Two Armenian MPs visit Baku

“The Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Armenian Parliament, Armen Ashotyan, and MP Mane Tandilyan have arrived in Baku,” the APA news agency reported, citing the Armenian Parliament’s Facebook page. They have arrived to participate in a conference titled ‘The role of parliaments in stimulating gender equality and women’s health in the framework of objectives 3 and 5 of sustainable development in the countries of the Eastern Partnership’.

“The last time I was in Baku was in 1988. I was 13 years old at the time. This was one month before the Nagorno Karabakh conflict broke out. My mother was a native Bakuvian. I know the city a bit,” the APA cited Armen Ashotyan as saying.

The MP said that on the Georgian-Azerbaijani border they had encountered ‘technical’ problems, which were quickly resolved though.

“I am sure that none of this had a political motive. It is more likely that this was due to the fact that the Armenian delegation does not visit Azerbaijan often. As a result of the conflict, there is no close communication between our countries.”

“We have come because Euronest is an important platform for us. Armenia is getting ready to sign a new agreement with the European Union. Moreover, we have come in order to not allow for propaganda and anti-Armenian rhetoric [to be voiced] at the event in which European MPs are participating. Unfortunately, in several speeches we’ve heard such rhetoric. However, one should take into consideration the fact we haven’t come here to talk about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” said Ashotyan.

A group of activists from the ‘Liberation of Karabakh’ organization held an unsanctioned protest against the arrival of the Armenian MPs. The protesters held up posters with  slogans which read: “Armenian occupiers, get out of Baku!” and “Shame on those who called the Armenians to Baku!”.

The Armenian media (in particular, news.am) cited Armen Ashotyan’s speech at the conference in Baku:

“He pointed out the attempts by a number of Azerbaijani reporters to use the platform dedicated to women’s health and social problems for anti-Armenian propaganda. He stated that the Armenian delegation is in Baku in order to discuss the themes of the forum, and not the Karabakh conflict.

“Ashotyan also underscored the fact that during times of conflict, both sides suffer, and for that reason it is necessary to listen to all sides and to discuss pressing questions in the framework of human rights and humanism, independent of political, ethnic and religious differences. He called on the Azerbaijani side to avoid nurturing ‘Armenophobia’ and xenophobia in future Azerbaijani generations. Otherwise, this would spell negative consequences for the entire region.

“The leader of the Armenian delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Euronest also spoke about anti-Armenian stereotypes in the education system of Azerbaijan and called for an end to such policies.”