The National NGO Forum held a news conference in protest against Armenian officers’ planned visit to Baku to attend NATO military training under the Partnership for Peace program due 13-26 September in Baku. (10 Sep 2004)
AssA-Irada — The Forum President Azay Guliyev said the invitation of Armenian officers to NATO command-staff training in Baku has sparked a nationwide rage.
This contradicts NATO’s charter and principles saying that there shouldn’t be any conflict among NATO member states, including partner countries, Guliyev said.
The Forum states that the participation of the military men from an invader country in any event organized in Azerbaijan is unacceptable unless occupied Azerbaijani lands are liberated and about one million refugees return home. The Forum intends to hold a series of rallies in protest against Armenian officers’ visit before September 13.
Azerbaijan lost control over its former autonomous region of Nagorno (Daghlig)-Karabakh and also over its seven administrative districts, Lachin, Kalbejer, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jebrail, Zengilan and Gubadli in the 1992-94 war with Armenia. As a result of the war around 700,000 Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their homes in the occupied territories. Some 300,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis also left their homes in Armenia and the same number of ethnic-Armenians had to move from Azerbaijan.
