On Wednesday, November 12, 2014, at approximately 1:45 pm (Yerevan time), the Azerbaijani military shot down an unarmed helicopter on a military training exercise over Nagorno Karabakh, killing all three people on board.
Azerbaijani leaders, instead of calling for calm or regretting the loss of life, reportedly immediately awarded a military medal to the unit commander who shot down this unarmed aircraft.
This attack, unprecedented since the 1994 cease-fire, is the latest in Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s reckless escalation of incitement and aggression, a pattern of violence that has taken far too many lives, on both sides, and that threatens to drive this region into renewed war.
The Canadian government has yet to issue a statement on Azerbaijan’s continuously provocative actions and Canadian lawmakers have not yet joined their colleagues in the United States and Europe in condemning Azerbaijan’s latest act of aggression against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenian National Committee of Canada President Dr. Girair Basmajian stated “Azerbaijan’s attack on an unarmed helicopter and subsequent conduct is a direct threat to the peace process. The Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia have sought to resolve this dispute peacefully for the last twenty years, but the Aliyev regime has only answered with more violence. The failure of Canada and the world community to respond more forcefully to the Aliyev regime’s rewarding of Ramil Safarov’s murder of an unarmed Armenian soldier during a NATO training course and to the daily ceasefire violations by the Azerbaijani military has contributed to this situation. Unless Canada and our allies take a firm stance against the Aliyev regime’s attacks and demonization of Armenians, there is no chance of a peaceful solution to this conflict. The Canadian government’s silence only encourages Azerbaijan to engage in even greater violence.”
We ask that all people of good conscience call on their representatives to publicly condemn this despicable attack and make it clear that Azerbaijan’s unprovoked aggression will not be ignored.
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The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian grassroots human rights organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range of issues.
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Le CNAC est l’organisation canado-arménienne des droits humains la plus large et influentielle. Collaborant avec une série de bureaux, chapitres et souteneurs à travers le Canada et des organisations affiliées à travers le monde, le CNAC s’occupe activement des inquiétudes de la communauté canadienne-arménienne.