AZERI MP CITES POOR LIVING CONDITIONS IN ARMENIA
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
June 13 2006
Baku, June 12, AssA-Irada
A parliament member who has recently visited Yerevan as part of the
Azerbaijani delegation to attend a session of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation Organization (BSEC) Parliamentary Assembly has said there
is hardly any population in the Armenian countryside and cited poor
living conditions in these areas.
“There is not a living soul in most villages that used to be settled
by Armenians or those Azerbaijanis were ousted from,” Musa Guliyev
told AssA-Irada. He said they had traveled to the Armenian capital
through Georgia by car and witnessed no amenities being provided or
activity to improve the situation.
“Along the way, we saw dilapidated buildings. The same situation was
observed in the towns we passed through. We then learnt that most of
these were built back in the Soviet times.”
Guliyev said the only positive development was the good condition of
roads, and the reason for this was the considerable funding provided
by an Armenian millionaire living in the United States.
The MP said that in the center of Yerevan, however, extensive work was
underway to improve its plight. Foreign nationals visiting the city
often stay at the hotels located in the area. “By doing this, they
are trying to create a vision that everything is great in Armenia.”
Guliyev said that along with members of a Turkish delegation, the
Azeri MPs had a conversation with local Armenian residents outside
the hotels they were staying in.
“They complained about their conditions. They said that by making
the downtown area look better, the government is trying to create
an illusion that the living standards in the country are improving,”
the parliamentarian added.