Azerbaijani MPs note Armenian aggression at NATO PA conference
By Rashid Shirinov
Italian Roma hosted a conference of NATO Parliamentary Assembly on 23-24 November, where the delegation of Azerbaijan’s Parliament took part along other participants.
Member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, MP Malahat Ibrahimgizi told APA on November 25 that in her speech, she stated that Azerbaijan has been suffering from the occupation and terror by the neighboring state, Armenia, for many years.
“As a result of the investigation of these terrorist acts, it always turns out that they have been supported by the Armenian intelligence. Despite the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands, which is reflected in the documents of international organizations, Armenia still supports terrorist acts,” she noted at the event.
Ibrahimgizi regretted that everyone turns a blind eye to the fact that Azerbaijan suffer from terror, while the country is one of the first states that joined international anti-terrorism activities, and condemns all forms of terrorism.
The MP further protested against the fact that when talking about the threats of terror, nobody remembers ASALA, whose terrorist activities were proven by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) terrorist group operated actively in 1973-1985. Forty-two Turkish diplomats were killed as a result of ASALA attacks, while the terrorist organization committed about 110 terror acts in total. Since the late 1980s, Armenian terrorist organizations and intelligence agencies, including ASALA, have committed more than 32 terrorist attacks in the transport system and other public facilities of Azerbaijan.
After the speech of the Azerbaijani side, several participants of the conference noted the importance of conducting investigations on the activities of such organizations, exchange of information, and underlined the importance of avoiding a unilateral approach towards the terrorist threat. Concerned about this, the MP from the Armenian delegation Koryun Nahapetyan tried to express reaction to the speech of the Azerbaijani delegation, but he was not given the floor. However, in the next session, he accused the Azerbaijani MPs of evading the topic. The moderator warned the Armenian MP.
In her next speech, Ibrahimgizi, responding to the provocation of the Armenian MP, once again showed the CIA documents and reminded that the question was raised on the basis of official statistics.
“You can reject the report of the CIA, but this is an official document. You still do not know that the country you represent has occupied the neighboring country’s lands, violating several international documents,” she stressed.
The MP added that the whole world recognizes Armenia as an aggressor and occupier, and it once again proved this at the conference.
Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.
Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia still continues the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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