Statement by Ambassador Papikyan on Promotion of hate crimes by Azerbaijan in the OSCE participating States

30 July, 2020

Mr Chairman,

Our delegation introduced the current issue on Promotion of hate crimes by Azerbaijan in the OSCE participating States in order to draw the attention of the Permanent Council to numerous cases of hate crimes against people of Armenian origin in different cities and locations of the OSCE participating States, following the failed military offensive of Azerbaijan on north-eastern part of the State border of Armenia.

We have been witnessing the cases and attempts of violence against Armenian citizens and members of Armenian communities in different countries. There have been cases of obstruction of the normal work of the Armenian diplomatic service abroad and the Armenian communities, as well as a deliberate destruction of their property, which in some cases have threatened the security of the diplomatic staff as well.

The following are the cases of ethnically motivated hate crimes, attacks, intimidation, and harassment perpetrated by Azerbaijani mobs against people of Armenian origin, including the participants of the peaceful gatherings organised by the Armenian communities in different participating States of the OSCE. For the sake of time I will present them without further details. Upon the request of the interested delegations, Armenian delegation is ready to provide additional information on these specific cases:

In Belgium

On July 26, after the protest of Armenians, hundreds of Azerbaijanis with aggressive behaviour took to the streets of Brussels in an apparent search for Armenians.

In Germany

On July 23, at 12:12 a.m., the official car of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Germany was set on fire, while parked in front of the Armenian Embassy in Berlin. Currently, an official investigation into the arson is underway. Yesterday a mob of Azerbaijanis attacked Armenian hookah bar in Koln.

In Great Britain

On July 17, Azerbaijanis attacked and provoked Armenians during a peaceful protest in London. The brawl occurred when a female Azerbaijani protester crossed to the Armenian side and ripped the poster from a peaceful Armenian protester.

In the Netherlands

On July 19, stones were thrown at the Armenian peaceful protesters from the territory of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in the Hague.

In the Russian Federation

On July 20, some Moscow markets owned by Azerbaijani businessmen have banned the sale of agricultural products from Armenia on the grounds of ethnic discrimination and intolerance.

On July 23, An Armenian man in Moscow was subjected to a violent, ethnic-based attack by a group of Azerbaijanis. He was beaten with a gun grip in a failed attempt of forcing him to say that “Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan.”

On July 23, Another Armenian man was beaten in Moscow by a group of Azerbaijanis. On the same day in another place another outrageous case of an Armenian old man beaten by a group of Azerbaijanis took place.

On July 24, one of the organizers of Moscow attacks named Kamil Zeynalli, in a leaked video was calling to spill Armenian blood with no consequences, saying “The President is with us,” and that, “Even if you’re deported, you’ll return as heroes.” Obviously, he was inspired by Azerbaijan`s track record of welcoming criminals as heroes. Axe-murderer Ramil Safarov, is a stark case in point.

On July 24, Azeris attacked, looted and vandalised an Armenian store in Moscow.

In the USA

On July 19, during a protest in front of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington DC, a peaceful Armenian protester was sexually harassed by Azerbaijani demonstrators.

On July 20, crowds of Azerbaijani and Turkish protesters were chanting “Jihad” slogans as well as flashing neo-fascists insignia of the Grey Wolves organization, as they rallied and marched in front of the Armenian Embassy in Washington D.C.

On July 23, Many Armenians in Southern California, are reported receiving robocalls, saying “Hello, Dirty Armenian”.

On July 24, (Krouzian-Zekarian-Vasbouragan (KZV)) Armenian School in San Francisco was vandalized overnight as part of a series of global attacks on Armenians.

On July 25, peacefully protesting Armenians in Boston (about 5-6) were attacked by 15-20 Azerbaijanis carrying brass knuckles. One of the Armenians turned to the hospital.

In Turkey

On July 27, three young Armenians were attacked by a group of Azerbaijanis in Istanbul. Two other Armenians aged over 50, one of them women, were attacked and beaten in the same district.

In Ukraine

On July 23, an Armenian cafe set on fire was shown in a video of an Azerbaijani user saying, “This is an Armenian cafe in Kiev. It’s [the fire is] a gift from Azerbaijanis.”

