CANBERRA: The Federal Member for North Sydney, Trent Zimmerman MP rose in Australia's House of Representatives to condemn Azerbaijan's recent aggression "under the cover of the pandemic" against Armenia and called out Baku's threat to bomb the Metzamor Nuclear Power Plant as "extraordinary" and "not acceptable", reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
On 12 July 2020, the Azerbaijani military began attacks on the Republic of Armenia’s sovereign borders, targeting the town of Tavush and its surrounding villages. With the current death toll at 16 (and possibly higher due to Azerbaijan’s notorious lack of free press and transparency), Azerbaijan effectively sparked the biggest ceasefire breach between the countries since the 2016 Four Day War, which was also initiated by Azerbaijan as an attempted failed blitzkrieg.
"Previous Azeri aggression has been aimed at the disputed Republic of Artsakh. However this time, Azeri forces attacked Armenia itself with tank, drone and artillery fire against soldiers, civilian homes and even a village kindergarten while people on the streets of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, chanted 'Death to Armenia' and 'End the Quarantine, Start the War'," Zimmerman told the Federation Chamber.
"The skirmish was undertaken with complete disregard for the UN's call for a global ceasefire during the current coronavirus pandemic."
Zimmerman particularly condemned the "ominous" threat from Azerbaijan's defence ministry spokesperson to launch a missile attack against Armenia's nuclear power plant.
"I find extraordinary that the Azeri government, at this time, indeed any time would threaten to attack a nuclear reactor with a missile strike. Such behaviour is not acceptable," said the Chair of the Australia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Union (Friendship Group).
ANC-AU Executive Director Haig Kayserian thanked Zimmerman for bringing awareness to this important issue.
"This statement from Mr. Trent Zimmerman is important and necessary in bringing to light the unacceptable provocative actions and destructive threats by the Azerbaijani dictatorship," Kayserian said.
"Our community, many of whom reside in Mr. Zimmerman's electorate, expect the Australian Government to stop kowtowing to a foreign dictatorship and follow the Member for North Sydney's lead in condemning Ilham Aliyev and his violent regime," Kayserian added.
