BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 14
Trend:
While referring to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Armenian Foreign Ministry made other accusations on February 11 - that Azerbaijan allegedly violates international obligations and is responsible for the death of Armenian citizen Manvel Saribekyan, Head of the Baku Network Expert Council, Azerbaijani PhD Elkhan Alasgarov told Trend.
“Having no interest in delving into the details of another one of Yerevan’s lies, I would like to stress that Saribekyan was a saboteur sent to the Azerbaijani territory,” head of the Baku Network Expert Council added. “It is Yerevan that should be blamed for his tragic death, rather than only Baku. Obviously, the death of Saribekyan, as well as common political goals behind the accusations made against Baku concerning the violation of the international law, do not concern the Armenian authorities.”
“There is an interesting thing that the fate of Saribekyan has not been mentioned in the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s statement,” Alasgarov added.
“The main thesis of the document is that, allegedly, the threat is upon life of every Armenian who falls under the control of the Azerbaijani authorities, regardless of his/her status,” Alasgarov said. “Thus, the Armenian Foreign Ministry is disseminating a new myth that upon the decision concerning Saribekyan’s case, the ECHR “confirmed the impossibility of Karabakh Armenians living in Azerbaijan as this poses a threat to their lives”.
“It is worth noting that the Armenian ideologists are useless strategists,” Alasgarov said. “So, while recognizing the jurisdiction and legitimacy of the ECHR and rejoicing at the decision regarding Saribekyan’s case, Yerevan should recognize not only other decisions of the European Court, but also four UN resolutions and numerous resolutions of international organizations.”
“Firstly, the previous decision of the European Court of Human Rights, issued regarding the case of Chiragov and Others v. Armenia, is one of the most important decisions in connection with the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that have been accepted till now,” Alasgarov added.
He said that the peculiarity of the decision is that it is the first judicial document in connection with the Karabakh conflict, in which Armenia is recognized as the culprit of the crimes committed.
"The European Court of Human Rights-ECHR, the most authoritative court of the world, adopted a decision on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in which it confirmed the fact of occupation of Azerbaijani territories and the fact that Armenia is an occupying country. The European Court has entrusted all responsibility for the violation of human rights in the occupied territories upon Armenia, which is to restore human rights, in the first place, of the hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent districts," Alasgarov said.
In this sense, he continued, the decision of the ECHR also puts before Yerevan the obligation to unconditionally withdraw the Armenian forces from the conflict zone.
"In addition, Armenia must pay compensation in the “Chiragov and Others v. Armenia” case. At the same time, this payment will set a precedent, which will entail claims from 800,000 internally displaced persons regarding the payment of compensation to them by Armenia," he said.
"Second, according to the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg dated Dec. 17, 2013, in the case of “Perincek v. Switzerland”, Armenia should reject the requirements for a unilateral interpretation of the so-called "Armenian genocide",” Alasgarov noted.
"The European Court decided that, unlike the Holocaust fact proven in the legal field, the narrative about the so-called "Armenian genocide" is not a historical fact, but a fiction of one of the parties, and by no means the only one," said Alasgarov.
He went on to say that there is no consensus regarding the so-called "Armenian genocide" in international academic circles and it is unlikely to be reached, and any criminal prosecution for expressing an opinion is a violation of the articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.
"Over the course of many years of practice of the ECHR, not a single case of non-enforcement of its decisions by member states of the Council of Europe has been recorded. Otherwise, according to the Statute of the Council of Europe, this can lead to suspension of a state’s membership and, in the end, in accordance with the decision of the Committee of Ministers, to expulsion from the Organization," Alasgarov explained.
He noted that Armenia’s unwillingness to comply with the judgments of the ECHR regarding the “Perincek v. Switzerland” case, to stop the unilateral interpretation of the so-called "Armenian genocide", as well as restoring the rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani IDPs, the case “Chiragov and Others v. Armenia”, is a clear evidence of Yerevan’s rejection of international law.
"Yerevan, making statements full of pathos on the case of “Saribekyan and Balyan v. Azerbaijan”, must also recognize the rulings by the ECHR on numerous violations of human rights in the occupied Azerbaijani territories. Without recognition of the rights, first of all, of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani IDPs violated by the invaders in Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, as well as compensation for the damage caused to them, it is better for the Armenian Foreign Ministry to keep silent about the Saribekyan case," Alasgarov said.
He added that at the same time, no positive changes occurred in the ideology of the Armenians with Pashinyan’s coming to power.
"The ruling by the ECHR quite resembles primitive statement of criminal Robert Kocharyan, who is in the Yerevan prison, about the “genetic incompatibility of Azerbaijanis and Armenians” and the slogan by fascist Garegin Nzhdeh that “there shouldn’t be a day without fighting the Turk," said Alasgarov.
He said that instead of preparing the Armenian people for reconciliation, Pashinyan’s team uses the time-out provided during the negotiations to advance on other fronts, methodically cutting off all roads leading to peace.
"The Armenian side still hasn’t learned that false theories have sad consequences," Alasgarov said.
Head of the Expert Council of the Baku Network, PhD Elkhan Alasgarov
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