Veten.be

News.Az interviews Irada Ulukhanly, chairman of the Dutch society “For single, undivided and democratic Azerbaijan”.

Do the Azerbaijani diaspora organizations maintain ties in Holland and what is done for more people in this country to learn about Azerbaijan?

Of course, one of our main objectives is the cooperation of the diaspora organizations Azerbaijanis. Usually our Diaspora organizations participate in activities which they organize themselves on a particular occasion on a mutual basis. In addition, the Diaspora organizations involve natives of Holland, in order to familiarize them with the culture and traditions of Azerbaijan. For example, various Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations participated in the program, implemented by my association, in particular, the celebration of Novruz Bayram. In this event, children of families that are natives of Holland read poems, sang songs in Azerbaijani, and also played national dances. A similar program is used by other Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations, which in turn, involve representatives of society "For single, undivided and democratic Azerbaijan." In addition, we provide local libraries with books about Azerbaijan, related with its history and culture. That is the campaign we hold is not limited to one direction, it is versatile. We do our best to promote Azerbaijan. In this case, the formation of societies of Azerbaijanis and Dutch, as we as execution of our activities with the help and participation of the Dutch, give a considerable support to us in the promotion of Azerbaijan.

Which measures does the diaspora take for the Azerbaijanis of Holland not to lose ties with their homeland?

Trips are primarily organized in order not to lose ties with Azerbaijan. For these purposes, I maintain ties with the State Committee for work with Diaspora, inform them about the work we conduct in the country of residence and also get instruction from them in the directions in which we can help them implement their ideas. For these purposes of expanding the trends of our activity, we have recently organized a meeting between the judo associations of Azerbaijan and Holland.

Are you satisfied with the activity of the Azerbaijani diaspora in executing of all tasks facing your organization?

Not all representatives of the diaspora, residing in Holland, are active and this issue is one of our problems. They are very passive. There are only 1-2 Azerbaijani societies in Holland’s south, while the north accounts for 10-15 Azerbaijani associations.

Therefore, Azerbaijani diaspora is more active in the northern part of Holland. In this connection, Azerbaijanis residing in the country’s north hold many events that involve Azerbaijanis residing in the south of the country.

Do you maintain contacts with Turkish diaspora organizations?

Our relations are very strong. We even take part in the political events conducted by Turkish Diaspora organizations. In turn, Turkish diaspora organizations provide every assistance to us.

Are Azerbaijanis in Holland active in participation in the sociopolitical life of the country, as well as the election campaigns, in particular, nomination of candidacy in elections or provision of support to the candidacy that meets the interests of the diaspora most?

Unfortunately, Azerbaijanis have not yet been represented in Holland on the level to nominate candidacies in elections. It is necessary to hold work in this direction. Naturally, we will support a candidate from Azerbaijanis if there is one.

Is the Armenian diaspora active and which steps are taken to confront their activity?

First of all, the pro-Armenian government has a negative influence on the activity of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Holland. Armenians have a greater influence in the Dutch government.

We are not able to oppose the activity held by Armenians in Holland, because the Armenian lobby is represented on the state level of this country. At the current stage we just try to suspend the expansion of the Armenian lobby. In other words, we consider that the Armenian lobby has already reached a definite level and now we, on the one hand, are strengthening work to neutralize their activity and, on the other hand, are taking measures to raise the influence of our diaspora.

Meanwhile, I would like to note that our diaspora in Holland has recently made mistakes. For example, ten years ago Armenians have released a book about “genocide” in Dutch, however we have recently failed to publish a book about Azerbaijan even in English. This was a great mistake for us.

At the same time, there are cases in the events held by Armenians that damage the Azerbaijani culture. For example, Armenians constantly steal Azerbaijani music and national cuisine. On the whole, the Armenian side have wider opportunities to hold this because the local population provides great assistance to them and supports them.

It has earlier been said that Armenians set themselves for Azerbaijanis while requesting the status in European countries. Has the situation changed in this issue?

According to the Dutch statistics, this country amounts for about 5,000 Azerbaijanis. However, their ethnic belonging is unclear because most Armenians arriving in Holland set themselves for ethnic Azerbaijanis. Unfortunately, we have no levers to resist this process, because Armenians setting themselves for Azerbaijanis carefully conceal this information in order not to be exposed. Despite, the competent bodies of Holland have sufficient means and opportunities for the exact definition of this issue, the scales of the process are impressive. Such facts were larger scaled 4-5 years ago. But the number of cases has started declining. This category of Armenians usually said they have arrived from Azerbaijan in order to get a status in Holland.

Aliyah Fridman
News.Az