Armenian mine terror victims, Azerbaijani NGOs appeal to PACE president

Armenian mine terror victims, their family members and representatives of Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have addressed the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Tiny Kox.

The appeal was read by one of the mine terror victims Ruhin Veliyev at an event dedicated to the topic, Report informs.

“We, the victims of the landmine terror perpetrated by Armenia and its military units, along with our family members and relatives, as well as civil society organizations specialized in this field, are submitting an open letter to Mr. Tiny Kox, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the members of PACE. We view the refusal of the PACE rapporteur on Azerbaijan, who recently visited Baku, to meet with the victims of Armenia's landmine warfare against Azerbaijan, their family members, and NGOs specializing in mine-related issues, as a mockery of the Council of Europe values and disregard for human rights and freedoms.

"We strongly condemn the fact that an organization such as PACE, self-identified as a human rights institution, has become a pawn in the hands of specific states and circles. An organization that, in the face of Azerbaijan's significant issue of landmines, maintains silence and lacks the courage to meet with landmine victims should feel ashamed of itself.

"The behaviour exhibited by PACE representatives is a reprehensible act that directly lends support to Armenia's landmine terror.

"More than a million landmines and unexploded ordnances are estimated to have been planted until recently in the territories liberated from occupation. In the aftermath of the 44-day war 2020, Armenia continued to transport landmines along the Lachin road and plant them in the Azerbaijani territories. We did not forget that rather than expressing dissent, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, defended the unhindered passage of Armenia’s illegal military units and cargoes into Azerbaijani territories along the Lachin road, facilitating their terrorist activities on another state's soil.

"Following a successful anti-terror operation on September 19-20, 2023, over 500,000 landmines and unexploded ordnances were discovered in the regained territories. This indicates that the mining of Azerbaijani territories has not ceased for a single day in the past three years; instead, it has escalated. The inclusion of Armenia in international reports as one of the mine-producing countries further substantiates this. Azerbaijan stands as one of the most heavily contaminated countries with mines globally. Lise Christoffersen, whom you recently dispatched to Azerbaijan, was one of the staunch advocates of Armenia's transportation of mines to Azerbaijan via the Lachin road.

"Therefore, landmine victims are not particularly surprised by this shameful attitude on the part of the Council of Europe and its double standards concerning Azerbaijan. In the recent past, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has failed to urge Armenia, one of its member states, even once to withdraw its military units from the Azerbaijani territory and provide landmine maps. More than one million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons have fallen victim to islamophobia, xenophobia, azerbaijanophobia, lobby and corruption networks that have taken root in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe over the years. Their human rights and freedoms have been blatantly ignored by the international organization headquartered in France.

"If, as the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, you continue to remain silent on this matter even after our appeal, you will forfeit any moral authority to speak about human rights and freedoms.

"Mr. President, receive and listen to us. Witness the extent of our suffering at the hands of Armenia's mine terror, see the losses we have endured, and understand the torture our families and relatives are going through due to our disabilities. We are also human beings with our own rights and wishes. If the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are truly human rights institutions, listening to and helping us must be their main duty," the appeal reads.