EU Parliament condemns Turkey's transfer of mercenaries to Karabakh

PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Parliament condemns Turkey's transfer of mercenaries to Azerbaijan in order to have them fight against Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as its treatment of Greek and Armenian minorities in Turkey.

In a resolution that will be voted on Wednesday, May 19 evening, the Parliament expresses "great concern about and strongly condemns" the transfer of fighters and mercenaries from jihadist groups located in northern Syria to Karabakh.

It also condemns the fact that, "rather than calling for an end to the violence and for a resumption of peaceful negotiations supporting the efforts of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Turkey instead decided to unconditionally sustain and support the military actions of Azerbaijan in the recent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh by resorting to provocative rhetoric, thereby fuelling tensions instead of reducing them; condemns the transfer of foreign fighters from Syria and elsewhere to Nagorno-Karabakh, as confirmed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries and calls on Turkey to refrain from any activity and rhetoric that could further exacerbate tensions in the south Caucasus region and to support international dialogue and the peace process under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group."

The resolution made a reference to another resolution approved on April 15, 2015 on the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, urging Turkey to follow suit.

The European Parliament said it is highly worried that the racist right-wing extremist Ülkücü movement, known as ‘Grey Wolves’, which is closely linked to the ruling coalition party MHP (the Nationalist Movement Party), is spreading in Turkey itself, but also in EU Member States. The Parliament calls on the EU and its Member States to examine the possibility of adding Grey Wolves to the EU terrorist list, to ban their associations and organizations in EU countries, to closely monitor their activities and to counter their influence, which is especially threatening for people with a Kurdish, Armenian or Greek background and anyone they consider an opponent;

It also "urges the Government of Turkey to protect the rights of minorities and vulnerable groups, including women and children, LGBTI people, refugees, ethnic minorities such as Roma, Turkish citizens of Greek and Armenian descent and religious minorities such as Christians, Jews or Alevis; therefore calls on Turkey to urgently put in place comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, including a prohibition on discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin, religion, language, citizenship, sexual orientation and gender identity, and measures against racism, homophobia and transphobia."