PART III

"Menon, from any person here (in Ancient Greece - the author) "who is a virtuous person?" ask, they will laugh at you and say, "What do I know?"!

"Menon" dialogue

Old Socrates, Europe misses you!

But Socrates was born wise. Because he knew his compatriots well, and his intellect was virtuous. He used to say that "when you think, first of all think about the past and compare it with what is happening now: then everything that is not clear will become clear at once" ("Bees" dialogue). If we want to know that the PACE was virtuous (that is, wise, truthful, benevolent, peaceful), according to Socrates' logic, let us recall some fragments of its past.

For this, let's look at the points that led to the suspension of the activity of the Azerbaijani delegation in PACE. In itself, this step of the Azerbaijani side was an expected event. As a whole, looking at the history of this organization's relations with individual states, it becomes clear that PACE is not a transparent organization at all. In the steps he took, there are enough points that serve artificial and specific political goals. If we briefly pay attention to the history of relations with a number of states, we will be sure of the truth of this thesis. First, let's look at some facts about the newly elected chairman of PACE.

Rousopoulos: the corrupt Greek "new democrats"?

The media and politicians of Greece solemnly declare that the unanimous election of Tedoros Rousopoulos as the chairman of PACE is a great success and even a victory. T. Rousopoulos is a former state minister of Greece and a journalist. He studied in Greece, Great Britain and the United States. He is a member of the country's "New Democracy" party. This party, in turn, is included in the European People's Party. The European People's Party was founded in 1976. It is considered a pan-European party. He is considered center-right. It is the leading political organization of PACE. Its composition includes Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative parties of European countries. One of the things that unites Christian-democrats and liberal-conservatives is that they see the development of Europe and the world based on Christian values. That is, the strategic goal is to universalize all types of values ​​(political, ideological, cultural, security, etc.) within the framework of Christian values ​​and political-ideological norms.

In this connection, it is interesting that the leaders of some of the parties included in the PACE (as far as we know) are members of the Bilderberg Club. For example, the former leader of the German Christian Democrats, Angela Merkel, participated in the Bilderberg Club conference in 2005. At the same time, the names of E. Macron and Ursula von der Leyen are also mentioned.

Against the background of such information, a number of available information about the identity of the new chairman of PACE is of interest. Let's say that T. Rousopoulos was a member of the institution's Migration, Refugees and IDPs Committee since 2023. It seems that it is no coincidence that someone who deals with these issues is appointed as the chairman of the organization. This means that the EU's migration policy will not change and its Islamophobic character will continue.

There is no doubt that T. Rousopoulos will support this policy. This is confirmed by a fragment of his career. According to the Greek media, in 2009, after Antonios Samaras was elected the chairman of the "New Democracy" party, he started "cleaning". In principle, he punished the comrades of the party who did not follow the law. Among other things, he demanded that they be removed from the party ranks. D. Bakoyanni, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of that period, was removed from the institution because it was contrary to the party's position. At the same time, A. Samaras took steps against corrupt members. Among them was... Teodoros Rousopoulos. He was accused of accepting a bribe from the Greek branch of the Siemens company.

It should be recalled that on May 28, 2010, the former Minister of Transport and Communications of Greece, Tasos Mantelis, admitted to the parliamentary committee that he had received a bribe of 100,000 euros from the Siemens company. The issue was raised in connection with the Olympic games held in Athens in 2004. At that time, the Greek side as a whole was accused of receiving more than 100 million bribes. T. Mantelis was sentenced to 8 years of probation for this case.

Regarding T. Rousopoulos, there is no mention of any punishment in this case. However, A. Samaras openly declared that T. Rousopoulos was expelled from the party because of his involvement in corruption. So, despite this, this person was not only guaranteed to stay in the party, he even developed as a member of it and is currently the chairman of PACE. Who took him by the hand and "pulled him up"? With what promises? It is dark for us, but history brings all darkness to light.

Thus, for the first time in the history of PACE and Greece, the election of a Greek politician as the chairman of this organization is characterized by dark moments. Time will tell if this is a good thing. However, if we look at what PACE has done to a number of countries, we will see that there are many questions here as well.

PACE's Greek "syndrome"

When a serious financial crisis began in Greece in 2008, it shook the whole of Europe. The so-called "Greek crisis" entered the EU political environment. The European Union was not willing to help Greece, the government of A. Samaras did not consider financial assistance from international organizations appropriate, and the EU started to act against it. We remember that the European Union met and discussed the issue several times during that period.

