Member of political board of Azerbaijani ruling party: Heydar Aliyev populated Karabakh with Azerbaijanis
Heydar Aliyev changed the ethnic composition of Baku and Karabakh in the Soviet era by inhabiting the areas with the Azerbaijanis. Thus, during 13 years, the percentage of Azerbaijani population in Baku increased from 40% to 80%, stated Ahabek Askerov, member of the ruling "Yeni Azerbaijan" party and director of the publishing house "Azerbaijan", in an interview given to the Azerbaijani portal "Haqqin.az.
"Heydar Aliyev, started building Azerbaijan since the Soviet era. The main thing he succeeded in was changing the demographic situation in Baku. Do you know what the percentage of Azerbaijanis living in Baku then was? I'll tell you - 40%," Askerov noted.
According to the party functionary, the Azerbaijanis constituted a tiny percentage in industrial regions, and since the 70s of the last century a gigantic resettlement program of the rural Azerbaijani youth started in Baku. "Thus, in 1982, after Heydar Aliyev left for Moscow, the percentage of Azerbaijanis in Baku reached 80%. Imagine, he managed to do this in just 13 years!" Askerov said.
Member of the political board of the Azerbaijani ruling party "Yeni Azerbaijan" also admitted that in the Soviet times the leader of Azerbaijani SSR Heydar Aliyev had changed the demographic situation in Nagorno Karabakh, inhabiting this region with Azerbaijanis.
"By the way, Heydar Aliyev has rapidly changed the demographic situation in Nagorno-Karabakh too, populating this region with Azerbaijanis. Unfortunately, he did not manage to finish his political mission, because he was succeed by very weak people who destroyed his political legacy," Askerov said.
Note that Heydar Aliyev has publicly admitted that he had deliberately pursued a policy of increasing the number of Azerbaijanis in Karabakh which was inhabited by Armenians.
Thus, during the meeting with the representatives of the Azerbaijani media on July 22, in 2002, the then President Heydar Aliyev admitted, "Nagorno Karabakh conflict arose in 1988. This is not a new conflict. Rather to say, it is a sharp conflict. But this problem continues since the beginning of the XX century ... It was not normal in the Soviet period as well.... However, despite this fact, we were controlling the situation in Nagorno Karabakh. At what cost? Firstly, the Soviet system allowed it itself.
Secondly, I'm talking about the period when I, as the first secretary, promoted the development of the Nagorno Karabakh a lot in that time. At the same time I was trying to change the demographic situation there. Nagorno Karabakh had raised the issue of opening an institute, university there. Everyone was against it here. I thought over it and decided to open one. But with a condition that there were three sectors there - Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian. It was opened. The Azerbaijanis from adjacent regions were sent there instead of Baku. We opened a large shoe factory there. There was no labor force in Stepanakert. Azerbaijanis from the surrounding regions were sent there. By this and other means, I tried to bring more Azerbaijanis to Nagorno Karabakh and to decrease the number of the Armenians there. Those who worked at that time in Nagorno Karabakh, know about it. Anyway, due to my will and other qualities, my word served as a law for its leadership."
Later, the citations of Heydar Aliyev were removed from the Azerbaijani websites, but the links of the original were preserved in numerous books and articles of various authors.
Moreover, the original quote made by Heydar Aliyev was preserved in "Echo" newspaper of 24 July 2002 Number 138 (383) (Screenshot http://www.peeep.us/4a229702 )issue and in other sources, to which the adepts Azerbaijani propaganda have not reached yet.