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Member of Azerbaijani delegation to PACE: France should leave OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship

24 January 2012 14:19 (UTC +04:00)

Strasbourg. Fuad Gulubeyli â€“ APA. â€œOn behalf of the Azerbaijani people and state we expressed our protest to PACE against the absurd bill criminalizing the denial of the â€œArmenian genocideâ€ passed by the French Senate. We underlined that this is the protest of not only Azerbaijan and Turkey, but also of 100 million people of Turkic origin living in the area of the Council of Europe and half a million of Turks living in France. This bill is a political document based on political interests, not on historical facts,â€ member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Ganira Pashayeva told journalists in Strasbourg, APAâ€s Europe bureau reports.

Ganira Pashayeva said the bill passed in France runs counter to all fundamental principles of the Council of Europe, freedom of expression, human rights.

â€œThe Council of Europe should express its protest against it. We are satisfied that Secretary General of the Council of Europe ThorbjÃ¸rn Jagland said that historians should deal with history, it is not right to pass political decisions regarding history.

Of course, this is very serious issue. This is a decision, which threatens the future of Europe. I asked them: what will happen? Will you take half-million Turkish people in France in custody? Journalists, historians will rely on the facts while researching the history and of course, they will have different position, because there was no such genocide. What will you do in this case? How you will speak about the freedoms of speech, thought, human freedoms. This law is very negative tendency for Europe and members of the Council of Europe. We consider that one needs seriously think about this issue. The adoption of this decision is not final. Even if it is signed by the French president, there are other legal mechanisms. French citizens can bring the case before the court and achieve its abolishmentâ€.

Pashayeva said France seriously damaged its role as the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair. â€œNo one in Azerbaijan will believe that France can play an objective, neutral and fair role in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. We told our French colleagues many times that you damage your position in the Minsk Group. You are the side there. Therefore I think that Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani people donâ€™t expect justice from France. Of course, Azerbaijani people will seriously think about this issue. France should leave the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship after the adoption of this decisionâ€.