LEADERS OF AZERBAIJANIS OF GEORGIA WORK FOR ANKARA

MPs representing the Azerbaijani community in the Georgian Parliament follow the instructions of the Embassy of Turkey.

On the day of 88th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, the Azerbaijanis organized a hooligan action offending the memory of 1,5 million victims of the Ottoman Empire. At the morning session on April 24th the deputy Hamlet Movsisyan, representing the Akhalkalaki region populated with Armenians, urged his colleagues to commemorate the victims of the genocide. In response, 5 Azerbaijani MPs attacked Movsisyan offending him and threatening all the Armenians. The attack resulted in seizing the central microphone, as a result of which the session was cancelled.

April 28, 2003

PanARMENIAN.Net - But the Georgian Parliamentarians reacted on the call of the MP from Akhalkalaki. The Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze made corrections in the suggestion and urged to commemorate not only the victims of the Armenian Genocide but also all those who died because of ethnical conflicts - Armenians, Georgians, Azerbaijanis, Abkhazians, Osetians. ''This is a tragic day in the history of Armenian people. Unfortunately, after this tragedy numerous facts took place, as a result of which peaceful people died,'' Burjanadze said.

Her suggestion has been interpreted in different ways in Azerbaijan. For example, MP from the Marneuli region populated mainly by Azerbaijanis, Zumrudu Gurbanli, said that ''This proves that the Georgian parliament de-facto recognizes the genocide''. This MP, by the way, was one of the initiators of the action. ''Of course, the Azerbaijani MPs started to interrupt Movsisyan. After during 30 minutes we remained at the microphone, Burjanadze came down and asked us not to impede the works of the session. We asked her to allow us make few other statements. We were not satisfied with her explanations and said she was carrying out a pro-Armenian policy''.

Which is the sense of the ''pro-Armenian policy'' of Nino Burjanadze? Speaking about this, the ''Echo'' newspaper reminds that her first official visit was made to Yerevan and proposed to include Armenia in the TRASECA program. ''Zurab Zhvania, Mikhail Sahakashvili and Nino Burjanadze have deep Armenian origins,'' the newspaper writes. Despite the fact that the Parliament Speaker gave three of them the possibility to speak, the MPs continued their demarches and called a press conference, during which they said: ''Her statement to remember not only the Armenians but all who have died in the Caucasus, was planned earlier,'' Ramiz Bekirov said. ''We protest against the policy conducted by Burjanadze and the Democratic block headed by Zhvania and Sahakashvili. Being supported by the Armenian lobby and pro-Russian forces, they were trying to bring the pro-Armenian policy in the Georgian parliament,'' the legislator said. (We shall note that the mentioned figures represent opposite political camps. It would be strange if they really had a common policy).

The Azerbaijani citizen, concerned with the influence of the outside forces on the Parliament of Georgia, didn’t tell the Tbilisi journalists that immediately before the press conference he met the Ambassador of Turkey and received instructions about his further actions. While he didn’t hide this fact from the Baku journalists: “In the break time of the session the Azerbaijani MPs were invited to the Embassy of Turkey in Tbilisi. The diplomats thanked the MPs for their activity,” “Echo” writes. We shall note that while the Azerbaijani MPs were negotiating with the Turkish Ambassador, Nino Burjanadze was waiting them in her office. They didn’t arrive, anyway. The MPs preferred to meet with foreign diplomats, who ordered their hooligan action, instead of meeting with the head of the legislative power of the country. In this context the phrase about the ''influence of outside forces on the Georgian parliament'' gains a new meaning.