Thursday, March 21 2024 18:55

ArmInfo.The southern Caucasus is a melting pot of cultures, religions and ethnicities. Over the  centuries, these different groups have at times co-existed peacefully and at other times experienced turmoil and bloodshed.  MP from the Scottish National Party Carol Monaghan stated on Tuesday in the House  of Commons of the British Parliament during debate:  "Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenian refugees".

As the UK Parliament's press service reports, she made the following  remarks:

"In recent memory, we saw the Armenian genocide of 1915 to 1923, when  an estimated 1.5 million people were killed by forces from the  Ottoman empire. As the Soviet Union began to collapse in the late  1980s, the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave within  Azerbaijan, officially voted to become part of Armenia. Azerbaijan  sought to suppress the separatist movement, while Armenia backed it.  This led to clashes and eventually a full-scale war. Tens of  thousands died and up to 1 million were displaced, amid reports of  ethnic cleansing and massacres committed on both sides.  The most  recent hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan show that conflict  is never far away. Although they have recently negotiated a peace  agreement, tensions remain high, and if there is a peace it is  certainly fragile. Just last year, a number of us gathered in  Westminster Hall to raise concerns about the blockade of the Lachin  corridor, the main supply route from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. At  the time, several hon. Members highlighted the potential for  starvation and humanitarian catastrophe. The supposed Russian  peacekeepers were at best observers and at worst actively supporting  the ongoing persecution of the local Armenian population.  Sadly, the  outcome we most feared was realised last September when, after a  nine-month blockade, the Azeri military expelled the Armenian  population. This forced displacement of a people has taken place when  the eyes of the world are turned elsewhere. As Armenia is a small  country with a population of 3 million, the arrival of more than  100,000 refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as a further 40,000  refugees from the war in 2020, has had a significant impact on it.  I  was a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union delegation that visited  Armenia last month. We met a group of refugees from Nagorno-  Karabakh, who described the events of the blockade and their eventual  expulsion in harrowing detail. They described the so-called Russian  peacekeepers travelling to Armenia-a privilege not afforded to the  local population-and buying goods and supplies only to resell them to  the starving people at massively inflated prices. They described the  difficulty of acquiring medical supplies, fuel and even water. They  described the violent end of the blockade, when the people were  shelled out of their homes. We heard how the shelling started at  12.30 pm, when children were at school and separated from their  parents. They described the chaos of people trying to locate their  loved ones, and of people abandoning their home with just the clothes  on their back.  The lucky ones had some fuel in their vehicles; the  others just walked. The 40 km journey to Armenia took three days  because of Azeri forces' continued bombardment and because of  obstructive bureaucracy by the Azeris at the border. The lack of  water on the journey meant that many, especially the elderly, did not  make it.  Many of the refugees are now staying with family members in  border towns and in and around Jermuk, but every Armenian town has  been impacted by the influx of refugees. The refugees are, of course,  critical of Azerbaijan, but they are also critical of the Russian  peacekeepers' failure to protect them.  A number of officials we met  believe that the Russian forces had been directed by Moscow to foster  instability, not peace. This seems to be substantiated by Kremlin  rhetoric. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has insisted that Russia  does not bear blame; he said that there was "no direct reason" for  the exodus, merely that people were willing to leave. As an aside,  non-intervention by Russian peacekeepers sets a dangerous precedent  that international humanitarian law can be breached without  repercussions, and opens up the risk of future Azerbaijani incursions  into Armenia, for example to secure a path to its exclave of   Nakhchivan.  When we met the mayor of Jermuk near the border, he  described the triaging that had taken place and the intensive  support, both practical and psychological, needed for these broken  people. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees confirmed  that, noting that the 100,000 refugees required critical support.   For many, this ethnic cleansing of a people has echoes of the  Armenian genocide of 1915 to 1923. It is notable that while 34  countries, including the USA, Canada and France, have recognised the  historic genocide, the UK has failed to do so. Several hon. Members  have raised that point, including the hon. Member for East Worthing  and Shoreham (Tim Loughton). In denying formal acknowledgement of the  historic atrocity, the UK Government continue to delegitimise the  collective pain endured by the Armenian community. A Foreign Office  memo from 1999 is revealing as to the motivations behind the UK's  position. It reads:  "Given the importance of our relationship  (political, strategic, commercial) with Turkey.recognising the  genocide would provide no practical benefit to the UK".  I would  appreciate a response from the Minister on whether the failure to  recognise the historic genocide is simply an attempt to appease a  trading partner.  Let me return to the situation on the ground in  Armenia. In October 2023, UNHCR launched a $97 million emergency  refugee response plan to provide urgent humanitarian aid and  protection to the refugees and to those hosting them in Armenia. That  support runs out at the end of this month, but not one refugee has  been able to return home. Although there has been international  support, for which the Armenian Government are grateful, far more is  required. The US has committed $28 million since 2020, the EU has  provided EUR17.5 million since September, and France committed  EUR27.5 million in 2023. The UK, to date, has committed GBP1 million.

