(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Fatima Latifova
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The pro-Armenian U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff has proposed
initiatives to provide financial assistance to revanchist forces in
Armenia, Azernews reports.
This move has been met with outrage by representatives of
Azerbaijani civil society. A group of Azerbaijani NGOs has
addressed an open letter to Congressman Adam Schiff, the author of
the bill titled "2024 Artsakh Revenue Restoration Act."
The letter reads:
"Mr. Adam Schiff,
We, the representatives of the Azerbaijani civil society and the
population forcibly displaced by Armenia's armed forces from our
homes in the formerly occupied territories of Azerbaijan, are
writing to condemn your initiative“Artsakh Revenue Recovery Act of
2024”.
This draft is ill-informed and discriminatory as it promotes
one-sided and out-of-context narratives that totally ignores the
plight and suffering of one group of people and puts premium on the
other group. We understand that the ethnic and religious sympathy
is the main reason for your discrimination against Azerbaijan. If
advanced, such a document will be an affront to human rights and
international law, serving as a harbinger for instability, human
suffering and damage to the US regional role.
In this regard, it is a shame to see that the elected
representative puts forward such an initiative to advance private
interests beholden to a certain lobby rather than to serve the
public interest. All this comes at the expense of the universal
values and principles that the US stands for.
We, as people who spent most of our lives in forcible
displacement and destitution due to Armenia's illegal occupation
and ethnic cleansing, understand the utmost value and imperative
nature of the right to return. This right is a part of fundamental
human rights without regard to ethnic or religious background.
The UN team that visited the Garabakh region of Azerbaijan
following the restoration of Azerbaijan's sovereignty in September
2023 stated that“they saw no damage to civilian public
infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and housing, or
cultural and religious infrastructure” and“they did not come
across any reports - either from the local population or from
others - of violence against civilians following the latest
ceasefire” ( ).
With a premium put on Armenian lobby groups, your discriminative
approach to the right of Azerbaijanis forcibly displaced by Armenia
to return to their homes is morally obnoxious. You were absolutely
silent when 750 thousand Azerbaijanis were ethnically cleansed,
were subjected to genocide in Khojaly and denied their basic right
to return for more than 30 years. You are now also silent as
landmines implanted by Armenia continue to kill and maim innocent
civilians who just exercise their right to return.
We are thankful to the Government of Azerbaijan for ending
Armenia's illegal occupation that laid the ground for the exercise
of our right to return in a voluntary, safe and dignified manner.
We believe that the Azerbaijani Government's extensive
rehabilitation and reconstruction works in the liberated
territories will remove the remnants of war and build prosperity
for all individuals displaced due to Armenia's illegal
occupation.
It is never late to change and take a morally strong,
non-discriminatory and just position. We understand that it
requires courage and moral strength. But if you put priority not on
your personal, but the interests of the United States,
long-deserved peace and prosperity of the people of Armenia and
Azerbaijan, you should be able to withdraw this ill-informed and
discriminatory draft.
Otherwise, your current approach not only will not benefit
ordinary citizens of Armenia and Azerbaijan but will greatly damage
the United States interests in the critically important region.
Sincerely,
Konul Behbudova - " Missing Families from Garabakh" Public
Union;
Khatira Valiyeva - "Khankendi" Support for the Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) Public Union;
Aziz Alakbarli - West Azerbaijan Community;
Hafiz Safikhanov - "Azerbaijan Campaign Against Landmines"
Public Union;
Leyla Huseynova - "Social Welfare" of Refugees and IDPs Public
Union;
Ceyran Azizova - "For the Recognition of the Khojaly Genocide"
Public Union;
Vugar Gadirov - "Youth Organization for Return and Revival"
Public Union;
Ray Karimoglu - Association of the Landmine Victims of
Azerbaijan;
Ayshen Huseynova - "Disclosure of Genocide Truths" Public
Union;
Zaur Ibrahimli - "Prioritet" Social Economic Research Center
Public Union;
Irada Rzazade - "For the Social Welfare of Citizens" Public
Union.
Umud Mirzayev – International Eurasian Press Fund."
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