Bob Blackman is the secretary of the Azerbaijan All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and Conservative MP for Harrow East – one of the most multiethnic London boroughs. He has given his support to the Many Happy Returns (MHR) campaign at www.manyhappyreturns.com.
Bob has regularly visited Azerbaijan during APPG trips, and has developed a great interest in the country. Last week, he sponsored a parliamentary roundtable that focused on the ASAN e-government concept, and in 2011 secured a parliamentary debate on Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus. The Harrow East constituency is home to a large Jewish community and, in his opening statement, Bob spoke warmly of Azerbaijan’s respect for all faiths and of his visit to Krasnaya Sloboda in Guba – the only entirely Jewish town outside of Israel. He commented on the strong trade links between Azerbaijan and the UK, its religious and ethnic tolerance, economic development since regaining independence and westward-facing foreign policy. Bob also spoke passionately about the Armenian–Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh and the current impasse that exists between the sides. Bob commented from first-hand experience about the ongoing human impact on the estimated about 1 million Azerbaijani Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees who are the casualties of the occupation.
The title of the MHR campaign is based on the English birthday greeting ‘Many Happy Returns’ which, in this case, also refers to the wish of the Azerbaijani IDPs and refugees to return to their rightful homeland. The website features photos of IDPs in just three of the camps spread across the 76 regions of Azerbaijan, taken by the renowned German photographer Philipp Rathmer.
Bob commented: "Good luck with the MHR campaign. These people deserve our support."
Despite a ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia being called 20 years ago, and four UN Security Council resolutions being passed against the illegal Armenian occupation, those whose land was seized remain unable to go home.
The MHR website also gives members of the public the opportunity to pledge their support for a poll – taking just 30 seconds – to redesignate ‘UN World Refugee Day’ as ‘World Refugee and IDP Day’.
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