Yeraz

Last updated

The Yeraz people, sometimes called Yer-az or Yerazi, are an Azerbaijani sub-group, also referred to as a clan, consisting of Azerbaijanis originally from present-day Armenia. The term Yeraz in the Azerbaijani language derives from "Azerbaijani from Yerevan", and used even if the person does not hail from the city of Yerevan itself. [1]

Contents

Due to longtime historic tensions between neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan, virtually all the Yeraz have left Armenia for Azerbaijan and other countries before tensions exploded with the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Because they developed with some different customs and cuisine from Azerbaijanis in Azerbaijan, the Yerazi have maintained a cohesive sub-culture within the country. Due to tension and cultural differences between Azerbaijanis from Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis from Armenia, the term "Yeraz" can be construed as a pejorative. [1] [2]

History

The Azerbaijani community in Armenia represented a large number but has been virtually non-existent since 1988–1991, when the overwhelming majority of Azerbaijanis fled the country as a result of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates the current population of Azerbaijanis in Armenia to be somewhere between 30 and a few hundred persons, [3] with majority of them living in rural areas and being members of mixed couples (mostly Azerbaijani women married to Armenian men), as well as elderly and sick, and thus unable to leave the country. Most of them are also reported to have changed their names and maintain a low profile to avoid discrimination. [4] [5]

Political power

In Azerbaijan, the Yeraz form a cohesive political clan that, along with the Nakhchivani clan, has dominated Azerbaijani politics since Soviet times. [6] [7] Though born in Nakhchivan, the family of Heydar Aliyev, longtime President of Azerbaijan and father of its current President, originated from Armenia; as a result he essentially had a double-origin and strong political base in Azerbaijan's Western clans. [8] As the distribution of power in Azerbaijani politics is based on clan and familial ties, [9] these two Western Azerbaijani clans have pushed other clans from power [6] [8] and formed a pyramidal web of patronage built around Nakhichevanis and Yerazi clan groups. [10]

The leader of the Yeraz clan is Jalal Aliyev, uncle of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. [9] Ramiz Mehtiev, the head of the President's Executive Body, is another prominent member. [8] Before Jalal Aliyev, the unofficial leader of the Yerazi was Ali Insanov, a co-founder of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party and the former Health Minister of Azerbaijan for 12 years. Insanov and influential bureaucrat Akif Muradverdiyev were considered among the most powerful members of the Yerazi clan until they were sacked by President Ilham Aliyev for corruption before the November 2005 parliamentary elections. [7] [11]

The Yeraz have two non-political movements: "Ağrıdağ" (an Azerbaijani name for Mount Ararat) and the "Irevan Birliyi" (Yerevan Unity). [8] Founded by Insanov, Ağrıdağ acted as a vehicle to spread the clan's influence at the national level, particularly over the country's health system. [7]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Political glossary, Conciliation Resources, Accessed January 14, 2011.
  2. Azerbaijan: Vulnerable Stability, Europe Report N°207, International Crisis Group, September 3, 2010, Accessed January 14, 2011.
  3. Second Report Submitted by Armenia Pursuant to Article 25, Paragraph 1 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Received on 24 November 2004
  4. International Protection Considerations Regarding Armenian Asylum-Seekers and Refugees Archived 2014-04-16 at the Wayback Machine . United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Geneva: September 2003
  5. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003: Armenia U.S. Department of State. Released 25 February 2004
  6. 1 2 Azerbaijan Update Archived 2013-09-23 at the Wayback Machine , The European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity, November 24, 2006, Accessed Dec. 14, 2006.
  7. 1 2 3 Ben Wetherall, Azerbaijan: President Aliyev Asserts His Authority on Eve of Parliamentary Elections, Global Insight, Accessed Dec. 14, 2006.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Azerbaijan: Turning Over a New Leaf?, Europe Report N°156, International Crisis Group, May 12, 2004, Accessed Dec. 14, 2006.
  9. 1 2 Philip Stephens, From east to west, Financial Times, October 28, 2005, Accessed Dec. 14, 2006.
  10. Head of State: President Ilham Aliyev, October 2003-, International Crisis Group, September 22, 2004, Accessed Dec. 14, 2006.
  11. Rovshan Ismayilov, Azerbaijan: Two More officials Sacked, Eurasianet, October 20, 2005, Accessed Dec. 14, 2006.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Kocharyan</span> Former leader of Artsakh and Armenia (born 1954)

Robert Sedraki Kocharyan is an Armenian politician. He served as the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1992 to 1994. He served as the second President of Armenia between 1998 and 2008 and as Prime Minister of Armenia from 1997 to 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic of Artsakh</span> Breakaway state in the South Caucasus

Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh and formerly the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus, whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, including the capital of Stepanakert. It is an enclave within Azerbaijan. Its only overland access route to Armenia is via the 5 km (3.1 mi) wide Lachin corridor which is under the control of Russian peacekeepers.

