Azerbaijan, Baku, July 8 / Trend E.Tariverdiyeva /
The US Azeris Network (USAN) appealed to the US Congress to condemn the actions of the Armenian authorities in respect of the Moldovan Ombudsman Aurelia Grigoriu.
Recently, during a report at Armenian Parliament Aurelia Grigoriu stated that the Khojaly genocide was committed by the Armenians, and this is an internationally recognized fact.
After her speech in Armenian parliament the Moldovan Ombudsman was not let out from Armenia. She was kept in isolation and her life was threatened, Grigoriu's close friend Todur Zanet, who kept contact with her, told Trend.
Also, previously a source familiar with the situation told Trend that the Armenian authorities insisted that Grigoriu should officially apologize for her speech at the parliament, and only after this they will let her out of the country.
Grigoriu managed to leave Yerevan, thanks to the help diplomatic missions accredited in Yerevan, without apologizes,that were demanded by the Armenian side. Currently, she is in Chisinau.
As the appeal of USAN to Congress says, in fact the Armenian authorities blackmailed the Ombudsman of a foreign country through intimidation, persecution, death threats, all of which are state terrorism.
The USAN members underscored the importance of reducing the total assistance to Armenia, as well as the need for the White House, the State Department and the U.S. Congress to urge Armenia to fulfill its responsibility, reconcile itself with its history and recognize the Khojaly genocide.
As the statement says Armenia has once again shown a total disregard of Western values.
"And this, in spite of the US aid amounting to more than $2 billion in 1992," the letter said.
The members of the organization also noted that it is necessary for Congress and the US administration to pay great attention to the facts of the Armenian aggression and occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
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 per cent 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 US - are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.