Statements
15 April 2023, 10:17
The Western Azerbaijan Community has issued a statement in connection with burning the Flag of Azerbaijan.
The statement in particular says:
“Only a day after images depicting the torture of the Azerbaijani soldier were circulated in Armenia, another act of hatred against Azerbaijan was committed in this country. During the worldwide telecast of the opening ceremony of the European weightlifting championship in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, the employee of the Armenian Public TV company, famous designer in this country and one of organizers of the championship, blatantly burnt the Flag of Azerbaijan.
Although, the desecration of state symbols of foreign countries is considered a crime in the legislation of Armenia, the same day, police freed the person who perpetrated this crime before the eyes of international community. What is painful is that burning of the Flag of Azerbaijan on the scene was welcomed by the spectators with ovation. This person released by the police was encouraged as a hero by the masses including members of the parliament.
All of these are indicators of the state-supported and systematic policy of ethnic hatred carried out against Azerbaijan as well as Azerbaijanophobia in Armenia. Organizers of such acts of public hatred in Armenia aim to deepen the discord between peoples and prevent Azerbaijanis from returning there by creating an atmosphere of fear.
The international community’s inadequate response to the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Armenia creates conditions for further strengthening of the policy of racial discrimination in the country as well as xenophobia trends in the society. Therefore, we urge the international community to give an adequate assessment to the crimes against humanity committed by Armenia, such as ethnic cleansing and racial discrimination.
The Western Azerbaijan Community strongly condemns the crime committed against the National Flag of Azerbaijan and demands the Armenian government immediately cease its policies and practices that incite hatred and discrimination against Azerbaijanis, bring the perpetrators of crimes against Azerbaijanis to justice and immediately stop glorifying them.
All these once again necessitate a verification, legal and security guarantee mechanism for our return to Armenia."
