If European Officials Do Not Restrain Azerbaijan's Crimes, They Should Not Feed the Fire

The Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh, Artak Beglaryan, made a post on his Facebook page addressing the statement from the European Parliament. He particularly noted that European officials, tasked with protecting universal human rights, have neither spoken a word about the rights of Artsakh residents living under conditions of international isolation and Azerbaijani threats, nor have they refrained from making condemnatory statements regarding development programs implemented through the efforts and resources of Artsakh.

The post reads as follows: "When the international community not only fails to assist in defending the rights of Artsakh residents, but also obstructs... The statement circulated by three members of the European Parliament regarding the construction of the Artsakh-Armenia third road completely echoes Azerbaijani propaganda narratives, raising justified doubts that it was written in Baku. However, the most painful aspect is that European officials, tasked with protecting universal human rights, have never said a word about the rights of Artsakh residents living under conditions of international isolation and Azerbaijani threats, and even decide to issue condemnatory statements about our own development programs undertaken with our own efforts and resources.

Those representing the international community must not visit Artsakh, must not provide support for our rights protection, must not restrain Azerbaijan's blatant crimes and aggressiveness, and even do not express gratitude to the Republic of Armenia and the global Armenian community for fulfilling their international obligations on their behalf; they should at least remain silent and not feed the Azerbaijani anti-Armenian and warmongering propaganda and actions.

I would suggest they think about the reopening of the Stepanakert Airport, especially since during this coronavirus crisis, they personally felt what such restrictions on free movement and isolation mean. The population of Artsakh has all the rights that the individuals making statements have, and we will solve our issues of security, development, and human rights protection with the support of all Armenians; we only expect them not to obstruct us..."