AZERBAIJANI OMBUDSMAN CALLS ON INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO IMPOSE SANCTIONS AGAINST ARMENIA
Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
April 25 2008
Azerbaijan, Baku, 25 April / corr. TrendNews S. Agayeva/ The Ombudsman
of Azerbaijan considers the election of ombudsman of self-declared
Nagorno-Karabakh to be illegal.
"This step undermines the peace process to settle the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, covers up Armenia’s tracks of violating
the rights of millions of Azerbaijanis and its citizens by holding
the recent presidential elections in Armenia," said the statement by
the Ombudsman.
Yuriy Ayrapetyan, the chairman of the standing commission of National
Assembly of self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh on government and judicial
issues was elected the Ombudsman (human rights activist). According
to the correspondent of REGNUM news agency in Stapanakert, the
Ombudsman was elected during the meeting of the National Assembly of
Nagorno-Karabakh held on 25 April through a secret ballot. He was the
only candidate for the post and this nomination was agreed upon by all
factions. According to the NGR constitution, the human rights activist
is an independent official who defends citizens whose rights and
freedom were violated by state bodies, municipalities and officials.
The Azerbaijani Ombudsman believes that such a situation
necessitates sanctions being imposed against Armenia by international
organizations. "We state once again that only those organizations
established in the Azerbaijani territory and based on the country’s
laws can be considered as legitimate," the statement by the Ombudsman
said.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.