The organization resented Greece. At that time, there were some conflicts between the Greek government and PACE. PACE, in fact, faced the "Greek syndrome". It is true that this did not involve only PACE - it was a matter of the European Union as a whole. However, in all cases, it was clear that the European Union is implementing a policy of supporting the Greek government, which is in crisis, under certain conditions. That is, he was not interested in the plight of the Greeks, but in the attitude of "obey such and such a condition, then get help". Although this gives an indication of what games are going on behind the scenes, without concrete information it is not correct to make a firm opinion.

In all cases, the Greek crisis showed that the official Brussels attitude is not based on the principles of objectivity, democracy, and humanism. Even with their own members!

PACE-Turkey: misunderstanding or purposeful policy?

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has taken and continues to take questionable steps against Turkey. In particular, the organization demanded the Turkish government to "immediately release" Salahaddin Demirtash and Osman Kavala from prison! Pay attention to the rhetoric: "release the emergency"!

It should be recalled that S. Demirtaş was the co-chairman of the HDP, known as the Kurdish party in Turkey. He was arrested on charges of organizing a terrorist act and creating confusion. S. Demirtaş is known as one of the politicians inciting separatism and terrorism in Turkey. Osman Kaval is accused of the so-called "Gezi incident" by order of FETÖ. Its main goal was to create division in society over sexual minorities in Turkey. O. Kavala's crime was proven in court and he is still in prison. The West (including the United States and Germany) worked hard to free S. Demirtaş and O. Kavala from prison, but the determined and national Turkish government wasted all efforts.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called PACE's decision a "historical mistake" in its statement on that incident. Let us emphasize that we are talking about the document adopted by the PACE in order to limit the activities of the Turkish delegation and deprive it of a number of legal procedures. The Turkish side stated that PACE interfered in court cases and thus "closed diplomatic dialogue channels".

S. Demirtaş and O. Kavala were arrested for threatening the unity and national security of Turkey and for taking specific steps in the current direction.

Among the accusations brought against S. Demirtaş, the organization of terrorism against hundreds of Turkish citizens has a special place. PACE ignores all this and repeats like a parrot: Demirtas and Kavala should be released! In other words, let them go so that they are encouraged to commit new acts of terrorism! This is the main line of PACE's Turkey policy.

Here we see a similarity with PACE's position in Azerbaijan. PACE also demands an end to the arrest of Armenian terrorists and separatists in Azerbaijan. The excuse is the same: "democracy and human rights"!

To complete the line between Turkey and Azerbaijan, let's take a brief look at PACE's Russian policy.

PACE: "Russia, you are guilty of everything!"

In addition, strangely enough, Western political circles, including PACE, ask "Russia, why do you exist at all?" They barely restrain themselves from asking such a rude and anti-human question. By the way, we see the same logic in relation to Turkey.

It is true that Russia has occupied Crimea, Donbas, and Luhansk, and it is impossible to justify it in this matter! However, we are quite sure that the issue is not about the Europeans suffering the pain of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the rights of its over a million victims! This is confirmed by the tradition of European statehood and the politics it conducts at the modern stage. For example, imagine if Russia was fighting separatism in its current political-geographic territory, the reaction of Western organizations, including PACE, would be the same.

In other words, no matter what step Russia took, it would hear the words "why did you do this, it is not compatible with democracy". For example, whose land did Turkey and Azerbaijan occupy? Nobody, but they are facing the same charges! Turkey and Azerbaijan claimed the territory of which country? However, they make up that someday, Azerbaijan and Turkey will occupy Zangezur! Turkey and Azerbaijan mass-murdered peaceful citizens of which country? Nobody!

The final word: our struggle for truth, justice, and independent statehood will not stop even for a moment! Regardless of who they are and in which region (the West or Russia, Latin America or the Far East, Asia or the nearest neighbor - it doesn't matter), Turkey and Azerbaijan will never stop their struggle for independence and justice. We respond to prejudice against us with justice, not prejudice, and it will continue! One of the results of the Second Karabakh war is the restoration of historical justice! The head of our state expressed his opinion about this! In addition, our national pride has ensured international law along with historical justice!

According to them, the chairman of PACE can be a member of any corrupt or secret organization. The Turks will develop their fair and just state! No one should doubt this, including PACE!

Fuzuli GURBANOV,
XQ analyst, doctor of philosophy