Azerbaijani political parties visit Nagorno-Karabakh

The Azerbaijani government has taken 24 political party members from 26 political parties, alongside representatives of state agencies and media, on a tour to Nagorno-Karabakh.

The visit took place on 6 March, with the head of the Presidential Administration's Department of Relations with Political Parties, Adalat Valiyev, accompanying the politicians to Stepanakert (Khankendi), Asgaran, and Khojaly.

Other invitees included political observers, the heads of internet TV channels, newspaper editors, and journalists.

State news agency Azertac has reported that the visit aimed at developing political dialogue in the country as part of an initiative by President Ilham Aliyev.

Natig Jafarli, the chair of the opposition Real party — the only opposition group taking part in the tour who have been critical of the government — told OC Media that he was in favour of conducting such visits and meetings with the government.

Nagorno-Karabakh and its capital, Stepanakert, have largely been deserted since the exodus of its entire Armenian population to Armenia following Azerbaijan’s final offensive on the region in September 2023.

‘I liked Khankendi very much, I liked it very much. The city’s geographical location, climate, and growth potential are very extensive’, he said.

Jafarli also praised the opening of the Karabakh University, formerly Artsakh University, saying that it currently teaches ‘almost 1,500 students’ and has 300 teachers.

‘We saw young people on the streets, we saw students, and it was very nice,’ Jafarli claimed, saying that there were plans to increase the number of students at the university to 10,000 ‘in the next two years’.

He said that the university had ‘sufficient potential’ to increase the city’s population to 250,000–300,000, but that the government should allow ‘other enterprises’ to operate in parallel.

OC Media could not independently verify the claims about the inhabitants of Stepanakert, and the politician has not responded to OC Media’s questions about the presence of Armenians in the region.

The two most prominent opposition parties, Musavat and the Popular Front Party did not attend the tour.

A spokesperson for Musavat, Mustafa Hajibayli, told OC Media that they had received a message that the tour would take place, but did not receive an invitation.

‘If we had received an official invitation, we would have discussed and made a decision. Some restrictions on travel to and from the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, as well as other issues, remain. However, there should be no restrictions’, Hajibayli said.

The spokesperson criticised the ‘chosen format’ where the government’s ‘propaganda is carried out’, which he called ‘ineffective’.

‘On the contrary, almost every week we witness the arrest of another journalist or public activist on unfounded charges. Therefore, calls for dialogue do not seem sincere,’ Hajibayli said.

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