Azerbaijan, Baku, July 8 / Trend S. Agayeva /
Azerbaijan is observing the pace of events in connection with Moldovan Ombudsman Aurelia Grigoriu's incident to prevent any further pressure on her or using any repression against her, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told media today.
According to him, Azerbaijani ambassador to Moldova is observing the pace of events.
Earlier, Azerbaijani Ombudsman condemned pressure and restrictions on freedom of Moldovan Ombudsman Aurelia Grigoriu in Armenia for her speech at the parliament of this country.
"Exerting pressure for voicing a historical fact, which is recognized by the international community and international organizations, against a person who is engaged in the protection of human rights and a representative of a foreign country, once again demonstrated to the world that Armenia is not a legal, democratic country," Azerbaijani Ombudsman Elmira Suleymanova's statement said.
"Thus, Armenia shows that it ignores the resolutions of the UN and the Council of Europe, as well as the obligations to respect human rights, which the country took before these organizations," Ombudsman said.
"While violating and restricting the rights of Moldovan Ombudsman, the Armenian authorities have grossly violated the relevant norms of international law," Suleymanova said.
Azerbaijani Ombudsman urged international organizations, including all her colleagues, not to remain indifferent to this incident.
While making a report at the Armenian Parliament, Moldovan Ombudsman Aurelia Grigoriu has recently stated that the Khojaly genocide was committed by Armenians, and this is an internationally recognized fact.
After her speech at the Armenian parliament, Moldovan ombudsman was not allowed to leave Armenia. She was kept in isolation and her life was threatened.
Grigoriu managed to leave Yerevan through the assistance of diplomatic missions accredited in Yerevan, without any apologizes that Armenia demanded.
On February 25-26, 1992, Armenian occupation forces together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops stationed in Khankendi committed an act of genocide towards the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.
Some 613 people were killed including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old men. A total of 1,000 civilians were disabled during the genocide. Eight families were killed, 130 children lost one parent and 25 lost both. Additionally, 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown. Following the withdrawal of the 366th infantry regiment from Khankendi, the military equipment belonging to the regiment, mostly went to Armenian separatists.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia 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 four U.N. Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.