BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 13. Chair of the Milli
Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova spoke at the
Second Conference of the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned
Movement and the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary
Union.
Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan remained true
to his Armenian nature and slandered Azerbaijan. However, this
time, his false claims were properly answered. Thus, Chair of the
Milli Majlis, Sahiba Gafarova, in her address exposed the lies of
the Armenian speaker, the press service of the Azerbaijani
Parliament told Trend.
Sahiba Gafarova said in her speech that, as a result of the
policy of occupation and ethnic cleansing carried out by Armenia,
more than a million Azerbaijanis became internally displaced
persons from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and refugees
from Armenia. During the occupation, Armenia wiped out our cities
and villages from the face of the earth, desecrated the historical,
cultural and religious sites of Azerbaijan. As in the occupied
Azerbaijani territories, Armenia destroyed all historical and
religious monuments belonging to Western Azerbaijanis who lived for
centuries on the territory of modern Armenia. The speaker regarded
all this as an open manifestation of intolerance and hatred on the
part of the mono-ethnic Armenian state.
Gafarova stated that, despite the bitter consequences of many
years of occupation, immediately after the liberation of its
territories from occupation in 2020, Azerbaijan initiated a peace
agenda and the normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations.
This agenda is based on the 5 principles of international law.
Despite this, in addition to misleading the international community
with false information, Armenia does not fulfill its obligations
and continues to illegally transport weapons and mines to the
territory of Azerbaijan and rotate personnel.
She noted that the statements of the speaker of the Armenian
Parliament are another manifestation of falsification carried out
by Yerevan.
The speaker of the Milli Majlis noted that she regrets the
speech of the representative of one of the most mono-ethnic
countries in the world, known for its aggressive, discriminatory
and intolerant policies, on the important topic of peaceful
coexistence and an inclusive society, which was submitted for
discussion in the Assembly.
Emphasizing that the speaker of the Armenian Parliament listed
the national minorities living in his country and the rights
allegedly granted to them, Sahiba Gafarova said that it was
surprising that he did not mention the forced expulsion of
Azerbaijanis from Armenia, where they lived for centuries, and that
the last stage in the late 1980s led to the expulsion of over
300,000 Azerbaijanis.
Speaking about the fact that Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia
have the right to return to their homes, Gafarova stressed that
this right is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and other international acts. Armenia must create conditions
for the safe and dignified return of these Azerbaijanis to their
homes and ensure their individual and collective rights upon their
return.
Sahiba Gafarova, touching upon the fact that the representative
of Armenia without a twinge of conscience expressed the opinion
that his country has no territorial claims against any country,
reminded once again that Armenia has occupied the territories of
Azerbaijan for almost 30 years. On the other hand, Armenia
continues to maintain its armed forces in the internationally
recognized territories of Azerbaijan, violating the tripartite
declaration signed on November 10, 2020.
She noted that the representative of Armenia did not hesitate to
voice deliberately false and fabricated figures on the number of
the Armenian population living in the Karabakh region of
Azerbaijan. The leadership of Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that
all 25,000 Azerbaijani citizens of Armenian origin will enjoy the
same rights as our other citizens. The well-known multicultural and
tolerant policy and traditions of Azerbaijan are proof of this.
Completely rejecting the unfounded statements of the Speaker of
the Armenian Parliament about the alleged “blockade” of the Lachin
road, Gafarova pointed out that the Lachin road is open for the
free passage of all civilian and humanitarian vehicles, and this
fact is confirmed by the relevant international organizations
operating in this area.
Sahiba Gafarova stressed that Azerbaijan complies with its
obligations, and at the same time is committed to ensuring the
realization of the rights of its citizens and the fulfillment of
their legal requirements.