French human rights activist condemns Macron's Karabakh statement
By Fatima Hasanova
Thierry Valle, chairman of the French Coordinating Center for Freedom of Conscience, has severely condemned French President Emmanuel Macron for his latest anti-Azerbaijani statement, Azernews reports with reference to Causeur magazine.
Valle pointed out that Macron's remark endangered the fragile peace in the South Caucasus in an open letter that was published in the Causeur magazine under the heading "Trust cannot be gained without truth". According to the author, Macron is also skeptical of the EU's contribution to the rehabilitation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The appeal points out that Macron's assertion that "Karabakh is the heart of Armenia" violates international law and is detrimental to this accord in the light of the parties' recognition of each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty at their most recent meeting in Prague.
Macron "pushed the South Caucasus towards Russia" by risking Europe's involvement in the delicate peace process, Valle said, describing the famous comment as "France's most failed diplomatic act in the post-Soviet period".
The human rights activist also accused Macron of hypocrisy.
"I don't think that the tragedy in Khojaly, which is the darkest page of the Karabakh conflict, can fit, as you say, into the context of the `fight for tolerance, which Armenia spearheaded' without knowing this is insulting to France's foundational ideas of 'equality'," he said.
At the end of his speech, Valle urged Macron to stay faithful to France's fundamental moral ideals and to urge his Armenian allies to acknowledge the atrocity in Khojaly.
"This may be a real contribution of France to peace in the South Caucasus, which it desperately needs," Valle concluded.
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