Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, Amanda Fazio has called out Azerbaijan’s aggression toward the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Armenia, stating that it doesn’t deserve the hosting rights to a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2016, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia.
Fazio, who visited Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh in July 2013, delivered a statement on the floor of the NSW Legislative Council highlighting the ongoing aggression by Azerbaijan and the war-mongering by President Ilham Aliyev, the serious human rights abuses within that country and the need for the international community to take a far stronger position on condemning Azerbaijan’s aggression.
“The recent decision to allow Azerbaijan to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2016 should be rescinded,” Fazio exclaimed. “The awarding of this race to a country which acts as an aggressor in the region and has an appalling record on human rights defies logic.”
She added: "The list of human rights violations regularly perpetrated by the Azerbaijani authorities is long and includes clamping down on the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association including persecution of activists, arresting them on trumped up charges and denying them the right to a fair trial."
“It is time the international community took a stand against the unnecessary aggression and repression of human rights being exerted by the government of Azerbaijan," Fazio concluded.
Over the past two weeks Azerbaijan has intensified its aggression towards Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, which has resulted in a large number of casualties. President Aliyev has gone as far as declaring war via a series messages on social media website, Twitter.
Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia), Vache Kahramanian, welcomed Fazio’s statement. He remarked: “Once again Ms Fazio has taken the moral high ground in defending the people of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.”
The Parliament of Australia’s largest state of New South Wales recognized the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and its right to self-determination in a unanimous motion in October 2012.
