Azerbaijanis hold rally of protest outside Armenian embassy in Georgia
Tbilisi, December 31, AZERTAC
A group of Azerbaijanis held a rally outside the Armenian embassy in Georgia, demanding the release of Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev, taken hostage by Armenians in Kalbajar.
Holding Azerbaijani flags, portraits of Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev and a variety of placards in front of the embassy, protesters chanted slogans such as “Sargsyan is a fascist!”, “Liberate Azerbaijani lands!”, “Free our hostages!”, “Liberate our lands!”, etc. They also regarded the judicial process conducted in Nagorno-Karabakh as illegal, noting the existence of Azerbaijani hostages and captives in Armenia. In the end, participants presented a declaration to the Armenian embassy.
The protesters then marched toward the Marjanishvili Street, one of the central streets in Tbilisi, chanting similar slogans. The rally passed without incident.
Tbilisi residents as well as Azerbaijani, Armenian and Georgian citizens condemned the illegal and inhumane actions of Armenia. One Tbilisi resident of Armenian origin, Gulnara Mkrchtyan, burst into tears, telling the journalists that she once lived in Baku.
“I once lived in Baku. It's with a heavy heart that I witnessed what was happening. I'm ashamed of the actions of the Armenian politicians. Could I say the Armenian government is right? The Azerbaijani hostages must be freed,” she said.
Dilgam Asgarov’s son Kurdoghlu Asgarov said he is aware of the illegal “judgment” passed on his father.
“The judgment was passed yesterday. I don’t recognize the judgment of a so-called “court”. I am from Kalbajar, and my father went there with his friend to visit their relatives' and parents' graves. Armenian soldiers detained them in the Azerbaijani lands and have been torturing them for six months,” he added.
Akif Mammadov, head of the Azerbaijani Diaspora Center in Bavaria said that he came to Georgia from Germany to take part in this rally.
“We today held a rally outside the Armenian embassy in Georgia with consent of Tbilisi City Hall and demanded the release of Russian citizen Dilgam Asgarov and Azerbaijani citizen Shahbaz Guliyev who were taken hostage by Armenian soldiers. Following this, we will go to Moscow and hold a really outside the Armenian embassy there, then we will go to European countries, pitch tents outside the European Court of Human Rights and go on a hunger strike there with the same demand. We plan to hold this rally on January 15,” he noted.
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