The first forum of the World Azerbaijanis ended last Saturday in Baku. Javad Derakhti, Chairman of the Board of directors of the World Azerbaijanis Congress  (WAC) also attended the forum. The organisation Derakhti leads has held five conferences  so far. In an interview with 525-ci daily  he explained about  the initial obstacle in the participation of WAC in the First World Azerbaijanis Forum (WAF)in Baku.
"Initially there were some  misunderstandings as creation of WAF was interpreted as an alternative to WAC  but after talking to the government officials Hidayat Orujov and Rustam Mammadov problems were solved. We asked for an official invitation to WAC and recognition of this organisation as a worldwide diaspora structure instead of inviting us by telephone. We were told  that this Forum of the world Azerbaijanis aims at strengthening the Diaspora and bringing together the Azerbaijanis living abroad. Today, the Azerbaijanis living in the world are conscious of their identity more than before . WAC is unifing Azerbaijani diaspora and channelling it's strength towards lobbying for Azeri causes.  I'm very much pleased with my visit to Azerbaijan and getting acquainted with a number of people. This forum created the opportunity to meet so many friends with whom I  talk over the phone regularly but never had the chance to meet.  I think the more such conferences and forums are held, the more effective Azerbaijani Diaspora will be ."
Question: "Who were invited to the congress from WAC"?
Answer: "Invitations were sent to all 13 members of  CWA Directors. Some 11 of them took part in the congress".
Question: "What is the difference between the World Azerbaijanis' Congress and WAF"?
Answer: "WAC is a global organisation consists of thousands of Azerbaijani individuals and Associations.  But the WAF is a forum held by the Azerbaijani government which is related to the Diaspora issues.
Although the names are similar, there is a difference in essence. We are working with all issues related to our country of origin including Southern Azerbaijan , but WAF for some well known reasons can not address certain problems. We can reflect the desire of majority of our members and address the establishment of a United  Azerbai

jan which includes  Southern Azerbaijan. . We have an independent state in the North, but the situation is absolutely different in the Southern part of our country. The fact that no representatives from the South was invited to the forum comes from the relations with the neighbouring country. We simply reflect the Diaspora's viewpoint concerning Azerbaijan's problems  regardless of any country's interests".
Question: "Are you satisfied with the Forum's work"?
Answer: "First of all the forum showed the power of the Azerbaijani state . Azerbaijan is powerful enough to bring together hundreds of Azerbaijanis livings in different places of the world. The forum was very well organised".
Question: "Did you meet with state officials"?
Answer: "I had a brief meeting with President Aliev for a minute or so. If I wouldn't leave Azerbaijan so soon, I would have met with H.Aliev. I met Hidayat Orujov and he promised to convey our opinions to the president. We invited Azerbaijani officials to our next congress and they have accepted our invitation.".
Question: "Is it possible for WAC and the Co-ordination Council of the World Azerbaijani (CCWA) to hold a joint session"?
Answer: "It cannot be realised now. WAC and CCWA are different organizations. WAC is independent but the new structure is connected with the state. The key point is that Azerbaijan benefits from all these events. The fact that Azerbaijani president led the forum made it more impressive. As we stand united, it worries our enemies very much. The opposition also had a positive view with regard to the forum."
Question: "What  are your future plans "?
Answer: "In near future, we'll hold a forum for Nagorno Karabakh conflict in one of the European countries. We'll convey the essence of the Karabakh issue to the world community. We want to raise this issue in the committee on Human Rights of the European Parliament. We want to convey to the world that Southern Azerbaijanis are a suppressed nation in Iran because of  being Turks. They emigrate in mass to escape repression. We'll open the Southern Azerbaijani Emigration Bureau's in European countries and facilitate the procedure of obtaining refugee status. We'll be preparing our 6th congress WAC s in Ankara or Antalya next year".