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 NEW
YORK—ANCA Eastern Region executive director Garo Manjikian
confronted the Azerbaijan deputy foreign minister, Araz Azimov,
last week on the Aliyev government’s track record of
war-mongering and aggression towards the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, at an event hosted by the Permanent Mission of
Azerbaijan to the UN and the Harriman Institute of Columbia
University.
Following intense criticism from attendees on
Azerbaijan’s human rights record and crackdown on pro-democracy
institutions, the organizers limited questions to three, cutting
short discourse on a wide range of audience concerns.
Manjikian asked the second question of the
evening: “It is very obvious the Azeri government is working
hard to portray itself as a stable, reliable, and peaceful
country in the Caucasus, while at the same time having an
extensive track record of aggression and war-mongering towards
Nagorno-Karabakh.” Manjikian then cited three specific
statements that President Aliyev had made in the past two years
with direct threats to take Karabakh by force.
Manjikian continued, “How do you reconcile
these two points and can you, right now, state on behalf of the
Azerbaijani government that it will not continue or renew any
kind of war or threats to use force against Nagorno-Karabakh?”
Azimov responded by arguing that Manjikian’s
citations did not qualify as war-mongering, but were statements
regarding Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Azimov then
accused Armenia of war-mongering, arguing that any statements
made about the self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh is an
attack on Azerbaijan. He added that statements coming from
Azerbaijan are just a reaction to Armenia, and that there can
only be self-rule of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan.
The event also featured questions by
Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, from the Permanent Mission of Turkey
to the United Nations, who expressed hope that the recent
rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey would spark positive
developments between Armenia and Azerbaijan to settle the
Karabakh conflict.
Azimov described Azerbaijan as a model nation
in almost all regards, including human rights and democracy. The
country was also touted by its ambassadors as the answer to
Europe’s need to diversify its energy resources and routes.
The more disturbing comments during his
speech included the following points:
It is the Turkey-Azerbaijani relationship
which has created progress in the Caucasus and will shape the
future of the region.
There can’t be balance in the region with
Armenia-Turkey relations and Turkey-Azeri relations taking place
at the same time. Turkey should not risk this balance and
challenge Aliyev.
Armenia’s foreign policy is not compatible
with Azerbaijan’s foreign policy.
The recent Armenian-Turkish protocols call
for recognition of borders including Azerbaijan.
Armenia must get rid of its outrageous
policies towards its neighbors.
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