BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 29
Trend:
Azer Hasret, an international journalist sent an Open Letter to the US Presidential Candidate Joe Biden, Trend reports.
“Mr. Joe Biden, we are deeply saddened due to your statement concerning Nagorno-Karabakh. You are stating that “people of Nagorno-Karabakh are suffering” while no civilians are left there for now. Armenia evacuated them before starting the war. In reality Azerbaijani Army is targeting only military targets and Armenian civilians are not suffering,” the letter said.
“Instead, dozens of Azerbaijani civilians are killed or wounded through the rocket attacks launched by Armenian occupants, sometimes from the territory of Armenia. While your statement reached us here in Azerbaijan on Oct 28, we were witnessing one more rocket attack on Azerbaijani civilians in the city of Barda which caused the death of 21 civilians, and about 70 people were wounded. No military personnel among killed or wounded and no military object on the area which was shelled,” the letter said.
“Or we can remind of the missile attack on Ganja city in a very deep midnight on October 11, which killed some 10 people, wounding dozens and destroying their homes,” the letter said.
“So this is just two examples of the developments here in the region. Azerbaijan is not attacking or invading nor occupying any other country’s lands. We are liberating our lands from long term Armenian occupation. And while implementing these actions our Army does not target civilians,” the letter said.
“Mr. Joe Biden, as a candidate to the US Presidency you should be fair. At the same time, we are waiting for your unbiased approach towards the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. It is no secret that Armenia is keeping under occupation about 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands. And it is no secret that Azerbaijan is just liberating its lands from Armenia’s occupation. While launching military actions against occupants, Azerbaijan does not target civilian settlements. You can find hundreds of pieces of evidence regarding Azerbaijani military operations where can see only military targets destroyed,” the letter said.
“Mr. Joe Biden, you are calling on Donald Trump “to directly engage the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey to push for immediate de-escalation and stop the advance of Azerbaijani troops into Nagorno-Karabakh”,” the letter said.
“What does this mean? Why Turkey? What does Turkey do in this war? Turkey is not part of this war. Just Armenia as an occupant and Azerbaijan as liberating its lands are parts of this war,” the letter said.
“And what does mean “advance of Azerbaijani troops into Nagorno-Karabakh”? Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijani land and Azerbaijani Army is free to move into this territory as well. So please take into account that Azerbaijan is acting strictly within its territories and Nagorno-Karabakh is its territory recognized by UN, the world and even by your country – the US,” the letter said.
“Further you mention Turkey and the issue of mercenaries. You should know that Azerbaijan does not need any mercenaries to fight against Armenian occupants. Our country has more than enough experienced manpower ready to join the Azerbaijani Army and fight against any occupant. It is Armenia which really needs mercenaries and is using Kurdish terrorist organization PKK members deployed in occupied territories and fighting against Azerbaijan,” the letter said.
“By the way, you are mentioning section 907 to the Freedom Support Act which was adopted in October 1992. This section was sponsored by the Armenian lobby in the US “due to Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia” as well. Can you imagine, that US lawmakers were accusing Azerbaijan of this, while that was Armenia which occupied Azerbaijani lands? Azerbaijan never did occupy Armenia’s lands and up today it is Armenia which keeps under occupation the Azerbaijani lands,” the letter said.
“Reminding all these as an Azerbaijani citizen I call on you to be fair and balanced while dealing with issues like this. We believe in American democracy and the justice system. And as usual, we see the US as a guarantor of human rights, democracy, and justice worldwide. But sometimes some US politicians present issues in a one-sided manner and people in new democracies like Azerbaijan lose hopes for being fairly treated,” the letter said.
“Just to inform you, my country is a strong supporter of peace processes. Azerbaijan would prefer to solve the conflict behind the table, but not on the battlefield. We understand that wars bring sadness to all sides which are involved. And we do not hate Armenians nor do not want to expel all of them from Azerbaijan as did Armenia in regard to 250 thousand Azerbaijanis 30 years ago. Armenia ethnically cleansed its territory in total from Azerbaijanis, then moved towards Azerbaijan occupying 20 percent of its territories in the early 1990s. For the so-called self-determination of the Armenian minority in Azerbaijan, which was just about 120 thousand people, Armenian occupants expelled 750 thousand Azerbaijanis from our lands. About 20 thousand Azerbaijanis were killed in this action of occupation. And these 750 thousand Azerbaijanis still can not go back home because their homes are occupied, further destroyed by Armenia’s occupant army,” the letter said.
“So Mr. Joe Biden, writing all of this I hope you will understand the nature of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and further approach the issue in a fair manner. Even if you win the elections and become the US President it will be your obligation to act as a balanced world leader. If not, the people of the world will lose the belief in US democracy and fairness,” the letter said.