Azerbaijani group issues protest to German Bundestag
By Sara Rajabova
Coordination Center of Azerbaijanis in Germany (CCAG) has sent a letter of protest to the German Bundestag (parliament), the State Committee for Work with Diaspora said on September 30.
The illegal visit of Bundestag member Jurgen Klimke to Nagorno-Karabakh, an occupied Azerbaijani region, has sparked discontent among the people of Azerbaijan as well as the Azerbaijanis living in Germany.
On September 12, Klimke, an MP from the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) parliamentary group, visited Armenia, and then headed to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan without Baku's consent, and held several meetings with separatists in the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic."
"This step of Bundestag member Jurgen Klimke contradicts the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council and the European Parliament which confirm the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan and all visits paid to the region should be agreed with relevant Azerbaijani bodies," the letter of protest says.
The letter also said the illegal visit of Klimke contradicts the policy of Germany, which recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
"His meeting with the illegal 'head' of the fictional 'republic' can be regarded not only as a violation of the norms of international law and an action justifying the aggressor, but also as a step taken against the policy pursued by the EU and international forces as a whole over a peaceful settlement of the (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict," the letter said.
CCAG on behalf of the Azerbaijanis living in Germany underlines the need to prevent such actions in the future and believes that such control would facilitate further development of relations and cooperation with European countries and in particular Germany.
Recently, the German Embassy in Azerbaijan said the Bundestag member's visit to Nagorno-Karabakh was a private one and the German federal government was not informed about it.
The embassy said the German government's stance on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict requires enforcement of the UN Security Council resolutions.
Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia are deemed illegal and individuals paying such visits are "blacklisted" by the Foreign Ministry. Earlier, the ministry released a list of 331 people declared persona non grata over illegal visits to the Armenian-occupied territories.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats over visits to its occupied territories. The Foreign Ministry stated that such visits, paid without prior notification of the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan, are illegal and damaging to the settlement process on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
A precarious cease-fire has been in place between Azerbaijan and Armenia since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over a million Azerbaijanis. Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.