Azerbaijani NGOs urge EU to cancel agreement with school named after Monte Melkonyan Open letter to European officials

Azerbaijani civil society organizations have issued an open letter to the European Union, urging it to annul the planned membership of Armenia’s Military-Sports Lyceum named after Monte Melkonyan in the EU Military Secondary Schools Forum.

In the letter addressed to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Magdalena Grono, and EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan Marijana Kujundžić, the organisations said the move has sparked “widespread confusion and anger” in Azerbaijani society.

Caliber.Az presents the full text of the letter:

We, the representatives of Azerbaijani civil society organizations, address the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, European Union's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Magdalena Grono, as well as the Head of the European Union Delegation to Azerbaijan Marijana Kujundžić.

The news that the Armenian Military-Sports Lyceum named after the terrorist Monte Melkonyan is joining the European Union Military Secondary Schools Forum has caused widespread confusion and anger in Azerbaijani society. The decision of a Forum operating under the auspices of the European Security and Defence College, an institution that claims to uphold security, shared values, and responsible governance, has raised serious doubts about the EU’s consistency with its own stated principles, particularly for Azerbaijani families of missing persons who expect fairness and accountability in all Europe-supported platforms. These families, who recently held a silent protest in front of the UN Office in Geneva and were encouraged that the world was finally paying attention to their decades-long tragedy, were deeply frustrated to learn that a school named after war criminal Monte Melkonyan, whose organization is considered as a terrorist group, has been admitted to an EU-affiliated Forum.

In the 1990s, Monte Melkonyan took part in extremely violent military operations in Kalbajar, an area that Armenia acknowledges as part of Azerbaijan, yet he continues to be publicly glorified in Armenia despite the serious criminal actions he conducted there.

This involvement in armed conflict followed his earlier association with the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), a group that carried out terrorist attacks against Turkish diplomats and their families across several European countries, including France, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, Austria, and Spain, between 1975 and the mid-1980s, illustrating a long pattern of his participation in militant activities.

According to publicly available information, the corresponding memorandum on granting membership status to the “Military-Sports Lyceum named after Monte Melkonyan” will be signed in a few days. If some inconsiderate EU officials are unaware of what this terrorist represents to the Azerbaijani people, we encourage them to watch the video of Monte Melkonyan made during the occupation of Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar district.

We regret that, in Armenia, figures involved in the armed occupation of Azerbaijani territories and associated with serious wartime abuses, continue to be glorified, including Monte Melkonyan. Regrettably, we also observe that the European Union continues to apply double standards in its approach toward Azerbaijan, particularly on matters of territorial integrity and state sovereignty.

Particularly, the families of Azerbaijan’s missing persons ask how an institution named after Monte Melkonyan can be promoted on an EU-supported platform, when his legacy is associated with atrocities. 

We urge the European Union to reconsider this disrespectful action and annul the agreement with an institution named after a terrorist. We demand that EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan Marijana Kujundžić to meet with us and clarify why the European Commission glorifies atrocity perpetrator Monte Melkonyan.

Sincerely,

The representatives of Azerbaijani civil society organizations 

Signatures: 

1. Ramil Iskandarli – Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan National NGO Forum

2. Amir Aliyev – Chairman of the “Center for the Promotion of Human Rights” Public Union

3. Alimammad Nuriyev – Head of the “Constitution” Research Fund

4. Konul Behbudova – Chairwoman of the “Karabakh Missing Families” Public Union

5. Dilgam Ahmad – Chairman of the “Chapar – Center for the Study of National Heritage” Public Union

6. Sevinc Alizade – Chairwoman of the “Victory” Support to Families of Martyrs Public Union

7. Tunzala Abdullalimova – Chairwoman of the “For the Motherland - Support to Families of Martyrs” Public Union

8. Jeyran Hasanova – Chairwoman of the “Support to Mothers of Martyrs” Public Union

9. Ayaz Mirzayev – Chairman of the “Azerbaijani Journalists Network” Public Union

10. Aqil Jamal – Chairman of the “Common Values” Public Union