Armenia must understand that occupation of Azerbaijani lands is temporary: Hajiyev
By Trend
Armenia has to understand that occupation of Azerbaijan’s lands, including Kalbajar district is temporary, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev said April 2 in a statement on the occupation of the country’s Kalbajar district and the April escalation of 2016.
“As part of war unleashed by Armenia against Azerbaijan and Armenia’s systematic policy of aggression and occupation against Azerbaijan, on April 2, 1993, Kalbajar district of Azerbaijan was occupied by armed forces of Armenia,” reads the statement.
“Kalbajar is located beyond administrative boundaries of the
Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and offensive operation to
occupy Kalbajar was mainly carried out from the territory of
Armenia using heavy weaponry, Mi-24 helicopter gunships and
advanced fixed-wing aircraft.”
As a result of occupation, around 60,000 people in Kalbajar were
subjected to ethnic cleansing and were expelled from their native
lands, 511 innocent civilians were killed, 321 people were taken
hostage or are missing, Hajiyev said.
Presently, more than 70,000 Kalbajar residents are living in
many different districts of Azerbaijan as internally displaced
people (IDP), he added.
“Private property of Kalbajar inhabitants were plundered and
destroyed,” he said. “Along with that, center of Kalbajar region,
around 150 villages, dozens of historical-cultural monuments, one
museum, Istisu sanatorium, more than 110 libraries, around 100
schools, 9 kindergartens and hospitals were razed to the ground by
the armed forces of Armenia,” the statement said. “Serious damage
was inflicted to rich historical-cultural heritage of
Kalbajar.”
“The Museum of History in the Kalbajar district with its unique
collection of ancient coins, ancient cemetery, Albanian cloister
and churches in Vang village, Lech castle, Ulukhan castle,
Galaboynu castle, Mosques in Kalbajar district and in villages,
Taglidash bridge, Ashig Shamshir Culture House, and other
historical monuments were destroyed by the armed forces of
Armenia,” the statement noted.
“The original architectural features of the Ganjasar and Khudavank
cloisters in Kalbajar region, belonging to the ancient Albanian
Christian heritage of Azerbaijan and having no connection with the
Armenian Church, were changed to incorporate them into the Armenian
Church,” Hajiyev noted.
“Predatory exploitation of natural mineral resources of Kalbajar is
also being carried out,” he said. “Base Metals CJSC, which is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Armenia's Vallex Group CJSC, registered
in Liechtenstein, since 2002 has been exploiting Gyzylbulag
underground copper-gold mine near Heyvaly village in the occupied
Kalbajar district of Azerbaijan. Predatory exploitation of that
mine led to its almost complete depletion.”
Since 2007, GPM Gold, a subsidiary of GeoProMining Ltd., has been
extracting ore in Soyudlu gold mine in the occupied Kalbajar
district, he added.
“The construction of the Vardenis-Aghdara highway through the
occupied Kalbajar district of Azerbaijan, is directly linked to
gaining access to the areas in the occupied territories rich in
natural resources and to facilitate exporting goods and minerals
out of the occupied territories to Armenia and international
markets,” the statement said.
As a result of predatory and illegal exploitation of mineral
resources of Kalbajar serious damage has been inflicted on the
environment, Hikmat Hajiyev said.
“Without due diligence imports of minerals, including gold
extracted from the occupied Kalbajar and other districts of
Azerbaijan by some western countries are matter of serious
concern,” he noted.
“By blatantly violating the international humanitarian law, Armenia
transfers settlers and conducts demographic change in occupied
Kalbajar region as it was also confirmed by OSCE fact-finding
mission,” the statement said.
“Following the statement of United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
president on April 6, 1993, UNSC adopted resolution of 822 (1993)
with regard to the occupation of Kalbajar district of Azerbaijan,”
Hajiyev said. “UN Security Council Resolution 822 reaffirmed the
principle of “the inadmissibility of the use of force for the
acquisition of territory” and demanded immediate withdrawal of all
occupying forces from the Kalbajar district and other occupied
lands of Azerbaijan.”
“Following the adoption of Security Council resolution 822 (1993),
the CSCE Minsk Group, composed of nine countries, worked out the
“timetable of urgent steps” to implement the resolution,” he added.
“Instead of withdrawing its armed forces from the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan, as demanded by the UNSC resolution,
Armenia on the contrary continued to occupy Agdam, Jabrayil,
Gubadly, Fizuli and Zangilan districts of Azerbaijan in 1993.”
In his report to the president of the Security Council, dated July
27, 1993, chairman of the CSCE Minsk Conference, Mario Raffaelli,
emphasized that the Armenian side had disregarded Security Council
demands, launched an attack, seized new territories in Azerbaijan
and challenged the mediation efforts towards a settlement, Hajiyev
noted.
“Along with the resolution 822, UNSC adopted resolutions 853
(1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993), and demanded immediate,
unconditional and full withdrawal of occupying forces from all
seized lands of Azerbaijan,” he said. “However, Armenia until now
continues to disregard the implementation of the UNSC resolution
demands.”
Escalation of the situation and attack of densely populated
Azerbaijani settlements with heavy weapons along the line of
contact by armed forces of Armenia on April 2, 2016 once again
demonstrated that Armenia’s continuing occupation of Azerbaijani
lands and the illegal presence of armed forces of Armenia in the
seized lands of Azerbaijan remain a major threat to regional peace
and security, according to the statement.
“In response to the attacks of Armenia, the armed forces of Azerbaijan have taken counter measures, which resulted in providing security of Azerbaijani civilians and liberation of strategically important lands of Azerbaijan from occupation,” reads the statement.
The only way to achieve a durable and lasting settlement is to ensure the unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, to exercise the forcibly displaced population's inalienable right to return, he added.
“Armenian side, instead of wasting time and misleading its own people and the international community, must cease its policy of annexation and ethnic cleansing and comply with its international obligations and to engage constructively in the conflict settlement process,” Hajiyev said. “All responsibility falls on Armenian side for the maintenance of status quo of occupation.”
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