Jabrayil District District of Azerbaijan

Jabrayil District is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the south-west of the country and belongs to the East Zangezur Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Khojavend, Fuzuli, Qubadli, Zangilan, and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), now Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land mine situation in Nagorno-Karabakh</span>

The region of Nagorno-Karabakh and areas around it are considered to be some of the most heavily mined regions of the former Soviet Union. Mines were laid from early 1990s by both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces during and after the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The worst-affected areas are along the fortified former contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, in particular in the districts of Aghdam, Fuzuli and Jabrayil. According to military experts from both Azerbaijan and Armenia, the ground in those areas is covered with "carpets of land mines."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lachin</span> Place in Azerbaijan

Lachin is a town in Azerbaijan and the center of the Lachin District. It is located within the strategic Lachin corridor, which links the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azerbaijan–Turkey relations</span> Bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey

Relations have always been strong between Azerbaijan and Turkey, and are often described as "one nation, two states" by the ex-president of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev due to both being Turkic countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenia–Azerbaijan relations</span> Bilateral relations

There are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, largely due to the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The two neighboring states had formal governmental relations between 1918 and 1921, during their brief independence from the collapsed Russian Empire, as the First Republic of Armenia and the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan; these relations existed from the period after the Russian Revolution until they were occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union, becoming the constituent republics of Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan. Due to the two wars waged by the countries in the past century—one from 1918 to 1921 and another from 1988 to 1994—the two have had strained relations. In the wake of ongoing hostilities, social memory of Soviet-era cohabitation is widely repressed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Mardakert clashes</span>

The 2008 Mardakert clashes began on March 4 after the 2008 Armenian election protests. It involved the heaviest fighting between ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh since the 1994 ceasefire after the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Tanahat Place in Syunik, Armenia

Tanahat is a village in the Sisian Municipality of the Syunik Province in Armenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilham Aliyev</span> President of Azerbaijan since 2003

Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003.

Madrid Principles

The Madrid Principles, last updated in 2009, are proposed peace settlements of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group. As of 2020 the OSCE Minsk Group is the only internationally agreed body to mediate the negotiations for the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Senior Armenian and Azerbaijani officials have agreed on some of the proposed principles but have made little or no progress towards the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied territories or towards the modalities of the decision on the future Nagorno-Karabakh status.

Anti-Armenian sentiment or Armenophobia is widespread in Azerbaijan, mainly due to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), Armenians are "the most vulnerable group in Azerbaijan in the field of racism and racial discrimination." A 2012 opinion poll found that 91% of Azerbaijanis perceive Armenia as "the biggest enemy of Azerbaijan." The word "Armenian" (erməni) is widely used as an insult in Azerbaijan. Stereotypical opinions circulating in the mass media have their deep roots in the public consciousness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict</span> April 2016 conflict in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan

The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, also known as the Four-Day War, April War, or April clashes, began along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on 1 April 2016 with the Artsakh Defence Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other.

Azerbaijan–Uruguay relations Bilateral relations

Diplomatic relations exist between Azerbaijan and Uruguay. Neither country has a resident ambassador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war</span> 2020 war involving Azerbaijan against Armenia and Artsakh

The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war was an armed conflict in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories. The main combatants were Azerbaijan, with support from Turkey and foreign mercenary groups, on one side, and the breakaway Republic of Artsakh and Armenia on the other. It was the latest escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, which was included in Azerbaijan during the Soviet era as an autonomous region and internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but partially governed by Artsakh, a breakaway state with an Armenian ethnic majority.

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement Armistice agreement ending the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war

The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement is an armistice agreement that ended the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. It was signed on 9 November by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and ended all hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region from 00:00, 10 November 2020 Moscow time. The president of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, also agreed to an end of hostilities.

Baku Victory Parade of 2020 Military Triumph Parade in 2020

2020 Baku Victory Parade was held on 10 December, in Azadliq Square, Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. It was held in honor of the Azerbaijani victory during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, officially described as the Patriotic War in Azerbaijan. The parade was held with 3,000 military servicemen who distinguished themselves during the war marched alongside military equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft, as well as Armenian war trophies, and Turkish soldiers and officers, while navy vessels performed maneuvers in the nearby Bay of Baku, and jets and helicopters flew above the city. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a key ally of Azerbaijan in the war, also attended the military parade as part of a state visit to Baku.

Zangezur corridor Hypothetical geopolitical corridor

"Zangezur corridor" is a concept for a transport corridor which, if implemented, would give Azerbaijan unimpeded access to Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic without Armenian checkpoints via Armenia's Syunik Province and, in a broad sense, for the geopolitical corridor that would connect Turkey to the rest of the Turkic world thus "uniting it". The concept has been increasingly promoted by Azerbaijan and Turkey since the end of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, while Armenia has steadily objected to it, asserting that "corridor logic" deviates from the ceasefire statement trilaterally signed at the end of that war, and that it is a form of propaganda.

2022 Armenian protests Protests against the prime minister

From 5 April 2022, Armenia had seen large anti government protests. The protests continued into June 2022, and many protesters were detained by police in Yerevan. Protestors demanded Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan resign over his handling of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. On 14 June 2022, the opposition announced their decision to terminate daily demonstrations aimed at toppling Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan after failing to achieve popular support.