Doc. 10817
25 January 2006

Inadmissibility of Armenia’s (occupier) membership of the Council of Europe for violating fundamental principles and the main criteria of this Organization

Written question No 483 to the Committee of Ministers
presented by Mr Rafael Huseynov

      Upon accession to the family of the Council of Europe in January 2001, the Republic of Armenia was the only country that had occupied the territories of another member state of the Organization. Contrary to the commitments assumed before this Organisation, Armenia did not refrain from pursuing the policy of occupation against Azerbaijan that had occurred in 20% of its territories. As it is repeatedly mentioned and underlined in the Council of Europe documents from 2001 to 2005, Armenia plotted new plans for extending the scopes of military aggression and occupation conducted against Azerbaijan in the last 5 years. It also declared its insidious intentions to annex the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan of Azerbaijan, seriously damaged the environment of Azerbaijan, engaged in cultivating narcotics in the uncontrolled territories under occupation and its transiting, conducting nuclear research and creating nuclear cemeteries, setting up terrorist groups and associations, backing and abetting the activities of terrorist training camps. The head of the anti-democratic regime in Armenia, President R. Kocharan, is one of the main perpetrators of the Khojali genocide committed against the Azerbaijani people who openly confessed it from the rostrum of the Council of Europe when making a statement, and he was proud of it. In this way he openly demonstrated that he was not ready for the peaceful settlement of the problem. It is not a coincidence that Armenia, pursuing an ethnic cleansing policy against the people of Azerbaijan, was unequivocally mentioned in the Resolution 1416 (2005) of the Council of Europe based on its five-year observations.

      Considering all the above mentioned issues,

      Mr. R Huseynov

      asks the Committee of Ministers:

      Is it not yet the right time to exclude the Republic of Armenia from the Council of Europe on the grounds that, during the 5 years of its membership in this Organization, Armenia went against the fundamental principles and main criteria of this Institution, demonstrated openly that due to its activities it does not deserve to be in the Council of Europe family, and that it is recognised officially as an aggressor by the PACE for its policy of occupation pursued against Azerbaijan and for having caused serious obstacles to the development of democratic values in Armenia?


Signed ¹:

HUSEYNOV, Rafael, Azerbaijan, ALDE

¹    SOC: Socialist Group
       EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party
       ALDE: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
       EDG: European Democratic Group
       UEL: Group of the Unified European Left
       NR: not registered in a group