Day: January 25, 2024

The conference on “Protecting Armenian Cultural and Religious Heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh” was held on January 24 at the initiative of MEP Miriam Lexmann and the EPP Group.

Professor of international law Pierre D’Argent, Very Rev. Fr. Garegin Hambardzumyan, author of the book “The Armenian Cultural Heritage of Artsakh: Mechanisms for Protection in the International System for Preservation of Heritage” Armine Tigranyan, Ambassador of Armenia to Belgium/Head of Mission to the EU Tigran Balayan, Secretary General of Europa Nostra Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic were among the speakers.

Members of the European Parliament, members of the Europa Nostra organization, spiritual leaders, journalists and representatives of non-governmental organizations attended the conference.

In his speech, Ambassador Balayan spoke in detail about the ethnic cleansing carried out by Azerbaijan, the current situation of the forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno- Karabakh, as well as the vital importance of preserving religious and cultural heritage.

He underlined that as long as Azerbaijan does not bear severe consequences for its destructive and catastrophic actions, the Aliyev regime will continue to violate the international law, international legal order and binding rulings of the International Court of Justice.

Ambassador Balayan presented the pictures of the church in his native village, which, according to satellite images, had been destroyed by the Azerbaijani armed forces. He added that they would continue this policy of deliberate destruction, since they were never held accountable.

Ambassador Balayan also drew the attention of the participants to the resolution “On the destruction of the cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh” adopted by the European Parliament, stressing the need to create mechanisms for its implementation.

Miriam Lexmann also stressed the disastrous consequences of impunity. She underlined that the double standards and the policy of sacrificing European values for political expedience are unacceptable.

Pierre D’Argent presented the legal aspects of the issue and unveiled the details of the discussions in the International Court of Justice and the counterclaims by the Azerbaijani side. He mentioned that Azerbaijani policy is one of mirroring the claims of Armenia thus trying to divert the attention of the international community.

Fr. Garegin Hambardzumyan highlighted the importance of preservation of the religious heritage and displayed a number of cultural monuments that have either been destroyed, alienated, or are on the verge of destruction.

Armine Tigranyan gave a detailed presentation on endangered monuments and underlined the importance of preserving the intangible heritage of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, including traditions and community life.

The author’s books were distributed among the participants of the conference.

The Secretary General of Europa Nostra firmly condemned the ethnic cleansing committed by Azerbaijan against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and underlined that the organization she leads has repeatedly raised alarms about the ongoing violations, thus stressing the importance of the cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh for the European civilization. She also emphasized that “Armenian heritage is the European heritage”.

In his closing remarks the Member of the European Parliament François-Xavier Bellamy underscored the need to protect the right of return of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians to their ancestral homeland.

On January 24, the parliamentary delegation of Azerbaijan to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) made a statement at the organization’s headquarters in Strasbourg, according to Azerbaijan in Focus, reporting AzerTac.

The statement reads as follows:

“The Republic of Azerbaijan is a proud, independent, sovereign, democratic and multicultural nation. Democracy is our conscious choice and we have made tremendous progress in upholding human rights and rule of law in Azerbaijan since gaining our independence in 1991.

The primary objective of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is to provide a platform for dialogue between parliamentarians from different countries, based on the mutual respect and equal footing.

When Azerbaijan acceded to the Council of Europe in 2001, it was with the genuine hope and expectation that this organization designed to defend the human rights and the rule of law, would help Azerbaijan to restore the rights of hundreds of thousands Azerbaijanis violated as a result of the military aggression and the occupation of a part of its internationally recognized territories by Armenia, and consequently, the justice would be served for the sake of reaching the lasting peace in the region.

During 19 years, from 2001 to 2020, the PACE failed to hold the aggressor state Armenia accountable for its actions contradicting the core values and principles of the Council of Europe. It concerns in particular the blatant disregard for the human rights of the Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs subjected to ethnic cleansing.

After Azerbaijan’s historic victory over the aggression, the occupation and the violent separatism, and the restoration of its territorial integrity and sovereignty, we face an orchestrated smear campaign to denigrate Azerbaijan, and cast shadow on its achievement to restore the justice denied for so long to the people of Azerbaijan. During almost 20 years when Azerbaijani delegation was raising grave consequences of Armenian occupation, we were told that the PACE is not a right format to discuss conflict-related issues. But now, the same PACE and the same MPs say quite the opposite and don’t miss any opportunity to attack Azerbaijan. Selective interpretation of international law and different treatment of issues pertaining to territorial integrity and sovereignty of states, demonstrate the cynical and hypocritical nature of the authors of this shameful proposal.

Unfortunately, the PACE is being used as a platform to target some member states. Core principles of the PACE are exploited by certain biased groups to advance their narrow interests. Political corruption, discrimination, ethnic and religious hatred, double standards, arrogance, chauvinism have become prevailing practice in the PACE.

We see the initiative on challenging the credentials of the delegation of Azerbaijan to the PACE as a part of this vicious campaign. We also consider this initiative as a deliberate and unacceptable attempt to unduly interfere with the ongoing electoral process in Azerbaijan and vivid example of insidious actions to undermine the functioning of democratic institutions in our country. The proposed refusal to ratify the credentials of our delegation will be a serious blow to the credibility and impartiality of the Council of Europe as a whole, and the responsibility for its grave and irreversible consequences will entirely lie with its initiators.

Nobody in the world, including those sitting in this hall can speak with Azerbaijan in the language of threat and blackmailing. Never before in the history of the PACE, this organization behaved in such disgraceful manner.

In the face of current unbearable atmosphere of racism, Azerbaijanophobia and Islamophobia in the PACE, the delegation of Azerbaijan decides to cease its engagement with and presence at the PACE until further notice.”

After making the statement, the delegation departed from the venue.

The post Statement by parliamentary delegation of Azerbaijan to PACE appeared first on Azerbaijan In Focus.

A military transport plane Ilyushin-76 crashed in the Belgorod Region on Wednesday morning, according to Azerbaijan in Focus, reporting AzerTac, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

The plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew and three escorts.

“On January 24 this year an Ilyushin-76 transport plane crashed in the Belgorod Region during a scheduled flight at about 11 a.m. Moscow time (8 a.m. GMT). There were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being moved to the Belgorod Region for an exchange, and three escorts on board,” the Defense Ministry said.

The Aerospace Force has dispatched a panel of inquiry to probe into the incident.

Earlier, the governor of the Belgorod Region, said on his Telegram channel the incident occurred in the Korocha district. He did not elaborate. A team of investigators and Emergency Ministry personnel are working at the site of the crash.

The post Russia’s Il-76 plane with 65 Ukrainian POWs on board crashes in Belgorod Region appeared first on Azerbaijan In Focus.