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Tag: Nagorno-Karabakh

  • BORDERS WITH ARMENIA CAN BE OPENED

    BORDERS WITH ARMENIA CAN BE OPENED

    TURKISH PARLIAMENTARIANS VISITING US: THE BORDERS WITH ARMENIA CAN BE OPENED AFTER NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT IS SOLVED
    APA

    Members of Turkish parliament Shukru Elekdag (CHP), Murat Merjan (AKP), Nursuna Memejan (AKP) and Mithat Melen (MHP) met with experts on Turkey and journalists in the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, APA’s US bureau reports. CSIS director for Turkey Bulent Alirza chaired the discussions.

    The discussions focused on the issues causing tension between the two countries.
    Chairman of Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee Murat Merjan said during Obama’s presidency the U.S. policy aimed at holding dialogue, not creating tension. The parliamentarian said Turkey pursued multiple-vector foreign policy after the collapse of the Soviet Union and noted that it was connected with four big conflicts around the country. He said the philosophy of Turkey’s foreign policy consisted of “zero problem” item, integrating into Europe and using its political influence.
    “This political influence was seen in the Balkans, Syria and in the recent war between Georgia and Russia. Turkey is a pro-western country and bears responsibility for the ongoing processes in the region,” he said.
    Touching on the country’s policy with regard to Armenia, the parliamentarian said their aim was not only to establish relations with official Yerevan, but also to serve establishment of peace in the Caucasus.
    Parliamentarian from CHP Shukru Elekdag Turkey was concerned over the so-called Armenian genocide, PKK terrorist organization in the north of Iraq and Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Former Turkish ambassador to the U.S. said:
    “The borders with Armenia should not be opened”.
    He said it can be done after Nagorno Karabakh conflict is solved.
    MP touching upon PKK issue stated that they were supported by the Republic of North Iraq and noted that Barack Obama would not recognize developments in 1915 as genocide during his traditional message on April 24, 2009. Elekdag stated that relations between Israel and Turkey on military, economy, and tourism were at high level and both of countries are strategic partners.
    MP Mithat Melen from MHP touching upon developments in 1915 said that the problems is not linked with Armenia, but Armenian Diaspora. The poor Armenia is not interested in adoption of resolution by the US on so-called genocide. He mentioned that 80.000 Armenians worked in Istanbul. Melen noted that we should not forget the interests of Azerbaijan on Nagorno Karabakh conflict while establishing business relations with Armenia. He added that Turkey needed the energy resources transmitted via Azerbaijan and business done with North Iraq. To him, if there are not business relations, there wil not the development of the region.
    After the assembly Shukru Elekdag gave an interview to APA U.S bureau and commented on restoration of Armenia-Turkey relations.
    “Turkey should not open the border with Armenia without solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Turkey can loose Azerbaijan in such kind of situation. What will be the fate of the word” one nation, two states”? How early have we forgotten it? We are not against the restoration of the relations with Armenia. We should do it after solution to the conflict. If the borders open, we will leave Azerbaijan alone and the power of Azerbaijan will decrease in negotiation process,” he said.
    Elekdag commented on the fact that three subjects – Nagorno Karabakh conflict, so-called Armenian genocide, opening of borders with Armenia were debated during Turkey-Armenia negotiations.
    “If these three issues are solved at the same time, there will not be any problem. The borders between the two countries will not open in 2009,” he said.

  • Khojaly Genocide commemorated in EP

    Khojaly Genocide commemorated in EP

     
     

    Brussels. Viktoria Dementieva – APA. Event on the 17th anniversary of Khojaly Genocide was held with support of Heydar Aliyev Foundation in the European Parliament on March 3.

    Members of the European Parliament, representatives of diplomatic corps accredited in the European Union, mass media, research centers in Brussels, nongovernmental organizations and Azerbaijani community attended the event.

    Press service of Azerbaijani embassy in Belgium told APA that the participants of the event familiarized themselves with the photo exhibition on Khojaly Genocide prepared by Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Head of Azerbaijani representation to the European Union, Ambassador Emin Eyyubov made a keynote speech at the event.

    Following this, member of the European Parliament Gisela Kallenbach called the participants to commemorate the Khojaly victims with a minute silence. Senior Fellow of Jamestown Foundation Vladimir Socor shared his views on Khojaly genocide.

    The participants were informed about the international campaign “Justice for Khojaly” initiated by Leyla Aliyeva, Coordinator on Intercultural Dialogue of OIC Youth Forum, the campaign was supported with signatures.

    The event finished with the screen showing the names of Khojaly Genocide victims.

  • Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan

    Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan

    Baku. Kamala Guliyeva – APA. The signature collection campaign organized among children by Human Rights Commissioner Elmira Suleymanova under the slogan “We are messengers of peace! Join us!” on the eve of the 17th anniversary of Khojaly genocide has ended, press service of Human Rights Commissioner told APA. The signatures of over 310,000 children from different cities and regions of the country have been collected. The letter describing the impact of Armenian aggression on the fate of Azerbaijani children and the signatures have been sent to UN Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy with support of Foreign Ministry.

    The letter addressed to the UN says that 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories have been occupied as a result of Armenian aggression, 1 in every 8 people have been displaced and hundred thousand children born in tents have been deprived of all human rights. The letter writes that civilians, women, old people, handicapped persons, children were atrociously killed during Khojaly genocide committed by Armenian nationalists, their rights to live were violated.

    UN Special Representative has been invited to the international conference “Protection of children’s rights in extreme situations” that will be held in Baku on the eve of June 1 – Children’s Day on the initiative of Human Rights Commissioner and with support of UNICEF.

