Details added (first version posted on 16:49)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 12
Trend:
The statement made by Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan about human rights during the speech in the Armenian parliament is just for show, Head of the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani MP Tural Ganjaliyev said, Trend reports on May 12.
“It is obvious that such a statement by the representative of Armenia, a country that violates the most fundamental rights of Azerbaijani citizens, was just political propaganda,” Ganjaliyev said.
"Using human rights issue, which are popular today, Tonoyan is using it as shield. While speaking about human rights, for some reason Tatoyan forgot to talk about the rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani internally displaced people who underwent ethnic cleansing in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia," said the MP.
Ganjaliyev stressed that the goal of the Armenian ombudsman, as well as most Armenian officials, is to support the tactics of his country - to talk for sake of talking.
“I would like to bring to the attention of the Armenian political leadership that we, as the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, repeatedly invited the representatives of the Armenian community of the region to a dialogue to discuss the joint coexistence in peace, but could not get a positive answer,” Ganjaliyev said.
“The dialogue of the two communities that will coexist in peace within the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan may bring the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict closer to peace,” Ganjaliyev added. “Therefore, I urge Tatoyan to support the inter-community dialogue. But if the Armenian ombudsman wants to identify the people who disrespect the basic principles of human rights in Armenia, then he may start by accusing those who committed the Khojaly genocide, military and other crimes against humanity."
The head of the community also emphasized that the Armenian ombudsman must also try to restore the violated rights of Azerbaijanis who were expelled from the lands of their fathers and grandfathers, who were massively subjected to ethnic cleansing in Armenia.
"This issue must be raised before Armenia while compiling the periodic reports as part of the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council," the head of the Azerbaijani community said.
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, 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 the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.