Your trusted source

by Edgar Khachatryan, political scientist

At the end of January the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will discuss two reports, which are already referred with the term “anti-Armenian”. These reports are “Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan”, by Robert Walter and “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water” by Milica Marković on Sarsang reservoir. And, although the voting in PACE will be held in late January, still in the middle of November, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, directly dealing with the Karabakh conflict settlement, in connection with the discussions in PACE said that "proposing new, parallel mechanisms, given the sensitivity of the negotiation process, may terminate this process and hinder the settlement." The OSCE MG Co-Chairs very kindly reminded the parliamentarians of PACE that it is better they do not enter an unfamiliar labyrinth.

Even if we leave aside the fact of Azerbaijan’s caviar diplomacy, due to which not only the authors of these reports, but also the voices of PACE deputies were bought, the structure of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, despite its name, which sounds great, of course, is not sufficiently competent and informed to adopt resolutions on such sensitive issues, like Karabakh conflict. Do the PACE deputies know where the Sarsang reservoir is or as a result of what these "occupied territories" appeared? Do they know which side initiated the military action in the region and in what fascist language the Azerbaijani President Aliyev talks today with the residents of the separatist Karabakh? In general, do these deputies imagine, that on the borders of the two Council of Europe member states, as well as on the Karabakh-Azerbaijani border young soldiers continue to die, because one of the sides does not want to withdraw snipers from the frontline? Are they aware that the "silent support" of such ruthless behavior of the official Azerbaijan is nothing more than complicity in crimes against human lives?!

Resolving a conflict is not like cutting an apple. Raising a hand in support of this or that resolution, without understanding its essence means not only lack of professionalism, but complicity - complicity, in this case, in the militaristic policy and in the policy of fascism. Several years ago, the Hungarian authorities became a complicit in the murder of Gurgen Margaryan, whom Azerbaijani "officer" Ramil Safarov killed with an ax when he was asleep. Today, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is on the verge of becoming a complicit in the killings of others, as it is the silent participation in the policy of Azerbaijan, which does not conceal its militaristic sentiments, that means complicity in every death on the borders.

Of course, the positions of the PACE deputies are not the positions of the Council of Europe member states. And, of course, PACE resolutions are not legally binding either for our countries or for other countries of the Council of Europe. However, among all "of courses" the people of Europe, when electing their European parliamentarians, should understand that even in such humanistic part of the world as Europe, the voices of deputies, alas, are not only sold but also used because of their incompetence, unprofessionalism and simply human indifference.

It would be good that the deputies themselves realized the whole responsibility of their voting at the PACE January session, when every vote "for" the aforementioned resolutions will sound more like a shot on Karabakh, about which the majority of those deputies, alas, do not know anything...