According to the results of the opinion poll conducted by the Center for Social Research 93.1% of Western Azerbaijanis stated that they were forced to leave the lands they historically lived in, the Center for Social Research told APA.
Reported that the polls were conducted among 1,000 Western Azerbaijanis on January 9-12, 2025. The sampling frame was determined proportionally to the population distribution in the historical regions and cities where they previously lived. The computer-assisted telephone interview method was used to collect data. The surveys were conducted voluntarily and anonymity was ensured. The respondents were informed that the results would be used in a generalized form only for research purposes. Based on the number of respondents covered in the survey, the error coefficient of the results is 3% with a 95% confidence interval.
Note that this result confirms the Armenian government's policy of ethnic cleansing, indicating that Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their historical lands under conditions of violence, pressure, and threats. The 0.7% figure indicates that those who voluntarily emigrated were those who belonged to the period before 1988. 6.2% of the survey participants had difficulty answering this question.
The survey results give reason to say that the Armenian government's policy of targeted deportation and ethnic cleansing against the Azerbaijani population became more intensive, especially in 1988. Thus, the absolute majority of the survey participants, 87.1%, stated that they left their historical lands in 1988. 3.0% of them were forced to leave their historical lands before 1960, and 9.9% from 1960 to 1987.
The results of the study show that 1988 was the peak of the Armenian leadership's policy of ethnic cleansing, violence, and mass migration. The expulsion of the vast majority of them from their historical lands, regardless of the geographical location of the region in which they lived, had long-term effects on the ethnic and social structure of the region.
