Aghdam’s return and memory that shapes Azerbaijan’s future |
Aghdam today stands as a city where memory and reality intersect. Once reduced to ruins through years of occupation, it is now gradually re-emerging as a living urban space, shaped by return, reconstruction, and reflection. The reopening of residential neighbourhoods in the city is not merely a housing milestone; it is a reminder of what was deliberately destroyed, what was endured, and what is being rebuilt. In this setting, the broader questions of accountability, international conduct, historical justice, and the fragile path toward peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia come sharply into focus.
The opening of the second residential complex in Aghdam on December 24 was not only a milestone in the “Great Return” Program, but also a moment deliberately framed by President Ilham Aliyev as a historical reckoning. Speaking to returning residents, the President placed today’s reconstruction alongside the deeper political, moral, and strategic lessons drawn from occupation, war, and the post-war order. His speech, while rooted in Aghdam, addressed much more than one city; it articulated Azerbaijan’s interpretation of history, international behaviour, and the conditions for lasting peace.
President Ilham Aliyev described Aghdam as a stark illustration of Armenia’s occupation policy, stating clearly: “It is possible to say that Aghdam was subjected to urbicide during the years of occupation. In other words, the city was razed to the ground by the Armenian state. This was a clear example of a deliberate policy by Armenia and an expression of its hostility toward us.”
According to the President, the occupation was never accidental or limited to military control. Its objectives were systematic: looting, erasing Azerbaijani historical and cultural heritage, and making a return impossible. He underlined that buildings were dismantled stone by stone and sold elsewhere, while mosques and holy places were desecrated. Natural resources, forests, mineral deposits, and mines were plundered, and vast areas were mined to prevent future habitation, a threat that continues to claim Azerbaijani civilian lives even after liberation.
Evidence uncovered after the liberation of territories from 2020 onward reinforced this assessment. Cities and villages were found destroyed, buildings dismantled and transported to Armenia and other destinations, and cultural heritage deliberately erased. Mosques and holy places were desecrated, not as collateral damage, but as a symbolic insult. Alongside this, forests were cut down, mineral and gold deposits exploited, and other natural resources plundered.
The destruction uncovered after 2020, documented through footage and on-site inspections, reinforced this assessment. In the President’s words, the aim was clear: “A third goal was to render the city uninhabitable, so that Azerbaijanis could never think of returning. But they made a mistake.” The scale of rebuilding now underway, particularly in Aghdam, is presented as the clearest rebuttal to that policy.
Another dimension of this policy was mass mining. Large areas were deliberately contaminated with landmines to prevent the return of civilians, a practice that has continued to claim Azerbaijani lives even after the end of the occupation. The theses also draw attention to the activities of Western companies that operated illegally in the occupied territories, participated in the exploitation of Azerbaijan’s national wealth, and have faced no accountability to date.
A central theme of the speech was the role of international actors during the occupation period. President Aliyev openly criticized the institutions tasked with managing........