Dear compatriots, friends, brothers, and sisters! My compatriots, who do not live under occupation, but suffer as much as the territories under occupation and people living there! I welcome you and call on to fight against the occupation. At the same time, taking this chance, I welcome you on behalf of Shamakhi population, my dear voters, who struggled against foreign invaders for centuries and who were subject to natural disasters, and deliver their regards to you.
I’d like to express my deep gratitude to Russian, Turkish, Finnish, and Greek experts here as they accepted my invitation to attend this event. And I also would like to thank and welcome seven leading journalists from world media, who accepted my invitation.
I don’t want to talk about the history of the water reservoir on Tartar River because maybe some of you participated in its construction.
I’d like to inform you about my knowledge of the biggest and very important problem of Azerbaijan, about what I see and hear in international organizations, and biased, discriminative positions with double standards against Azerbaijan.
Why has the ACSDA launched this project? We always choose Karabakh as our direction due to its importance and keep on doing so.How did this project appear? How did this idea appear? All we see the progress in Azerbaijan. Undoubtedly, I was very proud to see development in Tartar today. Almost all our regions develop and we witness the development in all spheres of our country.
Nevertheless, our most grievous problem is groan of our territories under Armenian occupation. We considered it very important to work out such a project in order to deliver this groan to the world and cry for help.
What’s the purpose and result of this project? The biggest mistake of Azerbaijani people is that we base on an old and ungrounded opinion inherited from our fathers: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I mean we shouldn’t think that we’ll release Sarsang through this project. No! We cannot afford it. Is the voice of a civil society able to take back Sarsang when Armenians ignore deceptive decisions of several international organizations, which were not implemented and just exist in the archives? No. But the core of the issue and the content of the project is that as great Haydar Aliyev told, the last word is for nation. Thus, the last word is for international community.
I read in one of world magazines that journalists are able to solve Nagorno Karabakh. I believe in it. I analyzed and investigated it. Yes, the key to this problem is the enlightenment of the world community. Thus, we should inform the world community about current and possible heavy results of torture and occupation.
We have two ways of solution:we should take back Sarsang either through war or peace. Of course, Azerbaijani government and Azerbaijani people want peace, and want to take back Sarsang peacefully, but we haven’t succeeded for 22 years. We won’t and can’t declare a war. Why? It is not convincing to take back it through war because all world powers and international organizations support Armenia. We cannot fight against them!
And in order to take back Sarsang through peace we should inform the world community, and they in their turn should raise their voices and demand from international organizations and world powers that Armenians release the territories. Not like UN’s ridiculous and EP’s extreme decisions.
I’d like to mention some of them. I know, we’ve many speakers here, but as I represent two organizations, I’d like to tell you about injustice both in EP and CoE, as well as bias and hostile behavior, but not only double standards against our country.
For example, several MEPs raises the question that the airport being built in Khankendi is illegal and expresses his/her attitude towards it by addressing the European Commissioner. And the European Commissioner writes that we condemn this behavior of Armenians. Armenians occupy Kalbajar region, but the UN says we condemn them.
I bring such an example to my European friends: “A comparative analysis: imagine that I take your coat, and your passport, money is in your pocket, but I don’t give them to you. You call police in France. The police come and take coat from me, but don’t give to you. They say: “Elkhan Suleymanov, I condemn such behavior” and leave. Would you bear this? Imagine what we face. They, surely,were horrified.”
Therefore, our man goal in this project is to inform the world community about the situation of Sarsang reservoir, its expected possible humanitarian catastrophe, biological and environmental crisis, and economic damage to 6 regions for 22 years and achieve the adoption of relevant resolutions in international organizations.
It is important to speak about this issue not only in Azerbaijani media, but the world media as well.
Unfortunately, Azerbaijani media does not allocate place for the topic of Karabakh at all. It’s a heart-rending tragedy. It’s a grief, as great Sabir used to say, it’s a grief of all Azerbaijan. Our journalists write about different unimportant subjects, such as shows, rivalry, fight and disrespect of singers, ministers. However, we do not write about poor Gizgayit mother in Sarsang, whose garden and trees dried due to lack of water.
A lot of journalists attended the press conference at the presentation of the project two months ago. I asked and told them that we need their pen, their thinking because we should inform the world community, encourage Azerbaijani people, and bring to the agenda once again Karabakh issue which is under threat of being forgotten.