The evidence and information that we have allows us to claim with high level of accuracy that these aggressive actions of Azerbaijani mob were orchestrated and directed by the respective Azerbaijani Embassies to those countries. Furthermore, at least in one case we have evidence that implies the support of the Turkish Embassy as well. On your screens you see the twitter account of the Azerbaijani Ambassador in Switzerland. The subject of the tweet is very much self-explanatory.

To further support our claim, I would quote some passages from the official twitter account of the Azerbaijani President of July 27 stating that “Azerbaijanis living abroad know that a strong Azerbaijani state stands behind them. Today, every patriotic citizen of Azerbaijan can be proud of his motherland”.

This message aired in the very context of ethnic violence is a manifestation of encouragement and assurances of impunity provided by the high leadership of Azerbaijan to perpetrators.

The facts of the involvement of Azerbaijani officials in the actions against the diplomatic missions of Armenia prove that the above-mentioned actions are coordinated by the Azerbaijani official structures. It is noteworthy that the former Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the European Union and the Council of Europe, Arif Mammadov pinpointed the involvement of the Azerbaijani special services working under the umbrella of diplomatic missions in organizing and arranging this ethnic violence.

This outrageous violation of the rules of conduct by diplomatic mission should be a matter of thorough investigation and condemnation. We further expect that respective countries will take necessary actions to bring the perpetrators to justice. At the same time, we would like to thank authorities and law enforcement agencies in different OSCE participating states for effectively handling the situation.

Mr. Chairman,

These attacks, though seemingly a new phenomenon, in fact are the continuation of Armenophobia and hate propaganda that Azerbaijani society is being indoctrinated with for decades.

To name just a few examples for colleagues to fully understand the extent and scope of the problem.

The President of Azerbaijan on a number of occasions used derogatory and inflammatory language while referring to Armenia and Armenians. In 2012 President Aliev declared that their “main enemies are Armenians of the world”.

The Azerbaijani president also said that “Armenia as a country is of no value. It is actually a colony, an outpost run from abroad, a territory artificially created on ancient Azerbaijani lands”.

The notorious case of pardon and glorification of Ramil Safarov after his transfer from Hungary is another case in point. And our delegation has already expressed Armenia’s position on that issue.

Already as far back as in 2005, the mayor of Baku, Hajibala Abutalybov at a meeting with a municipal delegation from Bavaria, Germany stated: “Our goal is the complete elimination of Armenians. You, Nazis, already eliminated the Jews in the 1930s and 40s, right? You should be able to understand us.”

Those are just a few examples of state campaigns that Azerbaijani authorities are propagating at the state level aimed at instilling hatred and intolerance against any Armenian in the hearts and minds of Azerbaijanis. Moreover, the negative stereotypes about Armenians are promoted by the majority of mass media outlets in Azerbaijan. According to Azerbaijani Human Rights activist Arif Yunus, who was arrested together with his wife Leila Yunus and sentenced for 7 years in prison on bogus charges, and who now lives in exile, Azerbaijani school textbooks label Armenians with epithets such as "bandits", "aggressors", "treacherous", and "hypocritical" thus “fueling of negative feelings among society towards Armenians”.

Even more, anyone with Armenian family names is denied entering Azerbaijan without distinction of his/her citizenship.

Armenia repeatedly raised the awareness among its international partners, both bilaterally and in multilateral settings, of threats and dangers inherent in these anti-Armenian policies perpetrated and promoted by the Azerbaijani leadership. We warned that the anti-Armenian hatred in Azerbaijani society reached such a level that with slightest manipulation it will spill over the territorial boundaries of the state of Azerbaijan, into the streets of different cities throughout the world. This is exactly what we are witnessing today.

We firmly believe that the absence of adequate reaction from the international community, amounting to indulgence towards Azerbaijan and its repressive authorities, further emboldened the ruling regime of that country in pursuing anti-Armenian hate propaganda.

We strongly condemn the instigation of ethnic clashes in various countries, which is another manifestation of Baku's irresponsibility and is fully in line with the policy and rhetoric of the Azerbaijani leadership provoking hostility between the two peoples without geographical restrictions.

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