The public of Azerbaijan is extremely concerned about the unfair attitude demonstrated in the period of independence towards the country by certain circles in the West and in Europe, Novruz Mammadov, assistant to the Azerbaijani president for foreign policy issues, head of the department, said on Dec. 7, APA reported.
“A new example of such a position was demonstrated during the discussion of the issue related to Ilgar Mammadov at the Council of Europe on December 5,” Mammadov said.
According to him, the issue related to Ilgar Mammadov has long bothered Council of Europe Secretary General Jagland, who is one of the figures guiding the organization’s activities.
"He thinks that no one knows what goals he serves. It seems that Jagland’s purpose is to manipulate the issue of Ilgar Mammadov as a “human rights defender” to “punish” Azerbaijan and to show Azerbaijan what he is capable of,” said Mammadov.
“He [Jagland] thinks it can be achieved easily, because it’s nothing for that the European Union is called a Christian club. Why would the Council of Europe not be a Christian club?! Who can hinder him at a time Islamophobia has reached this level? That’s the way by which he can reach his “main goal”. Otherwise, in the past few years, he would have said a single word about Armenia, which holds Azerbaijani territories under occupation despite being a member of the Council of Europe. It’s sad, however, that this European institution, which constantly talks about human rights and obligations, seems to have no obligation at all. According to Jagland, a state that has occupied the territory of another state does not bear any responsibility,” added the Azerbaijani official.
According to Mammadov, despite the fact that Armenia occupied Azerbaijani lands, violated the fundamental rights of more than one million Azerbaijanis living there and committed the Khojaly genocide, no measures have been taken and no sanctions have been imposed against this country.
He noted with regret that Armenia is still a member of the Council of Europe, which is portrayed as the symbol of human rights.
"Are these European values? Why did Azerbaijan have to wait 26 years in order to get support from the European Union for its territorial integrity?” said Mammadov.
“Having been indifferent to the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia, Europe is today facing separatism itself, it began to change its position on this issue and to make statements supporting the territorial integrity of its members, which is a clear example of double standards. However, we have repeatedly underscored the need to form a unified position against separatism and stated that separatism will return to Europe itself due to a boomerang effect,” the Azerbaijani official said.
He went on to say that if the Council of Europe tries to justify the intention to remove Azerbaijan from the organization by such steps, there is no need for it.
“Since joining the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan, in each issue, has been facing a biased attitude of both the organization and its leadership, instead of having at least one positive opinion on the projects of international cooperation implemented jointly with the organization and on the assistance it provided within the framework of various organizations,” he said.
Mammadov noted that Azerbaijan is a full member of the Council of Europe, and a possible withdrawal of the country from the organization will not be a tragedy.
“Against the backdrop of breaches of international law and human rights, as well as the violation of the Statute of the Council of Europe, the occupation by a member state of the territory of another one, failure to fulfill obligations to the organization (non-payment of membership fees, non-execution of court judgments, pressures on journalists and civil society representatives and restrictions on their activities) and non-execution of thousands of decision of the European Court of Human Rights, such a move in respect of only Azerbaijan is nothing more than non-compliance with international law, justice and the continuation of the abovementioned attitude. Thus, the Council of Europe is trying to apply Article 46.4 of the European Convention on Human Rights not to these states, but primarily to Azerbaijan,” he added.
The Azerbaijani official stressed that the lack of criticism against Armenia against the backdrop of the detection of numerous violations of human rights in this country raises serious questions in connection with the decision of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.
“This again demonstrates a biased attitude towards a Muslim state. Is not this a certain form of manifestation of Islamophobia? Even those states that are trying to act as friends in bilateral negotiations come out quite differently during the voting. Whereas Azerbaijan, remaining true to its promises on using all possible means for the implementation of this decision, continues to carry out legislative reforms upon the president’s order,” he said.
Mammadov went on to say: “In this case, in accordance with the amendments made to the legislation, starting from December 1, 2017, Ilgar Mammadov, on the basis of the appeal to the court, can be granted conditional release as he has already served 2/3 of his sentence. Along with this, the Azerbaijani side can conduct constructive negotiations to find other ways of solutions to this issue. However, a body of the Council of Europe, not taking into account the way in which the process can go, continues taking a biased position under influence of certain circles. Jagland has a decisive role in bringing the situation to such an extent.”
According to him, the international community and its leaders should be more concerned over the process taking place in the international arena, as well as in Europe, as a result of which hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives in different countries, millions of people were expelled from their native lands and became refugees, thousands of cities and villages were destroyed.
“Why are radicalism, terrorism, separatism, migration and use of weapons of mass destruction so widespread today? What are the reasons behind all this? Which direction did the international community choose? Is there full confidence in a future that will ensure stable, safe and sustainable development? Questions may arise in those who knows and does not know Jagland: “Is there a need for such an attitude in his work? With confidence I can say “there is”, because this contributes to the current state of world order. Unfortunately, the steps being taken nowadays are nothing but a continuation of the previous ones. I’m sure that in any part of the world and in Europe itself, there are many people who share my views,” the Azerbaijani official concluded.
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