French double standards: My country supports Armenian separatism while persecuting Corsicans - French journalist
By Trend
Jean-Michel Brun, Executive Director of Trend News Agency's Lagazetteaz.fr newspaper, has published an article dedicated to the fact that France supports Armenian separatism in Karabakh while arresting Corsicans with similar demands, Trend reports.
According to the journalist, France has found a new reason to criticize Azerbaijan – the latest events on the Lachin corridor.
"This corridor that connects Armenia with Karabakh is located on the territory of the sovereign Azerbaijani state. Russian peacekeepers have been taking the positions in the region since the end of the 44-day war in November 2020," said the journalist.
"There is information that along this corridor, in addition to products intended for the Armenian population remaining in Karabakh, weapons and equipment are transported for the illegal exploitation of minerals by Armenia. These include a gold mine and a copper-molybdenum deposit. At the moment, Azerbaijani environmentalists are holding peaceful protests on the Lachin road," added the journalist.
Brun noted that these activities are met with biased criticism from France, which accuses Azerbaijan of depriving Khankendi of the main supply route.
"It is quite ridiculous that these French critics are heard during the arrests of Corsican independence activists in Paris on charges of terrorism, while Armenian paramilitary groups are seen as freedom fighters," he noted.
The author asks that if about 20,000 Karabakh Armenians become the object of universal attention, how can 400,000 Corsicans be denied the demand for independence from Paris?
"In fact, as Araik Harutyunyan said, the number of Armenians remaining in Karabakh is no more than the number of Corsicans. In order to exaggerate the issue, the French side speaks of 100,000 Armenians in Karabakh, which is most likely an outdated figure referring to the last Soviet census of 1989, which at that time corresponded to the total population of Karabakh, including Armenians and Azerbaijanis," noted the French journalist.
"However, many events have taken place since then, including the forcible expulsion of Karabakh Azerbaijanis from the region, whose number at that time was about 40,000 people. In addition, there was a mass emigration of Karabakh Armenians in search of better lives in Russia or elsewhere," he added.
"It turns out that there are good and bad activists and separatists fighting for independence. Corsicans are clearly "bad." So who will come to the aid of Corsicans who demand independence, to take on the role that France offers to play in Karabakh?" the article says.
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