Yerevan's lies remain barrier to peace with Baku Such a “forgetful” Simonyan

We have long been accustomed to the fact that representatives of official Yerevan lie shamelessly and use manipulative and far from reality expressions to assess what is happening in the Garabagh region of Azerbaijan. In this regard, the next conclusion of Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan, which he shared on his Facebook page, was not out of the ordinary.

“Ethnic cleansing in Azerbaijan continues right now, tens of thousands of people are fleeing their homes, and this is happening in the XXI century before the eyes of the whole world. This is genuinely evil,” Simonyan wrote.

These were the words of the same Alen, who spat at passers-by, lied about the abduction of the son of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and earned the contempt of citizens of his country with his love for a luxury vacation in tragic days. As we see, this Simonyan is an extraordinary character. I would even say alternatively gifted. And therefore, his assessment of what is happening in the Garabagh region of Azerbaijan is not surprising.

It, of course, has nothing to do with reality for a number of reasons. Let's start with the fact that there has never been “ethnic cleansing” anywhere, in which the country accused of it has officially and repeatedly asked a group of people illegally living on its territory to stay.

Let’s just remember a simple and indisputable thing - all those who are now moving to Armenia from Azerbaijan have lived there for decades with passports of citizens of the Republic of Armenia. But note that not a single citizen of Azerbaijan lives in Armenia. It was Armenia that committed ethnic cleansing. And hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia are still deprived of the opportunity to visit their homes. Simonyan suddenly “forgets” about all this when he voices yet another lie about Azerbaijan. But that's not all.

He pretends that he is not aware of the fact that the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry regularly shares information about military equipment, weapons and ammunition confiscated after the completion of local anti-terror measures in this corner of our country. There are armored vehicles, air defense systems, and much more. And that's just what's left. And before the counter-terrorist measures of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, there were 10,000 Armenian military personnel in Garabagh.

Accordingly, we are not talking about “ethnic cleansing” here, but about cleansing a large part of Azerbaijan from armed separatists and terrorists. But, of course, Armenia’s Alen does not admit the obvious. He pretends that he does not hear the statements that have been and continue to be made from Baku. Meanwhile, in an interview with Canada's CBC, Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev clearly stated that Azerbaijan is not forcing ethnic Armenians to leave the Garabagh region, but instead Baku guarantees their safety if they remain.

Baku sends oil products, medicines, and food to the Garabagh region. All necessary conditions are being created for the voluntary departure of Garabagh Armenians to Armenia. Baku, at the request of the Garabagh Armenians, even allocated 30 buses to help those who do not have personal vehicles leave.

This is the reality that Alen Simonyan, as well as other representatives of official Yerevan, desperately refuse to see. And in this regard, it is interesting what the Politico newspaper wrote the other day. The publication says that the head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, refused to agree with the words of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that “ethnic cleansing” is taking place in Garabagh.

A journalist asked Power, who visited Armenia, if she agreed with Pashinyan’s assessment. The head of USAID refused to use the term “ethnic cleansing”. At the same time, as the newspaper reports, the American woman’s speech was interrupted by an Armenian, who shouted that she “must say that this is genocide or go home.”

Unfortunately, the publication did not specify whether this Armenian was Alen Simonyan. But it is absolutely obvious that that whole show was staged by the leadership of the Republic of Armenia, which continues to lie godlessly, preferring to baselessly blame Azerbaijan and thereby narrow the space on the path to achieving final and lasting peace in the region.