Hajiyev: Armenia continues illegal actions in occupied Lachin District of Azerbaijan
By Trend
Armenia, blatantly violating its commitments under the Geneva Conventions, continues its illegal actions in the occupied Lachin District of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev said in his statement issued on the 26th anniversary of the occupation of the Lachin District on May 17.
He reminded that on May 18, 1992, as a continuation of the
military aggression policy pursued by Armenia against Azerbaijan,
Lachin District, which was not part of the former Nagorno-Karabakh
Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan, was occupied by the armed forces
of Armenia.
"As a result of the occupation, the inhabitants of Lachin District
were subjected to ethnic cleansing, and currently, more than 77,000
Lachin residents live as internally displaced persons (IDP) in
different regions of Azerbaijan. Armenia also inflicted serious
damage to state and private property of Lachin District - 217
cultural, 101 educational, 142 healthcare, 462 commercial
enterprises, 30 communications, two transport and various other
production facilities were plundered and destroyed," according to
the statement.
The document further reads that 54 historical monuments of world significance, more than 200 monuments of national significance have been subjected to vandalism by Armenia.
"The sixth century Albanian Aghoghlan cloister and the 14th century Malik Ajdar tomb, the mosque in Garygyshlag village and the ancient cemetery in Zabukh village are among them."
"The Lachin Museum of History and its unique collection of
ancient gold, silver and bronze artifacts were plundered. Also, the
silver handbag, looted exhibit of the Lachin History Museum, was
sold at London's Sotheby's auction for $80,000," reads the
document.
"Armenia, blatantly violating its commitments under the Geneva
Conventions, continues its illegal actions in the occupied Lachin
District, such as changing geographic names of the region,
exploiting its natural resources and turning them into the source
of illegal income, deliberate settlement of mainly Syrian refugees
of Armenian origin to Lachin District and altering its demographic
situation," Hajiyev said in his statement.
He emphasized that the European Court of Human Rights in the "Chiragov and others v. Armenia" case ruled in favor of Azerbaijani nationals, who were forcibly displaced from the occupied Lachin District of Azerbaijan.
The ECHR recognized continuing violations by Armenia of a number
of their rights under the Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, namely, those relating to the
protection of property (Article 1 of Protocol No. 1), the right to
respect for private and family life (Article 8 of the Convention)
and the right to an effective remedy (Article 13 of the
Convention).
"Of particular importance is the indication by the Court, in
paragraphs 19-20, that the Lachin District, in particular the
Lachin town, were under military attack; that in mid-May 1992,
Lachin was subjected to aerial bombardment, in the course of which
many houses were destroyed; that the town was looted and burned;
that Lachin and the surrounding villages were completely destroyed
during the military conflict," reads the statement.
The occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts of
Azerbaijan by Armenia and the ethnic cleansing conducted against
the Azerbaijani population in the occupied territories clearly
demonstrate that policy pursued by Armenia is the acquisition of
territory by use of force, Hajiyev said.
The spokesperson noted that under the aggravating conditions of military aggression of Armenia, the UN Security Council adopted resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993).
"The UNSC resolutions condemned the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan and reaffirmed respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the inviolability of its internationally recognized borders. In those resolutions, the Security Council also confirmed that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is part of Azerbaijan, and demanded immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces from all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Instead of implementing demands of UNSC resolutions Armenia pursues the policy of annexation of occupied lands of Azerbaijan," reads the statement.
Hajiyev emphasized that Armenia’s attempts to present the
results of illegal use of force against Azerbaijan - in
contravention of the imperative norms of international law and the
UN Charter, and massive violation of fundamental rights of more
than 700,000 Azerbaijanis, who were forcefully expelled from the
occupied territories - as “self-determination” or “human rights” of
less than 90,000 Armenian ethnic minority living in
Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is absurd and do not have any
moral, legal or political justification, adding that it is only
aimed at concealing the true intentions of Armenia.
"Armenia must finally understand that keeping Azerbaijan’s lands
under the occupation can never produce desired political outcome
and sustaining the status-quo of occupation is major cause of
Armenia’s self-isolation and current systematic socio-economic and
demographic crises," he said.
According to him, ending occupation of Azerbaijan’s lands and
withdrawal of Armenia’s forces from occupied territories can
provide chances for comprehensive regional cooperation and
contribute to provision of lasting peace.
"Restoration of territorial integrity and sovereignty of
Azerbaijan, and ensuring rights of Azerbaijani IDPs, including
those from Lachin to return to their native lands and eliminating
the grave consequences of the conflict, along being the commitment
of the international community, is an unconditional right of
Azerbaijan under the Charter of the UN," he said.
Hajiyev emphasized that Azerbaijan, while supporting the
intensification of international efforts towards the soonest
resolution of the conflict retains its rights under the Charter of
UN to restore its territorial integrity and sovereignty within
internationally recognized borders and defend the violated rights
of its citizens.
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