Western Azerbaijan Community accuses EU's Armenia mission's head of slander

The Western Azerbaijan Community responded on March 30 to the statement of the head of the European Union (EU) mission in Armenia Markus Ritter.

The press service of the community said the head of the EU mission in Armenia announced Armenia in his recent statement as a victim after the so-called prevention of an “attack” by Azerbaijan.

"Ritter thereby tried to present Armenia as a victim, known throughout history for its military aggression, occupation, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity facing Azerbaijan, and which currently continues its actions against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. And Azerbaijan, which, in fact, suffered from these crimes of Armenia, was presented in a negative way," the community's statement reads, according to APA.

"We would like to remind Ritter that the mission sent by the EU in order to protect human rights has a big and specific responsibility towards the Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia. Almost all the settlements located in the border zone where the mission was deployed are the places of residence of Azerbaijanis who were subjected to ethnic cleansing. We are sure that the members of the mission see destroyed Azerbaijani graves and cultural heritage in these villages every day.

It is regrettable that the head of mission, instead of revealing the facts of obvious violations of human rights, in accordance with the mandate, makes statements of a slanderous and provocative nature.

We urge the mission to do their own thing and, as we indicated in a letter to the President of the Council of the European Union, Charles Michel, to do the following:

- Facilitate the safe return of exiled Azerbaijanis to Armenia;

- Collect information on the impact of the conflict on Azerbaijanis forcibly expelled from Armenia, including preparing reports on the state of the property and cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis;

- Prepare and implement confidence-building measures for Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia, including creating conditions for them to visit their homes, cemeteries, shrines and cultural monuments;

- Together with the Community, prepare and implement relevant programs on the provisions of international humanitarian law, human rights, protection of civilians, and UN Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, resolution No. 2250 (2015) on the issue of on youth, peace and security, and resolution 1612 (2005) on children in armed conflict.

The European Union, including its mission in Armenia, through its impartial and thorough efforts in the field of human rights, should encourage respect for the rights of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia, and thereby contribute to the achievement of sustainable peace,” the statement concludes.