Our organization held a survey. If the issue of Karabakh was considered the main problem (80-90%) of Azerbaijan 3-5 years ago, today this figure is 35-40%. All these derive from heavy results of ignorance of our society, journalists, civil society, politicians, and political parties.
Our occupied territories may be released and we can hope for Sarsang only when every citizen, every person engages in this issue as much as he/she can. We saw the result of this. After the launch of the project, bulk of letters from 6 regions was addressed to the European Parliament, Council of Europe, and OSCE members.Consequently, CoE Presidential Committee adopted a decision on the realization consideration in Social Committee of draft resolution signed by 45 MPs and representatives from 18 member states.
This is a very meaningful beginning; this is a history. Nevertheless,Sarsang will not be released under the decision of the Council of Europe. And what will it give us? It’s a history in the archives of world, and the world will be informed about it. Today it’s Armenians’ biggestholiday: they achieved their goal, occupied our territories, and the time may come when they’ll blast Sarsang reservoir, flood population of seven regions, and immediately occupy these territories. Thus, then a much bigger part of Azerbaijan will be under Armenian control. Today we see that nobody helps and will help us to release our territories.
97 years ago, when Transcaucasian Sejm was establishing independent states (Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia) in 1918,the city for Armenia was not found. The Armenian Government addressed Azerbaijan Democratic Republic for help, and Iravan city was presented to them. Imagine 97 years ago! But if I raise this issue before the Council of Europe or European Parliament, they’ll think I’m crazy because the Soviet regime made us forget it. The Soviet regime didn’t allow us to mention Iravan for 73 years. Therefore, if we don’t work out this project, if we don’t tell the world community about this issue, and if international organizations don’t apply sanctions against Armenia, I assure you that Karabakh territories will be forgotten.Iravan city will be forgotten. The main goal of our project is to prevent it.
Today the main principles of draft resolution submitted to Presidential Committee is that European parliamentarians consider the illegal blockade of Sarsang inhuman and evaluate it as contradiction of principles of international law. At the same time, the second point of the draft resolution reads that Armenia should unconditionally hand over the illegal control over the reservoir and all irrigation systems under international resolutions.
The third point calls on international community for immediate and concrete measures to prevent any plans of diversion and be prepared to any accident or natural disaster, which will lead to mass casualties.
I don’t want to take your time with this issue. I told about already taken and future steps. But what do we expect from you and what do we want? Every citizen, every Azerbaijani man should voice his/her voice and fight to end this occupation. We’ll enlighten you in this sphere and our coordinators will meet you and explain what you should do.
Imagine that Armenia has occupied, but immediately start working if this issue is raised in the Council of Europe and European Parliament.
Deputy Prime Minister of the separatist regime told in his interview to Armen-press that they’re ready to work with Azerbaijan. Furtherspokesman of president of so-called “Nagorno Karabakh Republic” told recently that let Azerbaijan come and we can settle it together. Why does Elkhan Suleymanov complain to the Council of Europe? What do all these mean?These are swindling steps. Today Armenia has a single goal: to mirrorand present Azerbaijan as a bad country, as a bad nation. The international organizations attempt that we become brothers, Hayistan be established again, but Azerbaijan doesn’t want to cooperate and isn’t able to work with Armenians.
How is it possible that, as I told in the Council of Europe, you steal my car, but I say let’s you drive one day and I’ll drive the other day. Imagine think tanks of Armenian insolence and intrigue – international organizations present these opinions to Armenians. Why? Today the issue considered in CoE and interview of the spokesman didn’t appear suddenly because we raised it before the European Parliament. And Armenians immediately raised the issue of Ramil Safarov. A person is punished once in the world, not twice. And EP published its urgent and biased resolution. Further each time they raise the issue of Ramil Safarov both in EP and CoE. Why? In order to silence Azerbaijan, to pressure Azerbaijan, to make us reject our territories.This is the purpose of international organizations and power states.
Today we prepare for Presidential elections. I address each of you: do you have a candidate other than Ilham Aliyev? I guess no. But why do international organizations gather here? In order to negatively evaluate the elections in Azerbaijan. Their reports have already been written.It particularly concerns ODIHR, the organization headed by Mr. Lenarcic, and OSCE PA, all of them. For what reason? The answer is one. If Azerbaijan is evaluated as a democratic country,they should apply sanctions for release of our territories. The report comes to negatively evaluate Azerbaijan and to write hostile and biasedly…
Thus, I call all of you to help to release Sarsang from occupation. Thank you!