"I think it is important that we are not critical of the support that  has been given, and GBP1 million is a good starting place, but I  agree with the hon. Member. I ask the Minister what further financial  and humanitarian support the UK will provide for the Armenian  Government to support the refugees and their hosts in Armenia. Aside  from providing aid, the UK Government have a moral responsibility to  show leadership in the region. They must undertake all diplomatic  efforts to foster dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan and help to  create the conditions for a true sustainable peace that will allow  displaced Armenians to return home.  In October 2023, the UK  Government argued:  "It is vital that international humanitarian  organisations have independent access.We therefore welcome  Azerbaijan's decision last week to allow UN agencies into  Nagorno-Karabakh, to complement ongoing efforts by the ICRC"- the  International Committee of the Red Cross. However, given that the  Armenian population had been ethnically cleansed a month earlier,  that seems rather futile.  In January 2024, the UK Government stated:   "We welcomed the two countries' historic joint statement of 7  December, in which important confidence-building measures were  announced, aimed at reaching an historic agreement and securing  lasting peace for the region."" "First, any agreement that is reached  has to be welcomed. Any steps forward have to be welcomed. As for who  is concerned, the people we spoke to in the border towns who see  Azeri incursions-who see the troops coming over the border-are the  ones who are telling us that they do not have confidence in the  agreement. That is because they are not seeing it being played out in   real time in front of them.  Given the events of the past six  months, I was concerned to read that in November 2023 Foreign Office  officials were encouraging British business leaders to capitalise on  lucrative commercial opportunities in Nagorno-Karabakh to support  President Aliyev's rebuilding agenda.  That is quite simply an  abdication of the UK Government's moral and ethical responsibilities.  It is also hypocritical. How can the UK Government condemn  Azerbaijan's "unacceptable use of force" in Nagorno-Karabakh in  September and then, six weeks later, encourage British commercial  involvement in the region? Can the Minister provide clarity on the  reasons for encouraging British businesses to exploit the tragic  situation?  Despite limited attention from international media, the  situation on the ground in Armenia remains critical. Urgent  assistance is required for the refugees and for those supporting  them. When we asked the refugees about their hope for the future,  they responded that they simply wished to return home. The  International Court of Justice has issued an order requiring   Azerbaijan to "ensure that persons who have left.and who wish to  return to Nagorno-Karabakh are able to do so in a safe, unimpeded and  expeditious manner.free from the use of force or intimidation."  Although the Azeri Government state that return is safe, the refugees  were clear that this is impossible. They were starved, they were  bombed and they were killed, so their hope to return cannot be  realised, certainly not at the present time. My final question to the  Minister is this: what representations has he made to the Azeri  Government on the treatment of the refugees and on their safe passage  back to their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh?"

"When we were in Jermuk, we saw two khachkars-the posts with  crosses-that had been removed from Nagorno-Karabakh. They were in  pieces. We were told that there were many thousands that people could  not take with them. The ones that we saw were more a thousand years  old, and there will be many others left behind. It is real cultural  destruction."

"I pay tribute to the Government and people of Armenia, who have  ensured that the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh have been given the  food, shelter and support they require. I thank all those who joined  us this afternoon in the Public Gallery, including His Excellency the  Ambassador. Finally, I thank all Members who have participated in  this really important debate. It is important that we shine a light  on the troubled area of Nagorno-Karabakh and ensure that the people  of Nagorno-Karabakh who are currently in Armenia are not forgotten."