Gudrat Hasanguliyev, Chairman of the Justice, Law, Democracy (AHD) Party and Member of Parliament, has issued a statement to the party’s press service.
“Elchi” presents the statement:
– Gudrat bey, we would like to know your thoughts on the resolution adopted by PACE against Azerbaijan and the speech by Schwabe…
– Since the day in October 2013 when PACE gave a standing ovation to Armenian President Sargsyan, who boasted about committing the Khojaly genocide, it has been a morally bankrupt organization to me. At that meeting, Sahiba Gafarova, a member of the Azerbaijani delegation, asked Sargsyan to clarify the fate of 4,035 Azerbaijanis who were taken prisoner or went missing. She made a speech based on facts that exposed Sargsyan. But did anyone take that speech into account? PACE gave a standing ovation to the president of a country that had occupied 20% of a neighboring state’s lands, displaced one million people from their homes, and carried out genocide and ethnic cleansing. Armenia was not recognized as an occupying state, no sanctions were imposed, it was not expelled from PACE, and it was provided with all kinds of political and financial support. Now, PACE is demanding the release of Armenian-origin executioners who created enmity between two neighboring peoples, have their hands stained with the blood of innocent civilians, and have committed grave crimes against humanity. To hide their true intentions, they also include some Azerbaijanis who are claimed to have been arrested for political motives.
I myself have repeatedly initiated the pardon of our compatriots, especially women, whose arrests were claimed to have political motives. I believe that if they were released, most of them would rebuild their lives differently and be more realistic. However, those who raise this issue in PACE do not do so with good intentions; they want to free Armenian murderers, and their goals are different.
Schwabe himself notes in his statement that there are problems related to the rule of law, human rights, and freedoms in all countries. In some, they are fewer, in others, a little more. Political reforms in small countries are successful when there are both internal factors and a favorable geopolitical situation. Society must be ready for political reforms. How the states of the region will benefit from this and how they will use it should be a concern for everyone. Political reforms should not pose a threat to stability and security.
Regardless of what biased and Islamophobic circles say or what resolutions they adopt, we must first start with economic and judicial reforms for the development of our country and expand regional cooperation in the 3+3 format.