Irish politicians welcomed a delegation of government officials from Azerbaijan with a round of applause in the Seanad this week, despite recent and ongoing accusations of genocide against the country.
The Azerbaijanian delegation, which sat in the “Distinguished Visitors Gallery” in the Seanad chamber, was in Dublin to attend the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament.
“I ask Members to join with me in extending a very warm céad míle fáilte – one hundred thousand welcomes,” said Ceann Comhairle and Fianna Fáil TD Seán Ó Fearghaíl.
“…You are heartily welcome. It is good to have you here.”
Similarly, Fianna Fáil Senator Niall Blaney, who was chairing a Seanad debate on policing, welcomed the delegates.
“I am sure the members of the House will wish to join with me in welcoming a parliamentary delegation from Azerbaijan,” he said, adding: “…On my own behalf and that of all my colleagues in Seanad Éireann, I extend a very warm welcome to the delegation from Azerbaijan. I offer them good wishes for a very successful visit around Ireland. They are very welcome.”
The delegation then received a round of applause from the chamber.
The development comes amid recent and ongoing accusations of genocide allegedly perpetrated by Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia. Since last September, international NGO Genocide Watch has warned of “Azerbaijan’s unprovoked military attacks on Armenia.”
The conflict is rooted in territorial disputes over the Nagorno-Karabakh region – an area internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but with a majority ethnically-Armenian population. It is home to 120,000 civilians, including 30,000 children, 20,000 elderly people, and 9,000 disabled people according to Le Monde.
However, the situation has escalated significantly in recent weeks, as last month Armenia accused Azerbaijan of genocide for blockading critical medicines, food, and other essentials from getting to civilians in the local city of Stepanakert.
.@Telegraph: "#Armenia warns of war after accusing #Azerbaijan of genocide". https://t.co/pswP0hKEhy
— Tigran Balayan (@tbalayan) August 14, 2023
“The situation has already resulted in a recorded increase of mortality,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Today, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are on the verge of a full-fledged humanitarian catastrophe.”
In mid-June of this year, Azerbaijan set up a military checkpoint on a key route to Armenia, and are not allowing any vehicles through – not even aid convoys. This has led senior UN officials to dub the situation a “dire humanitarian crisis.”
Independent human rights experts @MichaelFakhri, F. Shaheed, @IE_OlderPersons & @SR_Disability, express alarm over the ongoing blockade of the #Lachin corridor by #Azerbaijan which has led to a dire humanitarian crisis in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.https://t.co/wdDLAyi5Dn pic.twitter.com/0BBErhSGDd
— United Nations Geneva (@UNGeneva) August 9, 2023
“A group of UN experts today expressed alarm over the ongoing blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan, which has led to a dire humanitarian crisis in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the UN said in a statement in August of this year.
“The blockade, obstructing the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia for the past seven months, has left the population facing acute shortages of food staples, medication, and hygiene products, impacted the functioning of medical and educational institutions, and placed the lives of the residents – especially children, persons with disabilities, older persons, pregnant women, and the sick – at significant risk.”
The statement added: “By lifting the blockade, the authorities can alleviate the suffering of thousands of people in Nagorno-Karabakh and allow for the unimpeded flow of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population…We urge the Government of Azerbaijan to uphold its international obligations to respect and protect human rights, including the right to food, health, education and life.”
Moreover, in August, the founding prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, claimed that “there is an ongoing genocide against 120,000 Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
“…President Aliyev (of Azerbaijan) has genocidal intentions,” Ocampo claimed.
“He has knowingly, willingly and voluntarily blockaded the Lachin Corridor even after having been placed on notice regarding the consequences of his actions by the ICJ’s [International Court of Justice] provisional orders.”
Despite these ongoing recent accusations, no mention was made on the Seanad record of these genocidal claims during the Azerbaijani delegation’s visit.
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“Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”, Adolf Hitler rhetorically asked his minions. Not Ireland’s superfluous senators, that is for sure as they have their own self-serving priorities. My own family name means, in Armenian, I am Armenian which, thankfully, I am not as I would be getting persecuted in Ireland as much as elsewhere because the Armenians were the first national to convert to Christianity and, 2,000 years on, they are still being betrayed in Ireland, as much as elsewhere.
Sounds about right for the Irish UN government since they are using irish tax payer money to support genocide and religious persecution in the Ukraine. I suppose we will be sending money there too after this visit.
They did the same with delegates from President Sisi’s Egypt – they congratulated them on their commitment to human rights- even the delegates looked shocked!
Another example of Christian persecution perpetrated by Muslims. The Irish government obviously does not care about the persecution of Christians.
You would have thought that ” standing ovations” for foreign delegates might have been knocked on the head after Trudeau and the entire Canadian parliament had two standing ovations for a 98year old Waffen SS nazi last week.
Perhaps this is the new normal we were told to expect.
The Dails’ standing ovation of an ex SS soldier .. these people are not serious people at all ..