Foreign Minister Julia Bishop has called on the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to come together to discuss the issue, and for Armenia to end the illegal occupation of Karabakh. At the question time this week, Member for Cowan Mr Luke Simpkins MP has asked FM Julie Bishop a question about the illegal occupation of Karabakh by Armenia and if the Government recognises this occupation as legitimate. FM Bishop answered the question firmly and unambiguously, comparing the situation with the Russian occupation and annexation of Crimea: “Australia recognises the sovereignty of Azerbaijan and does not recognise Karabakh as a legitimate state”, Ms Bishop said. Minister Bishop also asked Armenia to end the occupation of Karabakh. The Foreign Minister’s statement of Australia’s position accords with the numerous resolutions of the UN regarding the invasion and occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh by the Republic of Armenia. So far, with the exception of NSW, no country apart from illegitimate satellite states such as Abkhazia have taken the extraordinary step of legitimising this illegal occupation. ATA Alliance thanks the Foreign Minister for her dedication to United Nations and International Law. We also ask the government of NSW to reconsider the decision to “recognise” this illegal occupation, and whether it is appropriate that a state take any position with respect to what is clearly a foreign policy issue, let alone one that is contradictory to the position of the Commonwealth. We call on the government of NSW to not give in to lobbying efforts that have left NSW isolated along with a small number of illegitimate “nations”. We also take the opportunity to thank Mr Luke Simpkins MP for once again bringing this important issue to the attention of Federal Parliament.
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Geçtiğimiz hafta Avustralya Azerbaycan Dostluk Grubu Başkanı WA Milletvekili Luke Simpkins MP Karabağ’ın uluslarası hukuka aykırı olarak işgal edilmesini Avustralya Parlamentosuna getirdi. Ermenistan’ın Birleşmiş Milletler kararlarına aykırı tutumunu ve yaptığı insanlık dışı uygulamaları anlatan Simkins’e aşırı milliyetçi Ermeni lobileri tarafından sosyal medya kampanyası başlatıldı.
The Chair of Australia Azerbaijan Friendship Group, Luke Simpkins MP has drawn The Australian Parliament’s attention to the illegal occupation of Nagorno Karabagh and asked Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to warn Armenia for their deplorable treatment of Azerbaijan citizens.
Mr Simpkins said : ” In 1992 and 1993, Armenia illegally seized sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. This includes the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result of the attack and the seizure of that territory by Armenia, 350,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis were pushed from Armenia into Azerbaijan, and over 750,000 Azerbaijanis were forced out of their homes and became internally displaced persons in other parts of Azerbaijan. Therefore, over one million Azerbaijanis have been kept from their land, their property and the graves of their ancestors for over 20 years.”
The occupation of Nagorno Karabagh is not recognised by UN or any other sovereign nation in the world including Australia, but NSW Parliament has joined a group of Russian satelite states like South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2012 in recognising Nagorna Karabagh. The motion was brought to the NSW parliament by the disgraced politician Marie Ficarra MLC and the far-right politician Reverend Fred Nile MLC. It was made clear by the Australian government that state parliaments have no say in Australian Foreign Policy.
You can read Mr Simpkins’ full speech here.
ATA Alliance joins peace loving people around the world in an expression of shock and remorse over news of the attacks in Paris. The situation is unclear, as French authorities do their best to deal with the worst civilian attack in that country’s history. (more…)