Baku’s threat to Paris: mayor did not take part in exhibition of Armenian prisoners’ portraits

The absence of representatives of the Paris mayor’s office from an exhibition of photographs of Armenian political prisoners held in Baku was due to pressure from Azerbaijan. This was stated to Alpha News by Nzhdeh Garagavoryan, member of the ARFD.

“At the Azerbaijani embassy and foreign ministry, they told the French directly: if the event takes place, or if any of them take part in it, the lives of French citizens in Baku would be put at risk,” he said.

Nzhdeh Garagavoryan noted that several French citizens have been held in Baku for many months now, and, according to him, the Azerbaijani side’s threats mainly concerned their safety.

“Despite everything, the event took place, albeit without representatives of the mayor’s office. For us, this is of course shameful. But it’s also telling: when Armenia’s embassy is inactive, it becomes extremely difficult for the Diaspora to achieve justice on matters of principle on its own,” the ARFD member noted.

According to Nzhdeh Garagavoryan, in situations like this, the Armenian community is forced to face possible pressure from the state structures of Azerbaijan and Turkey on its own.