"COP29 in Baku: Greenwashing an ethnic cleansing?” conference held in European Parliament
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YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Member of the European Parliament Loucas Fourlas has hosted a conference titled "COP29 in Baku: Greenwashing an ethnic cleansing?" in the European Parliament.
The event was organized through joint efforts of MEP Fourlas and the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy.
Keynote speakers included Simon Papuashvili: Programme Director of the Eastern Europe & South Caucasus at IPHR, Catalina de la Sota: international lawyer, member of the Paris Bar, Siranush Sargsyan: internationally published journalist from Nagorno Karabakh, eyewitness, David Vardanyan: family member of the former state minister of Nagorno Karabakh, Ruben Vardanyan, famous philanthropist and former Nagorno-Karabakh official who is currently unlawfully detained in Baku.
President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), Kaspar Karampetian said it is unacceptable for a reputed and major event like COP29 to be held in Azerbaijan, an authoritarian country which has one of the poorest human rights track records in the world. He said that the conference and other similar initiatives contribute to growing international pressure to achieve the release of the unlawfully detained Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan.
MEP Fourlas said it is imperative to stand by the Armenian people. He said that events like the "COP29 in Baku: Greenwashing an ethnic cleansing?" conference and other initiatives must ensure that human rights violations are not covered up by environmental debates.
Armenian Ambassador to the EU and Belgium Tigran Balayan emphasized that now it is time for the European Commission to transform the resolutions of the European Parliament into concrete actions. The European Parliament recently called on Azerbaijan to release all Armenian detainees. Balayan said the release of the prisoners is a priority for the Armenian government.
Ruben Vardanyan’s son Davit Vardanyan thanked for all the efforts and initiatives aimed at achieving the release of all the unlawfully detained Armenians in Azerbaijan. He stressed that his father’s activities have always been aimed at creating dialogue. Davit Vardanyan said his father moved to Nagorno-Karabakh well realizing all possible scenarios, but nevertheless he preferred to stand by his compatriots. Ruben Vardanyan moved to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2022 and was appointed State Minister. He served until 2023 and was detained, among other Karabakh officials, while trying to cross into Armenia together with over 100,000 others during the ethnic cleansing campaign perpetrated by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.