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Heads of Azerbaijani NGOs address to OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

12 September 2020 11:02 (UTC +04:00)

A group of NGOs, acting in Azerbaijan has addressed an appeal on illegal resettlement of Armenian population to the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan, occupied by Armenia to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Stephane Visconti (France), Andrew Shofer (USA), Igor Popov (Russia) and international organizations, APA reports.

The appeal reads that:

"According to our observations, Armenia is making attempts to illegally resettle the Armenian population from some Middle Eastern countries to Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent districts of Azerbaijan, which are internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan.

The illegal activities of the aggressor-Armenia in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and our adjacent territories, as well as the policy of illegal settlement, are discussed among many Azerbaijani NGOs and we decided to have an appeal to the international organizations.

This is not the first time that Armenia, using the situation in the region for its disgusting purposes, has attempted to illegally resettle the Armenian population from some Middle Eastern countries to Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent districts of Azerbaijan, which are internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan. This process has started from the time of Tsarist Russia, accelerated during Bolsheviks-Soviet period and still continuing nowadays.

The fact of illegal settlement carried out by Armenia is also recorded in the reports of the OSCE fact-finding missions of 2005. OSCE has sent fact-finding missions to the occupied lands twice and the report of these missions approved organized resettlement of Armenians to Karabakh. Furthermore, majority of our historical and religious monuments have been destroyed by Armenia. Our mosques, graves have been destroyed and our museums have been ravaged,” he added. Azerbaijan restored an Armenian church in Baku and more than 5,000 books in Armenian language are kept in this church. This is the difference: their actions and our attitude.

Of course, these actions by Armenia are a gross violation of international humanitarian law, as well as the 1949 Geneva Convention and its additional protocols. The goal of the occupier-Armenia is to artificially increase the number of Armenians in these lands, change the ethnic and cultural characteristics of the territories, and thereby carry out a policy of annexation. According to the Rome Statute which regulated the International Criminal Court, it is also constitutes as a war crime.

These fact, are not raised only by Azerbaijani side. According to Any Meljumyan, from Euriasianet.org, which is international analytical platform, following a devastating explosion in Beirut, the Armenian government prepared an aid package to help ethnic Armenians in Lebanon emigrate to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. More than 1,300 Lebanese-Armenians have flown to Armenia and Karabakh as of September 2; 850 intend to stay long-term, Chief Commissioner of Diaspora issues Zareh Sinanyan told the news website Hetq.

On September 1, 2020, the government of Armenia, began considering an aid plan to assist repatriated from Lebanon, Sinanyan said. The package would include health, education, and social assistance and housing support, he said.

Several more Lebanese-Armenian families have moved to Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the “leader” of separatists, Arayik Harutyunyan. The authorities have allocated 25 million drams ($50,000) and another 17 million drams ($35,000) from another humanitarian fund to help the resettlement.

Azerbaijani officials have objected to the resettlement to Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

The fact of illegal resettlement is also proved by Armenian ordinary migrant families which are organizingly resettled to Karabakh by Armenian government. It is quite possible, that this family even didn’t know that, their movement to Karabakh, organized by Armenian Republic is completely illegal and contradict to all related international humanitarian law rules. Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smk4GN2qmz0&feature=emb_title

We, a number of NGOs in Azerbaijan, appealing to the international community to help to stop this illegal process and violation of international humanitarian law and committing a war crimes by Armenian Republic. OSCE Minsk Group of Co-Chairs, should immediately react to the process of illegal resettlement of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh occupied region of Azerbaijan."

The appeal has been signed by 20 heads of NGOs.