Op-ed of Ambassador Tigran Balayan on The Post Online

04 May, 2021

As the focus of the world and the EU is on other borders and many crises around the world, it is the fragile ceasefire that ended the latest aggression by Azerbaijan and Turkey against the 150,000 Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno). -Karabakh) not stable; a month after the end of hostilities, Azerbaijan launched another attack in which two villages were captured and 60 Armenian soldiers (on top of 140 others) taken prisoner as prisoners of war. They are refused repatriation, despite the clear rules of international humanitarian law, the demands of the UN, the EU, the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights and many other countries and organizations.

The Azerbaijani dictator follows in the footsteps of his Turkish mentor Erdogan and does not hide his further aggressive plans: Ilham Aliyev recently said literally:

“The creation of the Zangezur overflow runs completely parallel to our national, historical and future interests. We are implementing the Zangezur overflow whether Armenia wants it or not. If she wants to, we will solve this problem more easily, if she does not want to, we will solve it by force. ”

To say the least, such statements seriously damage the highly fragile regional peace and stability and reveal the false nature of recent Azerbaijani peace and reconciliation statements.

It is noteworthy that such threats were made in the run-up to the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, marked this year by US President Joe Biden's recognition of the genocide. The Dutch government is expected to do the same, after almost unanimous support from the Dutch political establishment; only THINK was against.

Another clear manifestation of the Azerbaijani ruler's true intentions is the recent opening of the so-called ' Military Trophy Park ', which was labeled a macabre or genocide park with wax figures of ugly dying Armenians, with the aim of dehumanizing and presenting Armenians. as inhumane.

Exactly a year ago, I raised the alarm and warned that Aliyev was planning a war to divert attention from Azerbaijan's growing crisis and consolidate his power. I am doing that again.

The US elections and the dire situation with the pandemic last fall were used by Azerbaijan and Turkey to start the aggression in September, with Syrian jihadists and advanced armaments being used against civilians and hospitals. Now tensions around the world will allow the two dictators to start a new war and spark a new round of 'deep worry' and 'regret' among those countries and institutions that have all the resources and means to take the lead. prevent war against a democratic country and a pluralistic society.

By passing two motions on individual sanctions against President Aliyev, his family and others responsible for countless war crimes, the Dutch House of Representatives has created the legal basis for the government to begin listing those same individuals under the global EU sanctions regime for human rights. It is now up to the Dutch government to act and prevent the new aggression against democratic society that the Dutch have helped build in recent decades.

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