BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 4. The Peace Forum organized by the Swiss Parliament is one-sided. It does not discuss the plight of the close to one million Azerbaijanis who were ethnically cleansed from their homes and forced to live as refugees, as well as the Azerbaijani mosques and cultural heritage sites that were destroyed and left in ruins during thirty years of Armenian occupation. Instead, their resolution only discusses the damage to Armenian cultural heritage and the plight of Armenian settlers.
The critique was echoed in an article by Rachel Avraham, a prominent political analyst and journalist who is the founder and CEO of the Dona Gracia Center for Diplomacy, TurkicWorld reports.
Her piece, titled "Swiss Peace Forum on Karabakh Must Be Two-Sided," was published on the website of the US Foreign Policy Association based in New York.
In her article, Abraham expresses concern about Switzerland's intentions to host the Karabakh Peace Forum, which aims to discuss the dire situation of Armenians displaced during the Second Karabakh War and subsequent military actions. She notes that the Foreign Relations Committee of the Swiss Federal Assembly has passed a resolution to hold the forum in the coming year to initiate open dialogue between the government of Azerbaijan and the Karabakh Armenians.
Abraham contends that this method tips the scales and raises eyebrows about Switzerland's supposed neutrality on the world stage.
"If the Swiss wish to be true impartial mediators, they must discuss the plight of refugees on both sides and the horrific conditions of cultural heritage sites that were destroyed on both sides. Otherwise, they cannot be considered to be an impartial negotiator," she said.
She drives home the point that the Swiss Parliament ought to take a long, hard look at the political and legal fallout from the dire straits endured by over a million Azerbaijanis uprooted during the First Karabakh War. Moreover, they should discuss the havoc wreaked by Armenians during their drawn-out occupation and mull over Azerbaijan's strides in this regard.
The full text of the article can be found through the link down below:
https://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2024/10/29/swiss-peace-forum-on-karabakh-must-be-two-sided/
