Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
The decision by the Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland to withdraw from the CoE-Azerbaijan joint working group for human rights, once again shows that the deal isn't about the human rights, Tahir Rzayev, Azerbaijani MP, told Trend Oct. 8.
He said if the aim really was to protect human rights, there would have been a remark regarding over one million Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs, whose rights have been trampled by Armenia.
Rzayev also said there are forces in the Council of Europe that are under the influence of the Armenian lobby, dislike Azerbaijan, and try to exert pressure on the country.
"Rallies have been going on in Armenia for a long time, hundreds of people have been arrested there, however, they turn a blind eye to this," said the MP.
Despite the double standards against Azerbaijan, the country has always expressed readiness for cooperation, said Rzayev.
"However, with such actions, they harm the cooperation by pursuing own interests," he added.
The MP pointed out that one of the reasons for adopting such a decision is the upcoming parliamentary election in Azerbaijan.
"On the eve of the election and other important events in Azerbaijan, these forces try to create false opinion about the country, call on other countries not to send observers to the election and so on," said Rzayev. "All this is a gross violation of the international law."