EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SENDS MISSION TO OLD JUGHA

STRASBOURG, APRIL 7, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. At the April 6
conference the Chairman of the European Parliament and Chairmen of the
paliament’s political groups officially approved the decision to send
a mission to Old Jugha (Nakhichevan) for the purpose of examining the
destructions committed by Azeris on the Old Jugha Armenian cemetery.

As Noyan Tapan was informed from the ARF Dashnaktsutiun European
Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy, by the decision adopted
unanimously the European Parliament’s and its groups’ Chairmen
preferred to entrust this mission to the EU-Armenia Parliamentary
Cooperation Commission though they had planned in advance to form a
delegation specially for this purpose. In all probability, the
delegation that will include 10 parliamentarians – members of the
EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Commission, will be in Armenia on
April 17-21, before leaving for Jugha. Nevertheless, for entering
Azerbaijan the mission should in advance get Baku’s permission, which
however, as the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy
emphasizes, is responsible for the very barbarities. To recap, on
February 16, the European Parliament with a prevailing majority of
votes adoted a resolution which condemns the Azeris’ vandalism on the
Old Jugha Armenian cemetery. In the resolution the European Parliament
strictly condemned the destruction of the Jugha cemetery and demanded
that “Azerbaijan permit to carry out missions aimed at study and
preservation of the historic and especially Armenian heritage in this
territory”. The resolution also demands from Azerbaijan to allow the
European Parliament’s delegation to visit the historical locality of
Jugha. Nevertheless, Azerbaijan continues its barbarity on the
medieval Armenian cemetery, the evidence of which is the fact that
after destroying the cross-stones and grave-stones the Azerbaijani
Armed Forces turned the Old Jugha cemetery into a range.