Azerbaijan no stranger to the brutality of terrorism
The use of terror as a political tool is nothing new and over the course of istory has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Terror, however, is a double–edged sword and concerns even those who revert to the use of terror, irrespective of their location.
But the face of terror has been changing and expanding. Fighting it has become more and more dangerous and more challenging.
Terror recognizes neither borders nor nations. It has no color or origin. This is the tragedy of the modern world. It kills people and destroys their culture.
Fighting international terror is uniting major countries within the international community. They realize the risk and danger and the need to act together to eradicate this disease.
President Ilham Aliyev last week stressed that Azerbaijan is situated in a region where it should monitor the processes taking place in its surroundings and ensure the safety of the country.
"This is a priority of our activities, because it is a matter of life and security of our citizens," the president clarified. He called on the countries to take a common stand and coordinate their efforts.
Although Azerbaijan faces no imminent threats for now, it has not been immune from the horrors of terrorism.
Countries should realize their commitments for the security of their citizens and adapt their policies to this principle.
Armenian terrorist organizations carried out more than 30 terror attacks on Azerbaijani territory in the beginning of the 1990s.
President Aliyev said the terror attacks conducted by Armenia against Azerbaijan were part of a policy of occupation of Azerbaijani lands in early 1990s.
Despite Azerbaijan being able to suppress terror on its own, it was unable to halt injustice when 20 percent of its internationally recognized territory fell under the Armenian occupation.
"Armenian occupation is a violation of not only international law, but also a violation of all human norms," he stressed.
At this point in time, as terror groups appear to be gaining influence in almost every corner of the world, it is high time to respond to threats in a timely manner. The world should not tolerate the violation of elementary human norms and should act together to suffocate such negative tendencies.