KARABAKH MFA’S STATEMENT ON AZERBAIJAN’S CAMPAIGN AIMED AT MISLEADING INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
August 14, 2013 | 20:31
STEPANAKERT. – Karabakh Foreign Ministry responded to the blacklist
and other methods undertaken by the Azerbaijani government aimed at
misleading international community.
“Authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) have on numerous
occasions expressed their grave concern over the fraudulent campaign
by Azerbaijan aimed at distorting the essence of the conflict between
Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh and misleading the international
community. This campaign expands from year to year introducing new
sophisticated methods of falsifications, provocations, and revanchist
threats.
The most recent examples of such a propaganda campaign are the
circulation of the July 26, 2013 A/67/943-S/2013/442 letter in
the United Nations Organization calling upon the UN Member States
to warn their citizens against visiting the NKR “without the prior
authorization of the government of Azerbaijan” as well as publication
of a list of people declared personae non gratae by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan because of their visits to the
NKR. This list of 335 individuals from 41 countries includes members of
parliaments, prominent public figures, culture and art professionals,
journalists, students and tourists.
In this respect the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the NKR deems
appropriate to state the following:
The NKR is an independent state with a population, which should
not be deprived of a possibility to exercise its fundamental human
rights under any circumstances as it is enshrined in the Article 2
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “no
distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional
or international status of the country or territory to which a person
belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or
under any other limitation of sovereignty”.
People of Nagorno-Karabakh established their state exercising their
inalienable right to self-determination in full compliance with the
norms and principles of the international law and acting upon the
then effective constitutional and legal framework of the Soviet Union.
Since the very first day of its establishment the NKR, unlike
Azerbaijan, has assumed the course of building a democratic State
ensuring all the rights and freedoms for its citizens. The NKR
leadership intends to continue the policy of comprehensive development
of the Republic and its democratic institutions, and has repeatedly
expressed its readiness for mutually beneficial cooperation with all
interested parties.
>From the very beginning, Azerbaijan rejected any possibility of a
civilized dialogue with Nagorno-Karabakh and adhered to the policy of
settling the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh through
the application of brutal, unproportional and indiscriminate force
against the civilian population. It carried out ethnic cleansings in
Nagorno-Karabakh proper and Armenian-populated areas of Azerbaijan,
unleashing full-fledged military aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh.
Despite the ongoing negotiation process and commitments undertaken
since the conclusion of the cease-fire agreement, the Azeri leadership
continues to interpret selectively the norms and principles of the
international law, thus escalating tension and mistrust, as well as
ignoring the existing realities. Deluded by its language of threats and
hostility, Azerbaijan has made a step forward in a wrong direction,
and threatens with sanctions against the third countries nationals
visiting the NKR. Such a policy of Azerbaijan fits perfectly into
the logic of its domestic human rights record that it is striving to
impose upon foreign citizens.
These highly irresponsible steps thwart any attempts to establish an
atmosphere of trust between the NKR and the Republic of Azerbaijan,
which would be essential for the peaceful resolution of the conflict.
They also hinder the ongoing mediation efforts by the Minsk Group
Co-Chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) to find a comprehensive and lasting solution to the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh.
It is meanwhile worth to mention that in spite of the artificial
impediments created by the Azeri side, the number of tourists
visiting the NKR steadily grows: throughout its independent history
tens of thousands of foreign citizens have already visited the NKR,
which testifies the safe and secure environment established by the
freedom-loving people of Nagorno-Karabakh, and growing international
interest to the rich cultural and historical heritage of our native
land. It is essential to note that the crime rate in the NKR is one of
the lowest in Europe, and no serious accident has ever been registered
in our country with participation of a foreign citizen.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the NKR urges the authorities
of Azerbaijan to abandon counterproductive attempts to hinder visits
of foreign nationals to the NKR, and direct its energy and resources
wasted on such groundless and provocative actions towards settlement of
substantial issues between the parties to the conflict thus promoting
peace and stability for the whole fragile region of the South Caucasus.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the NKR welcomes and encourages
the visits of foreign nationals, both officials and tourists, to the
NKR. Such visits and people to people contacts in general contribute
to the creation of an atmosphere of confidence and co-operation in
the region and are essential for the international community to get
truthful and objective information about the NKR.”
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