On February 27, the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of the Netherlands held another powerful demonstration in front of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in The Hague in commemoration of the victims of the massacres that took place in Sumgait and other Azerbaijani cities in 1988. Despite the bad weather, numerous young Armenians gathered once again in The Hague to protest against Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian policy during this already traditional demonstration.

As reported the Diary of the Netherlands to Hayern Aysor, the delegation of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of the Netherlands was first received by Deputy Director of the Division for Europe at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Adrian Palm. The delegates submitted the letter of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of the Netherlands addressed to Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Kunders, after which the delegates had a substantial conversation during which they discussed major issues and shared the concerns of Dutch-Armenians about the state of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The letter states that the Government of the Netherlands must help prevent the war and not spare any effort to achieve a political and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the governmental level or at the level of the European Union. The letter also states that the Dutch government must put in all efforts for a fair evaluation of the current state of affairs since every attempt for a peaceful settlement is conditioned by maintenance of the ceasefire regime that Azerbaijan is currently violating, but the evaluation of which is not given by the international community.

The letter also stresses the fact that there is a need to publicly condemn (continue to condemn) Azerbaijan’s aggression and the manifestations of its overt racism against Armenia and the Armenian people. The Dutch diplomat talked about the restrictions for his country to lead such a policy, but voiced hope that the country would do everything possible to support the OSCE Minsk Group.

The delegates also asked about the position of the Netherlands on the extradition of blogger Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan. They also stated that Azerbaijan recently demanded the extradition of three Members of the European Parliament to Azerbaijan, asking what the position of the Netherlands would be, if Azerbaijan demanded extraditing the Dutch.

The demonstration of the Dutch-Armenians began near the Palace of Peace. With loud screams, the demonstrators marched through the streets of The Hague and reached the Embassy of Azerbaijan where they screamed louder and louder. The heavy winds and rainfall didn’t stop them from holding a nearly one-hour rally. There were speeches in different languages and performances, including speeches and performances by the youngest participants.

Thus, the Armenians of the Netherlands proved once again that even though they live thousands of kilometers away from the homeland, they stand with the soldiers defending the homeland.