Foreign

Interview of the President of the Turkish Bars Association Metin Feyzioglu with APA.

– How would you evaluate the relations between the Azerbaijani Bar Association and the Turkish Bars Association?

– Firstly I have to stress that a country whose courts are not strong cannot have a strong economy. Both local and foreign companies refrain from making an investment in the country whose courts are not strong, and also the arts, fine arts, sports, and other spheres cannot develop in such a country. I would say unambiguously that for the development of communities it is important that people would trust in courts. This is very significant for enabling the free expression of thoughts by people, as well as for the implementation of the exchange of views. We have such a proverb reading as: “The lightning of truth shows itself in the disputes between judges”. We shouldn’t forget this.

Currently, the Azerbaijani Bar Association and the Turkish Bars Association are closely cooperating. In recent years, the Turkish advocatory system acquired a number of achievements, and we are interested in sharing our experience with our colleagues from Azerbaijan.

– You have stated that a joint meeting of the Azerbaijani Bar Association and the Turkish Bars Association would be held in Nakhchivan. Has the date of the joint meeting been clarified?

– Currently, the activities are being implemented over a number of projects including the project for keeping on agenda the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Garabagh conflict. For this purpose, the presidiums of both institutions will come together in Nakhchivan. We have been conducting the exchange of ideas in this regard for a long time. Firstly, we are planning to visit Baku in order to commemorate the Khojaly genocide. And thereafter we intend to travel to Nakhchivan and to hold a joint meeting there. Most likely, our joint meeting will take place in February.

– You touched upon the Nagorno Garabagh conflict. What are your suggestions for bringing Azerbaijani truths to the world?

– It is very important to bring the facts to the international community that Azerbaijan is exposed to injustice and its sacred lands under occupation. Azerbaijani and Turkish societies, in particular, need to understand the importance of this issue. Those who stand up in Turkey saying, "We are all Armenians," will be hypocritical until they rise up and say once a year "We are all Turks," realizing the murder of Turks. There have been many massacres in the history of the Turks, but if they do not remember it at least once a year, it means that they approach the issues with double standards. We must not allow our children to be influenced by the hypocrites who act in double standards. We must set an aim to inform the growing generation of Anatolia and the Azerbaijani Turks about the massacres that we exposed. It is very important for our youth to be constantly vigilant and cautious. The so-called "Armenian genocide" accusations by the Armenians and the Armenian Diaspora are aimed at concealing their genocide against the Turks. Armenians use their lies to prevent the international recognition of the Khojaly genocide. We want to make heard and show the truth to the West who does not want to see it. Azerbaijan and Turkey should always feel that they are one nation and two states and that they should unite and develop their strengths.

– Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan-Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan Hikmat Hajiyev proposed to revoke the Nobel Peace Prize from Mikhail Gorbachev on the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy. We would like to know your attitude toward this issue.

– Of course, this issue is under the jurisdiction of the Swedish Royal Academy and other international bodies. Mikhail Gorbachev himself admitted that January 20 was the biggest mistake of his life. But it cannot be left aside caking mistake. Yes, under the name of the Soviet Union's collapse, Gorbachev might have great services in the West, but it has also led to many massacres. Along with Azerbaijan, there were massacres in Kazakhstan. All this proves that Gorbachev does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.

– You have emphasized the importance of taking into consideration the territorial integrity of Syria in the process of writing the Syrian Constitution. How do you see the resolution of the Syrian conflict as a lawyer?

– Yes, it is important to take into consideration the unitary state of Syria, not divide it into provinces, and consider Turkey's state structure when writing the Syrian Constitution. But our purpose is not to interfere with the constitution of another state. Turkey has worked hard to make Syria a safer region, both military and political, and has made some progress. We can never allow this safe zone to be further divided into provinces under the Syrian constitution, to become "little states" that will be surrendered to the PKK again, and to become the nests of terrorist organizations. Syria, Turkey and Iran must solve this problem together. There are no friends or enemies in the world, there are states with interests and profits.

We have had many meetings with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Syria. The Foreign Ministry has a very successful foreign policy on Syria and Libya. If the Turkish Foreign Ministry gives us confidence, we can meet with the Syrian Bar Association and share our experience in the process of writing the Syrian Constitution.

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