BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 29. While the unfounded initiative was formally presented by German MP Frank Schwabe, it is known that the leadership of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the driving force behind this matter, merely using the guise of socialist representation, the Milli Majlis (Parliament) MP Sevinj Huseynova told Trend.
She pointed out that certain European states have recently engaged in a smear campaign against Azerbaijan.
"Some Western countries and organizations are deeply concerned about the international recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, the establishing of its sovereignty, and the upholding of constitutional order throughout the country," the MP said.
Huseynova also highlighted that the initiative by MPs to challenge powers of attorney on substantive grounds was proposed by Frank Schwabe, the leader of the Socialists' political group, and the proposal received approval.
"Since Azerbaijan joined PACE in 2001, there has been a perception that pro-Armenian and Islamophobic elements within the organization have instrumentalized it against Azerbaijan. The recent non-confirmation of the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation during the first meeting of the organization's winter session on January 22 is viewed as another instance of biased treatment towards Azerbaijan," she added.
"France and Germany's protective posture towards Armenia is not coincidence. The politicians in power in these nations, aided by financial backing from the Armenian lobby and diaspora, are viewed as betraying core ideals. The adoption of the motion by German MP Frank Schwabe, emphasizing the inadmissibility of certifying the authority of the Azerbaijani delegation im PACE, is considered an indication of this unpleasant reality," Huseynova said.
According to her, this stance presented in PACE is designed to undermine the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
"Some politicians seem to identify more with Armenian interests than even the Armenians themselves. For instance, figures like French President Emmanuel Macron and those who share his views persist in maintaining their anti-Azerbaijani, Islamophobic, and anti-Turkic positions," the MP added.
"Western states, which remained silent for three decades regarding the violated rights, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, are now actively advocating for Armenia. They even attempt to portray the voluntary departure of Armenians from Karabakh as an accusation of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijan. However, these same states turned a blind eye to the hardships inflicted upon the Azerbaijani people by Armenia in the early 90s," she said.
"The present stance of the West and its seemingly hypocritical organizations, which remained silent and indifferent, ignoring the Khojaly genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced deportation of Azerbaijanis, while failing to react to Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani territories for almost 30 years, is undeniably hypocritical.," Huseynova added.
The credentials of Azerbaijan's delegation to PACE were challenged on the opening day of the 2024 winter plenary session. Frank Schwabe, who heads the German delegation to PACE, proposed to deny the Azerbaijani delegation's credentials because Azerbaijan allegedly "organized the expulsion of Armenians from Karabakh". Thus, PACE was dissatisfied with the fact that they were "not invited" to observe the presidential elections to be held on February 7. Before that, in October 2023, the PACE adopted a one-sided and biased resolution regarding localized anti-terrorist measures undertaken by Azerbaijan in Karabakh.
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