It is arousing a regret the fact that the parliament of Switzerland, guided in its activity by democratic principles, falling under the influence of the Armenian nationalist groups and their patrons, lost the sense of objectivity, ignoring the historical realities, adopted an unjust act. Political assessment after such a long period of the genocide, which the Armenians were allegedly undergone during the years of the WW I, recognition by Switzerland following several European states of the invented “genocide of the Armenians” arouses serious concern in Azerbaijan, sets ground for much more aggravation of the inter-ethnic relations in the region, news territorial claims by Armenia, and it is not surprised that in such a situation the Republic of Armenia, violating norms of international law and the basic principles of OSCE, hitherto, rejects to recognize territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Scholars, as well as the European scholars, adhering the scientific truth, have proved that in the history there was no any genocide of Armenians. In fact, beginning from the late of XIX century, the Armenian nationalists, taking the chance of secret and apparent patronage of the Tsarist Russia, committed in the territory of the present Turkish Republic and in the Caucasus mass terrorist acts and massacre, as a result of which were brutally killed about 2 million innocent Turks and Azerbaijanis, destroyed thousands of settlements, razed to the ground the monuments of ancient culture, graveyards, was made attempt to obliterate all the signs of the Turkic existence in these territories. In 1905-1907s, was committed a cruel carnage over the peaceful population in Irevan and Zengezur (in the territory of the present Armenia), in Tiflis, Baku, Nakhchivan, Ganja, Karabakh, in 1914 – in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Mugan, Lankaran. On 31 March 1918, in he capital of Azerbaijan, in the city of Baku were killed over 30 thousands peaceful citizens. Parliament of Switzerland, deciding to assess the history, ignores these facts and it arouses surprise and regret.

Impunity of crimes of the Armenian chauvinists, connected with genocide, against Azerbaijanis, lack of any political-legal assessment of these crimes led to the point that in the soviet years against our nation was pursued hostile policy. With the help of soviet leadership, ruling circles of the Armenian SSR in 1948-1953s, as well as in 1988-1989s achieved deportation expatriation from the territory of Armenia about half million Azerbaijanis. In the course of violent acts, hundreds of Azerbaijanis were killed for the ethnic belonging.

The Federal Assembly of Switzerland should know that as a result of the occupant war, unleashed in 1988 aiming annexation of the internal part of Azerbaijan Republic – Nagorno Karabakh and joining it to Armenia, and the policy of ethnic purge, was occupied 20 percent of the territories of Azerbaijan Republic, that is Nagorno Karabakh and 7 administrative regions around it, 1 million Azerbaijanis were ousted from their historical homelands in the territory of Armenia and from the homelands in the occupied regions of Azerbaijan, killed over 18 thousands Azerbaijanis, wounded more than 20 thousand peaceful residents, over 50 thousand were disabled, more than 4 thousand citizens were captured or became unaccounted for, robbed, ruined and reduced to ashes 877 cities, villages and settlements.

Accepting the claims of the Armenian nationalists, concerning early XX century, the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, nevertheless, turns a blind eye to the unleashed by them war at the end of century, nowadays’ occupant war and committed in this war genocide against the Azerbaijanis, policy of ethnic purge that openly shows its pro-Armenian and hostile position. In order to imagine scale of the crimes connected with the genocide by the armed forces of Armenia against Azerbaijanis, as well as how brutally they were committed, it is enough to remember the tragedy happened on 26 February 1992 at the Azerbaijani city Khojaly. During this tragedy, being one of the monstrous in the history of humanity acts, the Armenian militants reduced to ashes a whole city, cruelly were slaughtered 613 peaceful Azerbaijanis, including 63 children, 106 women, 487 people became disabled, 1275 residents – the old, children, women were captured and undergone cruel outrages, sufferings and humiliation.

