Federal parliamentarians Tim Wilson MP, Jason Falinski MP and Senator Kristina Keneally have joined the growing chorus of Australian political leaders who have called out Azerbaijan’s provocative attacks at Armenia’s north-eastern border, declaring solidarity with the Armenian people, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
The high-profile group of politicians join earlier statements from Trent Zimmerman MP and Joel Fitzgibbon MP – the co-convenors of the Australia-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Union (Friendship Group) and Jonathan O’Dea MP and Walt Secord MLC – the chair and vice-chair of the NSW Armenia-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group, who released statements condemning Baku’s aggression and declaring solidarity with Yerevan.
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 has 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.
With complete disregard for the United Nations Secretary General’s plea for a global ceasefire during the COVID-19 pandemic, Azerbaijani leadership over the past ten days have continued their aggressive ‘attack, blame, repeat’ modus operandi, using attack drones, tanks and artillery to target and fire upon civilian targets, endangering Armenian men, women and children in the process of striking a PPE manufacturing factory and kindergarten.
Tim Wilson, who is the Federal Member for Goldstein, Chair of the Australian Parliament’s House of Representatives Committee on Economics and the only Federal parliamentarian with Armenian heritage, took to Twitter, stating: “Very disturbing news of Azerbaijani aggression and provocation to stoke nationalism and compromise peace and stability on the Armenian border.
