PACE members meet with IDPs
By Rashid Shirinov
A delegation of members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on March 15 visited Azerbaijanis, who have violently been driven out of their native lands and obliged to live a refugee life for about 30 years.
The delegation visited the settlement for the refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) located near Masazir settlement of Absheron District to get acquainted with their plight.
Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Garay Farkhadov and chief Executive of Zangillan region Ramiz Hasanov brought to the attention of the guests that Azerbaijan was subjected to the military aggression of Armenia because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
As a result, 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories were occupied and Armenia carried out the ethnic cleansing policy in these territories. Over one million people became refugees and IDPs.
Garay Farkhadov told the PACE members that 95 modern settlements were built in different parts of Azerbaijan to improve living conditions of refugees and IDPs.
The PACE members also got acquainted with the conditions created in the secondary school #33 of Zangilan region, a kindergarten and met with the teaching staff.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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