I Wish You a Velvet Revolution: Edmon Marukyan to Azerbaijan

I am compelled to address the remarks made by Azerbaijani delegates regarding Armenia's elections, the new opportunities created after the elections, as well as the previous criminal regime. This was stated by Edmon Marukyan, the leader of the Armenian delegation and the 'Enlightened Armenia' faction, during a speech at the PACE session that commenced in Strasbourg discussing the extraordinary parliamentary elections in Armenia.

"If anyone is talking about a criminal regime, then the Azerbaijani delegates are among the last who can speak about it. At this very moment, massive protests are taking place in Azerbaijan, where people are demanding the release of political prisoners and where their rights and freedoms are being grossly violated.

Azerbaijan has not complied with the ECHR's decisions regarding political prisoners, and against this backdrop, you speak of democratization in Armenia.

No country has an excess of democracy. We either have its advancement or regression. I am very pleased that democracy is firmly developing in Armenia. Nevertheless, it is ridiculous to hear statements regarding these processes from Azerbaijan: a country where there are serious shortcomings in the democratization processes and, more importantly, in the field of human rights and freedoms.

I hope everyone here understands that the purpose of these provocative speeches is to divert the main discussions from the plenary session's agenda, including the situation of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. In any case, on behalf of the Armenian delegation, I would like to say that we are pleased to see how closely our Azerbaijani partners are following the democratic developments in Armenia, and I hope they will learn from us how democracy works.

Therefore, I would advise you to focus on your own democracy. I wish you a Velvet Revolution as soon as possible for your own welfare," Marukyan said.