YEREVAN—The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Nigol Aghbalian Student Organization and the ARF Youth Organization of Armenia staged a protest in front of the foreign ministry building on Feb. 5, as the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen met with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.
Protesters converged at the Foreign Ministry to voice opposition against Minsk Group Co-Chairmen
The groups were protesting the Karabakh mediators’ continued insistence on maintaining parity in the face of Azeri aggression against Armenian targets in Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which in a span of a week and a half claimed the lives of two soldiers, wounded a 16-year-old girl and threatened the security of Armenians living in the border regions.
The groups called on the Minsk Group co-chairmen to end this false parity and properly address Azerbaijan’s aggression.
In an interview with Tert.am on Feb. 4, Nigol Aghbalian Student Organization’s chairman Gerasim Vardanian said that the groups aim to send a clear message of opposition to the Minsk Group for their overt disregard toward Azerbaijan’s aggressive policies.
“Their objectivity—parity—does not benefit peace or the ceasefire but rather it supports Azerbaijan’s policies. We are saying that by maintaining this parity they are only helping Azerbaijan,” said Vardanian referring to the Minsk Group co-chairmen.
Since the most recent incidents at the border, several Minsk Group co-chairmen have condemned the violence on the border and have refused to acknowledge Azerbaijan’s destructive and aggressive maneuvers on the so-called “Line of Contact.”
Vardanian also said that the two groups have issued an announcement condemning the Minsk Group mediators.
“The human loss resulting from the regular violation of the ceasefire by Azerbaijan and their continued anti-Armenian and warmongering policies have not received the proper evaluation from the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen,” reads the announcement.
“Judging Azerbaijan’s actions on the principle of parity… encourages and allows Azerbaijan to continue its disruptive policies, which destabilize the security of the region,” added the announcement.