Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE, Ambassador Armen Papikyan briefed OSCE member states on hate crimes against Armenians, the disruption of the normal work of Armenian diplomatic missions in some countries, and the deliberate destruction of their property.
Addressing the sitting of the OSCE Permanent Council, Amb. Papikyan noted that these are hate crimes committed by groups of Azerbaijanis with a vew of intimidation and persecution of Armenians and members of Armenian community structures.
The Ambassador informed the representatives of the OSCE participating States that the aggressive actions of the groups of Azerbaijanis were organized and directed by the Azerbaijani embassies in those countries. Moreover, he said, the evidence of the Armenian side proves that in at least one case the Turkish embassy also supported the organization of those actions.
Ambassador Papikyan emphasized that the violence against Armenians in different countries, being a new phenomenon, is nevertheless a continuation of the anti-Armenian hatred propaganda, to which the Azerbaijani society has been subjected for decades. In this regard, the Permanent Representative of Armenia noted that the policy of anti-Armenianism, aimed at instilling hatred and intolerance towards Armenians among the population of Azerbaijan, is conducted at the highest state level.
“We are convinced that the lack of a proper response from the international community, which is tantamount to tolerating the behavior of Azerbaijan’s dictatorial authorities, further encourages the ruling regime to continue its anti-Armenian propaganda,” the Ambassador stated.
In his speech, the Permanent Representative of Armenia strongly condemned the violence against Armenians in different countries, which is another manifestation of Baku’s irresponsible policy, “in line with the policy of the Azerbaijani leadership to provoke enmity between the two peoples without geographical restrictions.”
A worldwide anti- Armenian campaign by Azerbaijanis included the stabbing of an Armenian man in Moscow, damaging and looting Armenian-owned businesses across Russia, burning an Armenian-owned cafe in Kyiv, Ukraine, setting ablaze a vehicle belonging to the Armenian Embassy in Berlin, as well as other acts of violence in Europe and elsewhere targeting Armenians, the latest of which was reported Wednesday in Cologne, Germany where an Armenian-owned lounge was attacked by some 30 Azerbaijani assailants who donned masks and vandalized the establishment.
Azerbaijani hatred toward Armenians also manifested itself in the brutal vandalizing of the Krouzian-Zekarian School and the adjacent Armenian Community Center in San Francisco, which was spray painted with crude and violent graffiti threatening Armenians.
Groups of Azerbaijanis have also attacked Armenians holding rallies in different countries of the world.