The Armenian nationalists, thus, in order to realize their territorial claims use all means – propaganda, occupant war, acts of genocide, and terror on international level. The world community has not forgotten the assassination, committed since 1970s by the Armenian terrorist organization “Asala” on the Turkish diplomats in the capitals of the European states, bloody crimes, committed by its partner terror organization PKK in Anatolia and other regions of Turkey. It has been for 15 years already that Azerbaijan suffers from the new wave of the Armenian terrorism. Since the Armenian aggression against our country, the Armenian terrorist groups have committed 32 terrorist acts against Azerbaijan. As a result of these terror acts in Azerbaijan were killed 2 thousand people, wounded tens of thousand citizens. The terror acts against our people were also committed in the trains, busses, in the ships, and in subway.

By the way, all these facts at the sittings of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, members of which are also the parliaments of Switzerland, Azerbaijan and Armenia, several times were brought to attention of the European deputies by the former head of the Azerbaijan delegation at PACE, the incumbent President Ilham Aliyev. In the time when over the world expanding is the movement against international terrorism, when it apparently becomes necessary the consolidation of efforts in combat against this evil of the XXI century, the Parliament of Switzerland in fact is lenient towards the Armenian terrorists, which arouses perplexity, at least.

In order not to let to fall to oblivion all these tragedies, connected with the genocide, committed against Azerbaijani people in XIX-XX centuries, to respect memories of the martyrs of genocide, currently on the base of Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated 26 March 1998, on 31 March it is marked in the country as the “Day of the genocide of Azerbaijanis”. Several times, adopting special statements on the said issue, Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan requested the international organizations, parliaments and governments of world countries to recognize connected with the genocide crimes committed in XIX-XX centuries by the Armenian nationalism and its patronage against Azerbaijanis, as soon as possible complete the work on creation of authoritative international legal mechanisms to prevent the further impunity of such crimes, render assistance in peacefully, fair settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno Karabakh conflict in order not to admit connected with the genocide crimes against the Azerbaijanis.

Azerbaijan, despite occupation of its territories, living of each eighth of its citizen ousted from their homes, in the tent camps in hard conditions, adheres the principle of peaceful liquidation of the sequences of the Armenian aggression by the Republic of Armenia. As known, aiming at solving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict still in 1994 in the person of Minsk Group of OSCE and its co-chairmen was established a mechanism of resolution to the conflict. In the question of fair resolution to the conflict on the base of universally recognized norms of international law, including with the term of observation of territorial integrity of states, we attach great hopes to objective position, balanced and weighted policy of OSCE, as well as all the member states of the Council of Europe, including Switzerland.

In the time when we expect from Switzerland undertaking measures promoting the efforts on regulation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, legislative body of this country under the influence of false propaganda of the Armenian chauvinists, unfortunately, admitted adoption of the restricting to historical truth, act, able to lead to aggravation of international tension. Adoption by the parliament of such state as Switzerland, who gained along the centuries, international authority thanks to its policy of neutrality, extremely far from objectivity, preconceived act cannot but cause sense of bitter regret.

As known, the Convention of UN dated 9 December 1948, “On prevention and punishment of crimes connected with genocide”, the genocide was announced a crime violating the norms of international law, and ensuring the claims related to establishment of responsibility for this or that state for commitment of he said crime is referred to the competence of the International Court. The federal Assembly of Switzerland took the role of international judge that should be assessed as violation of norms of the international law and setting ground for intrusion to the internal affairs of other states. In any case, with the history, should be engaged scholars-historians, the parliament is not an organ making verdict in regard with far historical events requiring scientific research.

Expressing indignation with the fact that the lie on the “genocide of Armenians”, which the Armenian nationalist groups and their patrons turned to tool of agitation to realize their insidious political intentions, penetrated to the parliament of Switzerland, Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan underlines that this notorious act, impeding the efforts aimed at establishment of peace and stability in the Caucasus, cannot have any legal conclusions. The Parliament of Azerbaijan, expressing the will of the people of Azerbaijan, states its resolute protest in connection with the adoption by the Federal Assembly of Switzerland unfair act related to recognition of the invented “genocide of the Armenians” and brings to the notice of world community that the disseminated information on the “genocide of the Armenians” does not correspond the truth.

(The Statement was adopted at the session of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 23 December 2003).