Ottawa – Last week, Azeri forces attacked Armenian positions on more than three occasions in northeastern Armenia, as well as districts of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic resulting in the death of four Armenian soldiers.
These recent attacks represent an escalation to the ongoing Azerbaijani violation of the cease-fire. The attacks were condemned by the OSCE Minsk Group countries (The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe now Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, of which Canada is a member, to encourage a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict. The Group is headed by a co-chairmanship consisting of France, Russia and the United States.)
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who was visiting Armenia stated on Monday June 4 from the capital city of Yerevan that: “I was saddened to hear the latest news … Force cannot resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, force must be ruled out … I will visit Baku the day after tomorrow, and I have serious questions to ask the Azerbaijani leader.” Alexander Lukashevich, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday June 7 that: “Russia considers further escalation of border attacks unacceptable and will continue assisting the parties to achieve peaceful settlement.” The same day a statement from the French Foreign Ministry indicated that: “There can be no military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The parties must be fully committed to implementing a peaceful settlement based on the respect of the principles of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, notably the non-use of force, territorial integrity and the right of peoples to self-determination.”
The Armenian National Committee of Canada strongly condemns the recent aggressive attacks on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The President of the Armenian National Committee of Canada Dr. Girair Basmadjian stated that: “The recent attacks are another indicator that Azerbaijan’s main goal is to make war and eliminate Armenians from the region. Armenians were compelled to use arms in the early 1990s during the Karabakh war to defend themselves from the Azeri occupying forces, as means to achieve a peaceful life on their homeland but Azerbaijan seems to not agree that peace should have its place in their dictionaries. Azeri forces have been consistently violating the cease-fire but last week’s numerous attacks on Armenia and Azerbaijan worries us that peace does not stand a chance in the region. The constant threats of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev against Armenia and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh convinces us that any compromise from the Armenian people will jeopardize the lives and the peace of Armenians living both in Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.” Dr. Basmadjian added “Canada should: First condemn these attack and second press the OSCE Minsk Group to include representatives of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in the peace negotiations to achieve an ever lasting peace in the region.”
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The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range of issues.
