French senators visit Azerbaijani refugees, IDPs

By Azernews

By Rashid Shirinov

A French delegation has visited Azerbaijanis, who have violently been driven out of their native lands and obliged to live a refugee life for about 30 years.

The delegation led by Andre Reichardt, the head of the France-Caucasus Friendship Group in the Senate of the Republic of France, on March 13 visited the settlement for the refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) located near Masazir settlement of Absheron District to get acquainted with their plight.

The French senators talked to the refugees and IDPs living here, got acquainted with the conditions created for them, while expressed hope for peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Fuad Huseynov, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs, expressed gratitude to the guests for visiting the refugees and IDPs, who lost their homes as a result of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He also highlighted the measures the Azerbaijani state and government take to solve the problems of refugees.

During their visit to the country, the French delegation also visited the liberated Jojug Marjanli village of Jabrayil region and Horadiz city.

In Jojug Marjanli, the delegation was informed about the atrocities committed by Armenians in the occupied territories, as well as about demining and construction works conducted in the village in accordance with the Presidential Decree on the restoration of Jojug Marjanli.

The guests were informed that the village, completely destroyed by the Armenian army, will be provided with 50 private houses, a school building and other infrastructure in the first phase. The next stage envisages construction of 150 houses and other infrastructure.

After that, the delegation visited Horadiz and was informed about the ceasefire violations by Armenian armed forces along the contact line. It was noted that the city, as well as Jojug Marjanli village, was occupied and destroyed by Armenian armed forces; however, after the liberation in 1994, Horadiz was fully restored.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.

Due to the ethnic cleansing policy carried out by Armenia and the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan, the number of refugees and internally displaced persons hit more than 1.2 million. With a population of over 9.8 million, Azerbaijan is among the countries carrying the highest IDP caseload in the world in per capita terms.

The French senators were also at the country’ Parliament, where they discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with their Azerbaijani colleagues.

"Azerbaijani territories were occupied, and it would be better to resolve the conflict peacefully. In any way, these lands should be returned to Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan should restore territorial integrity and regain control over its territory," Andre Reichardt said at the meeting.

He added that active work is done in France to support Azerbaijan's just cause on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Reichardt also stressed that the events of last April show that anxiety is already at the peak. "This shows that the military solution to the conflict is not desirable. But, in any way, Azerbaijan should return its lands. We are ready to contribute to the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," he added.

The large-scale hostilities in Karabakh ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.