  • STATE ASSEMBLY MEMBER OFFERS CONDOLENCE

    STATE ASSEMBLY MEMBER OFFERS CONDOLENCE

    Azerbaijan, Baku, 24 February 2009
    Trend News, E. Rustamov

    California State Assembly member Felipe Fuentes offered his condolences to the Azerbaijani people on the occasion of the 17th anniversary of the Khojali Genocide.

    Armenian troops committed genocide in the Khojali settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh on Feb. 26, 1992.

    Within hours after the troops entered Khojali, over 600 unarmed Azerbaijani citizens were killed. Among them were 106 women and 83 children. About 1,000 people were disabled by shots; 8 families were fully destroyed. A total of 25 children lost both of their parents and 130 children lost one of them. About 1,275 people were taken prisoner. Around 150 people went missing.

    Fuentes sent a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev offering his condolences on the tragic events, Azerbaijani Consul in Los Angeles Elin Suleymanov told Trend News in a telephone conversation on Feb. 24.

    “This is a very important event. Because there are many pro-Armenian officials in California. People around the world are gradually coming to understand that Armenians provide false information about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict,” Suleymanov said.

    The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.

    JOIN AZERBAIJANI-AMERICAN COMMUNITY TO COMMEMORATE THE KHOJALY TRAGEDY!

    A grave crime was committed against innocent Azerbaijani civilians by the Armenian army, on February 26, 1992, which became and remains the largest massacre of modern times in the region of South Caucasus and Caspian Basin. On that day, the military units of Armenia, seized the town of Khojaly, in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, and committed a massacre, which was the culmination of the Armenian aggression and occupation of Azerbaijan. On that day, the Armenian government’s efforts to rid Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnically Azerbaijani population, resulted in almost 2,000 of innocent civilians, mostly women, children, and elderly, being killed, wounded, or taken hostage by the Armenian military forces.

    The crime against peaceful residents of Khojaly was condemned worldwide, including by the U.S. government, and broadly covered by national newspapers and magazines. Some of the American and Western journalists and groups who eye-witnessed or extensively covered the Khojaly massacre, were: Hugh Pope, Thomas Goltz, Tom DeWaal, and Human Rights Watch. Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN), a Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, had the following appeal: “This is not the ringing condemnation that the survivors of Khojaly deserve, but it is an important first step by an international community that has too long been silent on this issue. Congress should take the next step and I hope my colleagues will join me in standing with Azerbaijanis as they commemorate the tragedy of Khojaly. The world should know and remember.”

    February 26, 2009, is a Memorial Day for the people of Azerbaijan. All Azerbaijani people will forever remember where they were on February 26, 1992, like all Americans will forever remember where they were on the tragic morning of September 11, 2001. Having experienced terror firsthand, Azerbaijan has become a staunch ally of the United States in the War on Terror and a member of the Coalition, with Azerbaijani battle-ready peacekeepers serving side-by-side with Americans in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

    In the wake of the 17th year anniversary of Khojali massacre, all Azerbaijani-Americans join in calling upon Congress to properly recognize and commemorate this tragedy (on the floor of the Congress, in the Congressional Record, and by attending a vigil), and to pressure the Armenian government to accept its responsibility for this massacre and withdraw its troops from the occupied regions of Azerbaijan.

    Click here for more on the Khojaly Massacre.

  • Mustafa Kabakci: “There are no changes in Turkey’s policy regarding Azerbaijan, it is impossible”

    Mustafa Kabakci: “There are no changes in Turkey’s policy regarding Azerbaijan, it is impossible”

     

     
     

    Baku. Gulshen Hajiyeva –APA. “There are no changes in the Turkey’s policy regarding Azerbaijan, it is impossible”, said Mustafa Kabakci, member of Turkish Parliament and head of the Turkey-Azerbaijan friendship group, in his exclusive interview with APA.

    MP denied the reports about the Turkey’s retracting of demand for withdrawal of Armenian troops from the Azerbaijani land instead of improvement of Turkish-Armenian relations. “I called the Turkey’s foreign ministry after that I saw these reports. They told me that there were no changes in the Turkey’s Azerbaijan policy. Being the head of Azerbaijan-Turkey friendship group, I am expressing the Turkey’s opinion. The Nagorno Karabakh problem is the issue of not only Azerbaijan, but Turkey too. There is an injustice against Azerbaijan. Nagorno Karabakh was occupied. It is impossible that we retracted the demand for withdrawal of Armenian invaders from the Azerbaijani lands”.
    Radio Liberty’s Armenian service spread reports about the Turkey’s retracting the demand of Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani lands, but Turkey’s Foreign Ministry didn’t make announcement denying that.

  • LEVON MELIK-SHAHNAZARYAN: “KARABAKH CONFLICT WILL EITHER BE SETTLED BY FORCE OR REMAIN FROZEN FOR A LONG TIME”

    LEVON MELIK-SHAHNAZARYAN: “KARABAKH CONFLICT WILL EITHER BE SETTLED BY FORCE OR REMAIN FROZEN FOR A LONG TIME”
    30 January 2009, Resource : Today Az

    “The Karabakh conflict cannot be settled at the negotiation table”, said political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan, commenting on the results of the meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents.

    “Sargsyan and Aliyev’s meeting was formal and nothing new was said during it. No changes are expected in the positions of the Armenian and Azerbaijani parties on the Karabakh issue”, said the political scientist.

    He considers that problems at the negotiation table can be settled in case there are contañt points, while Karabakh issue lacks them.

    “The positions of Armenia and Azerbaijan fully contradict to each others”, noted Melik-Shahnazaryan.

    According to the political scientist, the conflict will be settled either by force, when Azerbaijan will be the initiator, or remain frozen for a long time.

    He also added that Armenia should strive to get maximal benefit from the quo status around Karabakh problem, developing economically.