Defense of the Armenian cause committee welcomes EU parliament resolution supporting 'democratic resistance'

BEIRUT — The Committee for the Defense of the Armenian Cause in Lebanon announced in a statement that it “sent yesterday a letter to the European Union Ambassador to Lebanon, Sandra De Waele, in which it welcomed the European Parliament’s adoption of the resolution ‘Support for Democratic Resistance in Armenia,'" the state-run National News Agency reported Tuesday.

On April 30 the European Parliament had adopted the resolution strongly "condemning external interference in the country’s democratic processes and reaffirming its support for Armenia’s sovereignty and European aspirations." It specifically condemned "attempts by Russia and its proxies to use disinformation, cyberattacks, and illicit financial flows to undermine Armenia's democratic institutions."

The European Union and Armenia will hold their first-ever summit on Tuesday, illustrating the "Europeans' willingness to help this Caucasus country cautiously distance itself from Russia, its historical ally," AFP reported.

The Committee in Lebanon said it considered that “this decision constitutes an important expression of the shared values between the Armenian people and the European Union, and Europe more broadly, particularly with regard to human rights and justice, and represents a positive step in the right direction.”

The Committee also expressed “its hope that the EU’s executive institutions will activate the powers granted to them by the legislative authority, enabling them to hold Azerbaijan accountable for the genocide committed in Artsakh in September 2023, in addition to what it described as the continued policies of cultural genocide against Armenian heritage in the region.”

It further “strongly praised the firm stance of the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in response to the statements made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during the plenary session of the European Political Community in Yerevan.”

Aliyev had stated in his address to the assembly that the European Parliament targets Azerbaijan by spreading allegations and falsehoods. Metsola responded by affirming the independence of the European legislative institution, stressing that the European Parliament is “a democratic body composed of directly elected representatives,” and that “its methods of work or positions should under no circumstances be altered in response to pressure or political claims.”