Today, Azerbaijan once again shows its contempt for justice, human rights and international law by organizing this fake trial against the leaders of Artsakh, writes former RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan.
"This despicable performance is another act of Baku to erase the cultural and historical presence of Armenians from a territory that has been their undivided homeland for millennia.
This is also evidence of the inaction of the international community and, more damningly, the complicity of the Armenian government in the tragic downfall of Artsakh. This trial is not an isolated case. It is the culmination of Baku's planned campaign of ethnic cleansing.
More than a year ago, Azerbaijan expelled 120,000 Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh, which was preceded by a nine-month inhumane siege and military assault on the starving people. Since then, Azerbaijan has begun razing Armenian cultural monuments, desecrating cemeteries, and trying to rewrite history by erasing the region's Armenian identity. However, Azerbaijan does not operate in a vacuum.
His aggression became possible as a result of the stony silence of the international community, the shameful passivity of the great powers. Statements about "concern" are not meaningful actions.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, who were once committed to peace negotiations, have left their commitments, leaving Azerbaijan to violate international norms with impunity. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is equally guilty, whose complicity is a stigma for the Armenian people. Pashinyan's government has continuously failed The task of protecting the people of Artsakh.
His administration's unpreparedness, refusal to engage diplomatically, and failure to rally the international community have unleashed Azerbaijan.
Pashinyan is silent when Armenian families mourn the loss of their homeland and the captivity of their leaders. His inaction is a disgrace for Armenia and a betrayal of the survival of his own people. The international community must face the consequences of its indifference.
Leaving Azerbaijan's actions unanswered is a dangerous precedent. It is a signal that ethnic cleansing can be carried out with impunity, that international law can be violated without consequence, that justice is an empty word... This moment also requires self-criticism from the Armenian people and their government.
Pashinyan's inaction cannot be forgotten or forgiven. The Armenian nation must demand a leadership that will curb aggression, protect its people and restore its dignity in the international arena. The trials in Baku are not only an attack against the Armenian people. they are a test of universal commitments to justice and human rights.
The world cannot allow Azerbaijan's fake justice to win. It is time to stand by the Armenian people for justice, truth and the principles that bind us all as human beings."
