CANBERRA: The Armenian-Australian community is demanding Federal Government condemnation in light of Azerbaijan’s latest attacks on the Armenian Republic of Artsakh, which has seen the petro-dictatorship backed by Turkey-deployed Jihadists launch an offensive causing military and civilian casualties.
Azerbaijan’s large-caliber air and artillery strikes on many civilian towns, including the self-determined Republic’s capital Stepanakert, have so far killed 84 Armenian servicemen defending their indigenous homeland, as well as one servicewoman and a volunteer, with hundreds of others wounded. Civilians are also among the casualties, including two young children. Many hundreds of Azerbaijani soldiers have also given their lives due to the aggression initiated by their authoritarian leader, Ilham Aliyev.
The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) has called on the Australian Government to condemn Azerbaijan’s clear provocation that they say risks regional stability.
“Armenian-Australians are seeking a meaningful response from the Australian Government,” said ANC-AU Executive Director Haig Kayserian.
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“Failure to single out Azerbaijan for her threats and attacks in favour of some sort of false parity is dangerous for Armenians, as has been displayed in Artsakh and Armenia over recent days which followed previous attacks from Baku that have not attracted adequate condemnation.”
“There is only one party responsible for this grave breach of ceasefire and flaring up of regional instability, and it is the only party of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict that has not accepted gunfire locators to determine the faulting side during ceasefire breaches––that party is Azerbaijan.”
Kayserian added that the Armenian-Australian community, majority made up of descendants of survivors of the Armenian Genocide, were particularly alarmed by Turkey’s “overt involvement in aiding and abetting Baku’s expansionism”.
“The Turkish Government’s mouth-piece media entity, TRT has had a correspondent on the ground for the past four days, who immediately started reporting live by satellite on the unfolding attack from the frontline,” Kayserian added, before referring to Turkey’s deployment of Ankara-backed jihadists previously stationed in Syria.
“Jihadists have been recruited by Turkey to fight against Armenia and Artsakh, with the promise of Christian blood by the Azerbaijani regime,” he said. “We urge the Australia’s Government calls on Turkey and its dictator Erdogan to exit the South Caucasus along with his terrorists, and for Azerbaijan and its dictator Aliyev to return to the table for peace talks.”
ANC-AU has appealed to the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, individual parliamentarians, members of state and local parliaments, while calling on the Australian Friends of Artsakh network of prominent Australians––some have already publicly echoed Armenian-Australian condemnation of Azerbaijan and Turkey.
Armenian National Committee of Australia