The problems of people displaced from their homeland due to Armenia's military aggression and occupation policy are always in the focus of the Azerbaijani state. Under the tradition founded by National Leader Heydar Aliyev, President Ilham Aliyev has identified these problems' solutions as a priority in his social policy. First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva takes excellent care of refugees and IDPs, meets with them from time to time, gets acquainted with their living conditions, and listens to their requests and wishes.
Unfortunately, some Internet media outlets are campaigning against the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons.
Take, for example, the recent speeches of Pashayeva Safaya Salmangizi, an IDP from the Aghdam region, who demanded an apartment from the state special housing fund, published on various Internet media resources and discussed on social networks. That is another attempt to debunk the state policy in working with refugees and IDPs, to create confusion in society.
The State Committee investigated the facts and features of S.S. Pashayeva's speeches. It turned out that Safaya, who currently works as a teacher in one of the schools in the Sabunchu district of Baku, was born in the occupied village of Novruzlu in the Aghdam region and had a passport registered in that village. However, a certificate submitted by the local executive authority states that she did not return to the town of Novruzlu, which she left in connection with her admission to a university long before the occupation. In 1986 she married a person living in Kalbahuseynli village of Aghdam region, which is not under occupation and has a son born in 1987. The identity card of her son Aliyev Ravan Rizvan oglu received in 2004 indicates his place of birth as Kalbahuseynli village and his residence as Novruzlu village. According to official documents, Pashayeva divorced her husband in 1995. All this casts doubt that the status of IDPs for her and her son and the certificate confirming that status and the provision of a single monthly allowance to both of them do not comply with the existing rules. This issue is currently being investigated. S.S. Pashayeva's concern that additional documents will be required from her is not groundless.
As for S.S. Pashayeva's statement that it has been 27 years she applied to the state bodies for housing at apartments allocated for the Temporary Placement of Internally Displaced Persons, her appeals to the supreme state authority were sent to the Committee only in June and July of this year and her requests have been responded under the existing legislation. Moreover, the chairman of the Committee received S.S. Pashayeva both in person and by video call, listened to her appeal, and responded. She was explained that the provision of new housing for IDPs is carried out under the "Rules for the provision of the IDP with housing from the Temporary Accommodation Fund" approved by decision No. 65 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan on February 24, 2017. At this stage, it is not planned to relocate S.S. Pashayeva to a new place of residence, and IDPs temporarily residing in different areas, such as apartments belonging to other citizens, relatives' houses, rent, can be relocated to a new place of residence in the next stages.
The fact that S.S. Pashayeva rented an apartment in the IDP neighborhood in Kurdakhani and lived there for some time has been investigated. It turned out that the Committee allocated the apartment she claimed to rent for legal purposes. IDPs working as a police officer in the same neighborhood were also provided with flats on a legal basis.
We recommend S.S. Pashayeva and those who publicized her speeches to provide information to law enforcement agencies on the alleged sale of apartments in IDP settlements.
