figures became slogans inspiring atrocities against Armenians in this war (for example, "Azerbaijani soldiers chase them like dogs", "Armenia is a worthless country ... it is an artificial state created on the ancient lands of Azerbaijan," “Azerbaijan is coming to end Armenian weddings" etc).

"In other words, it is patently clear and rather obvious what the real causes and driving forces of these war crimes are.

"Moreover, these Azerbaijani servicemen are proud of their atrocities, knowing full well that they will be celebrated and showered with praise for their barbarism in their country," Tatoyan said, sharing some of the evidence attesting to all of these, while the remainder is set forth and reflected in the 2020 joint special report of the Armenian and Artsakh ombudsmen.