BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 12. The Azerbaijani Parliament strongly refutes and condemns as biased political acts unreasonably targeting Azerbaijan and distorting the real situation in the South Caucasus region the two resolutions adopted by the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Netherlands on October 10, 2024, Trend reports via the statement from the Azerbaijani Parliament.
According to the statement, based on false and wrong information, the resolutions in question fail to contribute to peace, stability and constructive dialogue, but rather reveal a biased and one-sided approach that ignores the facts from recent history and today, as well as international legal norms and principles, and the challenges that persist in the region.
The statement said that demanding the release of individuals accused of committing serious crimes within the territory of Azerbaijan, including those of terrorism, separatism, premeditated murder, and of other severe violations of international humanitarian law, whilst portraying them as ‘Armenian military prisoners’ is nothing but blatant disrespect for the rule of law, and undermines efforts to eradicate terrorism and to hold those who have committed crimes against peace and humanity accountable.
As the statement pointed out, the wrongful allegations of the 'pillaging of Armenian cultural heritage' are part and parcel, and an extension of an ongoing campaign of overlooking and covering up the destruction and appropriation of Azerbaijani people's cultural, religious, and historical treasures during the 30-year occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia.
It is deeply regrettable that the Netherlands’ House of Representatives has remained silent concerning the systematic destruction of Azerbaijan's cultural heritage whilst having seen fit to engage itself in yet another unjust political action against Azerbaijan, the statement emphasized.
"The Parliament of Azerbaijan also deems necessary to state that the endorsement and defence of these biased resolutions by Caspar Veldkamp, the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, demonstrates that the Netherlands’ Government’s policy towards the South Caucasus countries rests on a selective approach.
Instead of acknowledging the suffering of the Azerbaijanis whose homeland was occupied and who were subjected to ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide, the Netherlands’ Government elects to pursue a state policy characterised by indifference to Armenia’s territorial claims against Azerbaijan and the implicit support of such claims.
In fact, this comes as no surprise to us. The colonial past of the Netherlands is replete with numerous instances of subjugation and exploitation of various peoples across Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as the crimes committed against them. The Netherlands, which expanded its colonial empire through brutal tactics, has always placed profit above human rights.
The looting of the national wealth of the countries under colonial rule played a significant role in the development of the Netherlands. Even today, the Netherlands continues to keep various nations around the world in a state of dependence, and any declaration that it is working to address the severe consequences of its colonial history should be seen as hypocrisy.
The Parliament of Azerbaijan calls on the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament, as well as the senior officials of this country, to cease actions that hinder efforts to establish peace and stability in the South Caucasus region. We support constructive dialogue and cooperation with all nations, including the Netherlands; however, such dialogue and cooperation must be based on mutual respect and the honest acknowledgment of facts," the statement concluded.
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