“Elections” in Azerbaijan’s separatist region flagrant violation of int’l law

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

The public association ‘Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh region’ has assessed the so-called “elections” to the "self-government bodies" of the separatist regime in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region a gross violation of international law.

“The so-called “elections” scheduled for September 13 to the illegal ‘self-government bodies’ of Nagorno-Karabakh region flagrantly violate Azerbaijan’s Constitution, the norms and principles of international law, and do not take into account the electoral rights of Azerbaijanis, who have long been living in Nagorno-Karabakh,” reads an appeal by the public association released on September 9.

The so-called “elections”, which caused a strong outcry from the Azerbaijani people, including Azerbaijani population of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, was strongly condemned by the public association.

The document stressed that legitimate elections in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan could be carried out only after the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied territories, the return of the expelled Azerbaijani population to their homes, as well as ensuring peaceful coexistence between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities in the region.

“Armenia, ignoring international law, the decisions of the international organizations on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as opposed to the Charter of the United Nations once again organizes the so-called “elections” in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The whole world knows that an unrecognized and illegal regime in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is a criminal structure established by Armenia as a result of the ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijani population. That is why the international organizations and countries have never recognized the so-called “elections” that were previously carried out in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the appeal read.

The association expressed hope that Armenia’s destructive position will be condemned by the international community and the most effective measures will be taken to stop its aggressive policy.

The bloody war, which flared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor, left over 700,000 civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh and the regions adjoining it, as well as the regions bordering with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh without homes.

They are temporarily housed in more than 1,600 settlements across 62 cities and regions of Azerbaijan.

Moreover, 250,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from Armenia and became refugees due to Armenia's ethnic cleansing policy after the emergence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijanis who had been displaced from their homes as result of the brutal war were forced to live in tents at refugee camps under very difficult conditions.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing, almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled. The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenia’s withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but have not been enforced to this day.

The association added that it is also necessary to hold meetings between the communities of the region. It believes that establishing relations between the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities based on the mutual trust can positively contribute to the resolution of the conflict.

“Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty were confirmed in the documents adopted by all international organizations, particularly the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as the European Parliament, on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s settlement. At the same time, the above-mentioned resolutions adopted by these international organizations envisage the resolution of the conflict based on the principles of international law,” the document noted.

The association stressed that the acquisition of territory by force and “legalization” of the self-government in those territories under the right of self-determination is contrary to the principles of international law.

“We consider that as long as the Armenian armed forces are not withdrawn from the occupied Azerbaijani territories and the conflict is not resolved fairly, lasting peace and cooperation cannot be restored in the region. We believe that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will find a fair solution based on international law, the Azerbaijani population will return to their native lands and a peaceful accommodation of the two communities in the region will be ensured,” the document said.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry condemned the so-called "elections" evaluating it as an open violation of international law and stating that it does not have any legal weight.

Also, the United States, France and United Kingdom stated that they don’t recognize “elections” in the separatist region of Azerbaijan.