Baku urges int’l community to fight illegal Armenian fundraising
By Vugar Khalilov
Baku has urged the international community to take legal action against the illegal fundraising by the Armenian diaspora aimed at undermining Azerbaijan's sovereignty.
“The [Azerbaijani] Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on all UN member states to take effective countermeasures in the framework of their international obligations in regards to organizations registered in their territories and engaged in such illegal activities against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan,” the ministry said in a statement on February 16.
Azerbaijan's report on "Armenia's misuse of non-profit organizations and charities for corruption, money laundering, and terrorist financing" has been released as an official document of the UN General Assembly and Security Council, the ministry said.
The report underlined that during and after the 44-day war in 2020, the Armenian government organized illegal fundraising campaigns through Armenian diaspora organizations operating in various countries under the guise of humanitarian aid and that the funds raised through these campaigns were used to finance terrorist activities against Azerbaijan's civilian population within its sovereign territories.
“The report, prepared on the basis of statements by Armenian government officials and data from Armenian public sources, states that during the Patriotic War alone, organizations of the Armenian diaspora living in 73 countries collected more than $170 million, of which $110 million were transferred to the state budget of Armenia to cover military expenses. This fact was reflected in the speech of the Prime Minister of Armenia on April 21, 2021 to the Armenian Parliament on the implementation of the state budget for 2020,” the ministry stressed.
It added that such fundraising campaigns are organized and managed by the “Hayastan All Armenian Fund” (representing the majority of the Armenian political leadership) and the fund continues these activities even after the November 10, 2020, trilateral ceasefire deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declares that such activity, directed against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and creating illegal financial flows to its territory, is a gross violation of the national legislation not only of Azerbaijan but also of those countries in which the relevant organizations of the Armenian diaspora are registered, as well as existing international obligations in the field of combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism,” the report emphasized.
It should be noted that the 44-day war in 2020 not only defeated the Armenian army, but also the Armenian diaspora.
The Armenian diaspora organizations, including the U.S. branch of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), ANCA, which raised millions of dollars to continue the conflict in the region and prepare provocations against Azerbaijan, have exhausted materially and morally.
Back in 2018, former US ambassador to Azerbaijan Mathew Bryza said that “ANCA does not want to see a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which would reduce the organization’s ability to raise money from donors”.
The Armenian army’s inability to resist during the war after so much help has disappointed those who donated to the diaspora.
Under the guise of pursuing the interests of the Armenian people, the diaspora effectively turns the Armenian people into its victims. From this standpoint, the support given to Armenia by the Armenian diaspora can also be seen as a myth.
It is noteworthy that the most toxic diaspora named ANCA has supported and promoted for decades Armenia’s war crimes, its occupation, and ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijan’s lands, advocating against peace in Karabakh.
Being far from reality, the lobbyist arm of the Dashnak radical and expansionist group and the Armenian diaspora’s hate club ANCA continues to make baseless land claims towards Turkey and Azerbaijan. The diaspora cares less about Armenians in Armenia, it focuses on hating Turkey and Azerbaijan. It is actively involved in the anti-Turkish and anti-Azerbaijani misinformation campaigns.
ANCA unites the most radical nationalists building up hatred towards Azerbaijan and Turkey as a way to ensure political and financial support for themselves.
ARF, also known as Dashnaktsutyun (in short, Dashnak), is an Armenian ultranationalist left-wing party founded in 1890. Today the party operates in Armenia and in countries where the Armenian diaspora is present, including the United States.
--
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz