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Nagorno-Karabakh conflict deserves more attention – UK MPs (PHOTO)

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 18 September 2014 17:33 (UTC +04:00)
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict deserves more attention and needs to be resolved, members of UK Parliament believe.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict deserves more attention – UK MPs  (PHOTO)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 18

By Aygun Badalova, Sabina Ahmadova - Trend:

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," Sir 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.

Sir 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, Sir 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," Sir 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, Sir 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.

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