DND Monitoring Team
Monitoring Desk: The International Eurasian Press Fund (IEPF) condemns provocative visit of Turkish-speaking group to Khankendi, reports Eurasia Diary.
The President of International Eurasian Press Fund (IEPF) Umud Mirzayev has strongly condemned provocative visit of Turkish-speaking group to Khankendi and stated that such kind of actions cannot be accepted as efforts to bring peace and prepare the nations for mutual dialogue.
In a statement issued by IEPF, he urged the international structures, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United Nations, the European Union, as well as the Turkish Government and the German Government to make every effort to investigate this case and prevent the repetition of such incidents.
The full text of statement is hereunder:
“On March 20, 2019, a Turkish-speaking group of people visited the Azerbaijani city of Khankendi, which is currently under occupation by neighboring Armenia. The Armenian newspaper “Our Armenia” distributed a video about the visit, where it was shown how the group laid wreaths at the monument to Karabakh Armenians who died in the war with Azerbaijan, and also delivered speeches.
As it can be seen from the video, the group consisted of approximately ten people. The speech is given in simultaneous translation into Armenian, but Turkish speech is partially heard. With careful listening, it is possible to hear the word “Artsakh” in the speech of a person who speaks Turkish.
The participants of this group called Azerbaijan a fascist and honored the memory of the victims of the so-called “Armenian genocide” and allegedly soldiers-liberators who fell in the Karabakh war. In addition, they called on Turkey to recognize the so-called “genocide” committed against the Armenian people in 1915.
As stated in the published material, the group consists mainly of leaders and members of “Association of Genocide Opponents” and “Solidarity with the Victims of All Genocides.”
As we were able to find out, the “Association working group recognition – against genocide, for international understanding (AGA)” began its work in 1999 in Germany and on April 13, 2000, together with the “Association of Genocide Opponents”, forwarded a petition to the Petitions Committee of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) with a request to recognize the so-called “Armenian genocide”. The petition also called to appeal to the Republic of Turkey to recognize this “genocide”.
Unfortunately, we could not find the name of the head of the organization who took an active part in the event, on March 20.
The information about the second organization has not yet been found, but most likely its activities pursue the same goals.
We understand that this is a kind of propaganda. Hiding behind peacekeeping goals and the desire to help civil society, the activities of these organizations and this group of people aimed at inciting the conflict that contradicts all the standards of international law. These people are trying to justify the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan by the Armenian Armed Forces, the brutal murder of innocent people and the forced removal of millions of Azerbaijanis from their homes.
With this statement, on behalf of the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF), we strongly urge the international structures, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United Nations, the European Union, as well as the Turkish Government and the German Government to make every effort to investigate this case and prevent the repetition of such incidents. These people and the Armenian government should feel full responsibility for their actions.
Sitting just a few kilometers from the place of the Khojaly genocide, when overnight Armenian armed forces with the help of the infantry guards regiment № 366 of the former USSR, based in Khankendi (Stepanakert) city, seized the Khojaly town and brutally killed 613 peaceful residents, this group of people speaks of the so-called “Armenian genocide”. Similar genocides against the civilian population were committed by Armenian Armed Forces in almost every captured village of Azerbaijan.
There is a real fact of the occupation by Armenia of Nagorno-Karabakh and 7 adjacent regions belonging to Azerbaijan. For almost 3 decades, the Armenian Armed Forces continue to destroy ancient monuments and buildings in the occupied territories, committing acts of vandalism. Moreover, by their actions they created the formation of an environmental catastrophe in the frontline regions of Azerbaijan. Deliberately and with particular cruelty, the cemetery, located near the frontline, was shelled. As a result of the occupation actions of Armenia, more than one million of refugees and internally displaced persons were formed in Azerbaijan. Despite four UN Security Council resolutions calling for the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Armenia continues to unreasonably ignore all the principles of international law on territorial integrity.
Civil society cannot be used as a weapon to incite conflict, but the activities of the “Association of Genocide Opponents” and “Solidarity with the Victims of All Genocides” aim at this and the international community is obliged to pay particular attention to this issue.”
