“Today racism and intolerance have become real enemies for us to fight; Europe should unite to prevent them from developing further. Every single person who demonstrates racism should be stopped and punished. Once Europe suffered a sad experience of the escalation of violence and intolerance and it had a name: the Nazi regime,” said Naira Karapetyan, a member of the Armenian delegation, at the PACE plenary session held on June 20.
“Unfortunately, here in the Council of Europe there are still member States whose regimes use strong words of intolerance and racism toward ethnicities, nationalities and other countries, spreading hatred and shaking spears at other countries. So yes, No Hate, No Fear, but also no to lying to Europe. We have plenty of evidence of the destruction of the cultural heritage of ancient Armenia. Do not lie to Europe. The latest report on Azerbaijan of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance firmly confirms what I am saying. “
Referring to the paragraph 21 of the report Naira Karapetyan stressed: “Here we read that an entire generation of Azerbaijanis has now grown up listening to constant rhetoric of Armenian aggression. According to a 2012 survey, 91% perceived Armenia as Azerbaijan’s greatest enemy. The same paragraph also states: ‘According to other sources, there is a conflict-ridden domestic political discourse and Azerbaijan’s leadership, education system and media are very prolific in their denigration of Armenians. Political opponents are accused of having Armenian roots or of receiving funds from Armenian sources. It is not simply about that issue.’”
According to Naira Karapetyan there are many other examples. The curriculum of schools includes tasks and games that teach children to treat Armenian as enemies.
“It will be no surprise to the Council of Europe that in its report ECRI also mentioned the case of Ramil Safarov, which was the basis of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe report Document 13450 by Mr Chope. I remind the Assembly that Ramil Safarov, an Azeri military officer who killed an Armenian colleague while he was asleep solely because he was Armenian, was given a flat and other honours. In its press release ECRI pointed out the risk that such action could cultivate a sense of impunity for the perpetrators of racist crimes of the most serious nature. That is no surprise, given the Azeri regime’s style.”
“Just a month ago, another murderer - again, an Azeri military officer - who beheaded Qyaram Sloyan, a solider in the Karabakh defence army, was also honoured by President Aliyev. This kind of racism starts first of all from high-ranking officials.”
She read an example from the speech of President Aliyev. "There are forces that do not like us and our achievements . We can divide them into several groups . First of all, they are our main enemies, Armenians around the world, and the corrupt politicians who are under the influence of their lobby."
Karapetyan called on the Parliamentary Assembly to stop Nazism, racism and intolerance, and to stop the Aliyev regime.
Intro: Naira Karapetyan in her speech in the PACE urges the European countries to prevent racism and intolerance towards Armenians that the Azerbaijani government inseminates in its population.
