Nagorno-Karabakh conflict deserves more attention
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict deserves more
attention and needs to be resolved, members of UK Parliament
believe.
"The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict doesn't get the attention it
deserves," Peter Luff, UK Parliament Member, former Defense
Minister told Trend in an interview.
"It's a complicated, huge importance that should be considered of
course," he said.
Luff believes that considering Russia's activity in Ukraine and ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in Middle East, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not getting enough attention.
Another UK MP, Tony Baldry believes that the resolution of the
conflict has to be found.
"This is not a situation that could remain in limbo for eternity,
and one of the difficulties seems to have been forgotten, so we
need to ensure that people are reminded that this is something that
actually has to be resolved," Baldry told Trend.
He believes that one of the ways to do that is by organizing some
conferences around the world to ensure that people understand the
issue.
Member of Parliament for North Oxfordshire, Tony Baldry has been MP since 1983. He was knighted for political and public services in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2012. He held various ministerial posts from 1990 until the last General Election, serving as Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1995-97.
Sir Bauldry was appointed Second Church Estates Commissioner in June 2010, with responsibility for answering questions in the House in a manner similar to questions to ministers on the work of the Church Commissioners.
Talking about the Khojaly genocide, Baldry stressed that one of
the ways to prevent such crimes from happening in the future is
ensuring that people understand that there is no immunity for war
crimes or crimes against humanity.
"Thus, sooner or later the justice will be served," he said. "We
have to have a system of international law and system where people
who attempt to commit war crimes or crimes against humanity, would
know that they won't get away with it."
Rector of London Academy of Diplomacy Nabil Ayad also believes that
there's a lack of awareness among politicians regarding this
tragedy.
"They don't know what happened," he said.
"Armenians have lobbies in Washington, Paris, Brussels," Ayad said.
"Azerbaijan needs to open up to the world and be more forthcoming
about creating awareness on these issues, in different ways."
He noted that training and education play a role in this
process.
Ayad called the events in Khodjaly "a crime, a massacre, a
genocide", adding that the outside world needs to pay the attention
to what happened.
"The criminals are in power, we know that and they should be
prosecuted, regardless of time," he said. "You don't forgive
crimes, you don't forgive genocide or massacres. Justice, at the
end of the day, must prevail, and this is our message."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a
result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
seven surrounding districts.
On February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with
the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops stationed in Khankendi
committed an act of genocide against the population of the
Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.
As a result of the massacre, some 613 people were killed, including
63 children, 106 women and 70 old people. Eight families were
totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children
lost both. A total of 487 civilians became disabled as a result of
the onslaught. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage,
while the fate of 150 people remains unknown.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are
currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet
implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the
liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.