News - Ara Babloyan's open letter to president Ilham Aliyev: I hope you will announce amnesty now, without preconditions

In an open letter to President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, former Minister of Health and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ara Babloyan, appeals to the president based on their shared history and responsibilities. In his letter, Babloyan highlights his work as a pediatric surgeon who saved the lives of thousands of children, including hundreds of Azerbaijani children, during a time when both Armenia and Azerbaijan were part of the same country. He also mentions his efforts as the Minister of Health of Armenia to prevent the outbreak of measles in the region, including offering measles vaccines to Azerbaijan. Babloyan goes on to mention his role as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, during which he expressed his strong opposition to the loss of young lives on both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides due to the inability to find peaceful, political solutions to the conflict. The central point of the letter is a reminder to President Aliyev of a promise he made regarding amnesty for the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. President Aliyev had set a condition that the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh lay down their arms and dissolve state structures in exchange for amnesty. This promise received positive responses from leaders of several world-leading states. Now that the people have laid down their weapons, and the President of Nagorno-Karabakh has announced the dissolution of the state by decree, with nearly 100,000 Armenian residents leaving Nagorno-Karabakh, Babloyan implores President Aliyev to fulfill his promise of amnesty without preconditions. Ara Babloyan concludes his letter by expressing hope that President Aliyev will choose to honor his commitment and announce amnesty immediately, preventing further atrocities and humiliations in the region.