TEAS starts Many Happy Returns campaign
By Sara Rajabova
The "Many Happy Returns" campaign has been launched in London initiated by the European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS).
The innovative concept consists of sending birthday cards to every MP and Peer in the Houses of Parliament. Each item has been paired with one of the estimated one million Azerbaijani Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) or refugees who share their birthday.
The cards feature the common English birthday greeting "Many Happy Returns" which, in this instance, also refers to the desire of the people to return home. Each card features a portrait of the IDP or refugee that has the same birthday as the recipient, taken in three camps by the renowned German photographer Philip Rathmer, followed by a personal message.
The cards are supported by a website at
www.manyhappyret
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.
The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.
Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.