Jewish communities must support Azerbaijan in Karabakh conflict
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 19
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:
The Jewish communities must support and protect Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia, says an article published in Jewish Journal.
"The international community has repeatedly stated that the ongoing Armenian occupation of over 20 percent of the sovereign Republic of Azerbaijan, is completely illegal, designating the massacres committed against Azerbaijani people in the early 1990's, at the start of the same occupation, as crimes against humanity," Rabbi Simchah Aaron Green from Abrahamic Alliance International non-profit organization wrote.
"Azerbaijan's longstanding and unabashed support for Israel is a worthy enough reason to raise our community alarms for their current crisis," the author wrote.
The article said that Azerbaijan and Israel share over 20 years of deep, strategic alliance.
"We have a moral imperative to stand in solidarity with the people of Azerbaijan," the author wrote. "Only 25 years ago, in the same region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani people were subjected to what Israel's President Reuven Rivlin likened to genocide, at the hands of the same invaders, in the name of the same occupation that is still continuing."
"I can't help but see the effectiveness of the Armenian propaganda and lobbying effort, rumored to cost over $10 million a year to produce, in the U.S. alone," the author wrote.
"The media, U.S. Congress and various state legislatures are clogged by Armenian special interests, and in the process, a precious and incomparable ally faces an ongoing campaign of brutality, while the world essentially sits and does nothing, if not making it worse," the author wrote.
The author wrote that Jewish communities have a responsibility to advocate for the protection and preservation of Azerbaijan.
The article said that Azerbaijan is the only truly secular democracy in the entire Muslim world, and has an iconic history, upholding multi-faith harmony for centuries.
"Azerbaijan proves to the world that Jews, Muslims and Christians can live in absolute and lasting peace," the author wrote.
On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.
Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.
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. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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Follow the author on Twitter:@E_Kosolapova
