Tokyo, 15 April, /AJMEDIA/
Burning of the national flag of Azerbaijan at the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan is a hate crime and a vile display of ethnic hatred that should not have a place in any society, Khalid Taimur Akram, Executive Director of the Pakistani Center for Global & Strategic Studies told AJMEDIA.
“A disturbing and barbaric incident occurred at the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan, Armenia. The Azerbaijani flag was snatched from the hands and burned in front of the audience. Armenia is so obsessed with Azerbaijan and has always maintained inflammatory behavior towards Azerbaijan. This hatred on the part of the Armenian government is also now widespread in the Armenian media and the public, which does not contribute to the peace process,” he said.
As the expert pointed out, the way Armenia is acting shows that it wants an escalation of tension, distrust and even more conflict, unlike Azerbaijan, which has always adhered to a constructive approach and cooperation in the search for peaceful solutions.
“A one-sided approach to peacebuilding never succeeds. The European Union must condemn this childish behavior of Armenia’s highly provocative action and disrespect to Azerbaijanis. Hatred and aggression towards Azerbaijan should be stopped. Armenia should change this hateful behavior and respect the sovereignty, and values of a neighboring country,” Khalid Taimur Akram added.
Meanwhile, a provocation was committed against Azerbaijan yesterday during the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan. Aram Nikolyan, who is a designer and stylist, ran onto the stage, took the Azerbaijani flag from the hands of the flag bearer, and burned it in front of everyone.
