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BAKU: British MPs' visit to Upper Garabagh sparks protest action

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  • BAKU: British MPs' visit to Upper Garabagh sparks protest action

    British MPs' visit to Upper Garabagh sparks protest action

    AzerNews, Azerbaijan
    28 Oct. 2004

    A delegation of members of the British House of Lords comprising
    Vice Speaker, Baroness Caroline Cox and four members of the House
    visited Upper Garabagh through Yerevan without prior permission from
    the Azeri government last week.

    Shortly before the visit, several representatives of the Garabagh
    Liberation Organization (GLO) put a black wreath in front of the
    British embassy in Baku in protest.

    GLO chairman Akif Naghi and his deputy, Garabagh war veteran Firuddin
    Mammadov entered the embassy to meet with British Ambassador Laurie
    Bristow. They forwarded the organization's appeal to the embassy's
    spokesman for administrative issues instead, as Ambassador Bristow
    was out for dinner.

    In the document, the GLO representatives requested the ambassador to
    raise the issue related to the illegal visit by British parliament
    members to Upper Garabagh with the UK government.

    "This hurts the self-esteem of the Azerbaijani people. The British
    government must respect Azerbaijan's national interests and sovereign
    rights. Otherwise, there will be no need for the British embassy
    in Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan-UK cooperation in general," the
    appeal says.

    On Wednesday, unidentified individuals wrote "Baroness Cox" in black
    letters on the memorial to the British military men in Baku.

    Commenting on the matter, Foreign Ministry spokesman Matin Mirza said
    that the Azeri Embassy in Great Britain, on an instruction of the
    Ministry, has appealed to the British Foreign Office and parliament
    for an explanation. The British side said in reply that the visit took
    place on the personal initiative of Baroness Cox and does not reflect
    the position of London, as Great Britain recognizes the territorial
    integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.
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