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Expert: Those, who shell civilian cities of Azerbaijan must be tried at The Hague Court (Report)
‘The international law reads that firing rockets on cities is a violation of relevant international conventions and a grave war crime. Those, who give out such orders purposefully, must be brought before The Hague International Crime Court because it is a crime against humanity. It cannot be justified’, said Igor Korotchenko, military expert and editor-in-chief at National Defence magazine.
‘Experience shows that punishing them will be possible only if Azerbaijani troops can fully restore control over their territories. Such precedents exist. The war aside, but there are relevant Geneva Conventions that clearly demand and regulate that civilians must be excluded from military operations, violence against civilian population is unacceptable and their rights must be protected.
President Aliyev noted in his speech that Azerbaijan is interested in ensuring that the population living in Nagorno-Karabakh is not harmed. Baku considers these people its citizens and does everything for their safety. This only concerns the civilians, not the militants and armed groups. In this regard, it seems to me that Azerbaijan adheres to the Geneva Convention and pursues a clear policy of declaring that they ensure the safety of the civilian population living in Nagorno-Karabakh and do everything in their power to prevent any damage to them. Armenian armed forces, meanwhile, launch rocket attacks on Azerbaijani cities’, Korotchenko continued.
The military expert also talked about President Ilham Aliyev’s address to the people, saying that it was a speech by a strong leader of a strong country: ‘While addressing the people, he described the situation, told them how military operations progressed and explained Azerbaijan’s goals. Such dialogue is crucial, especially at times of war like this. This once again confirmed that Ilham Aliyev was a strong leader of Azerbaijan, who has gained international respect. Azerbaijan chairs the Non-Aligned Movement. Therefore, Azerbaijan always thinks about its international image and behaves accordingly.’