Baroness Cox

STEPANAKERT (ArmInfo)—Azerbaijan is conducting false propaganda and manipulating visitors want to know the truth about the Karabakh conflict, said British House of Lords member Baroness Caroline Cox, who is led a seven-day British pilgrimage to Karabakh.

The people of Artsakh (Nagorno- Karabakh) have won the right to independence, added the Baroness.

Cox said that the pilgrimage she led to Karabakh was, first and foremost, a spiritual tour, emphasizing that Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion.

She explained that the pilgrimage participants, who hailed from nine countries wanted to familiarize themselves with Karabakh, its history and culture.

The fierce anti-Armenian campaign undertaken by official Baku did not deter the visitors in her group, which included doctors, public figures, engineers, teachers, entrepreneurs, students from the United States, Germany, France, Israel, Nigeria, Austria and Australia, among others.

The group familiarized itself with the historic and cultural monuments of Artsakh and was joined by a group of local Karabakh residents to end the visit at the 13th century Gandzasar Monastery in the Martakert region of Karabakh.

The pilgrims visiting the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic for the first time were impressed by the splendor of the ancient monasteries, the hospitality and warmth of the people of Karabakh, and they promised to visit Karabakh again.

Baroness Cox has been lead pilgrimages to Karabakh since 2001. That trip was dedicated to the 1700th anniversary of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Ignoring continued threats from Baku, Cox has brought hundreds of foreign visitors to Karabakh. She has been a staunch advocate of Karabakh’s self-determination and is also invested in the Karabakh’s state-building, the peace process and establishment of democratic reforms in Artsakh.

Cox is the chairwomen of the Armenian-British Parliamentary Group, and since 1988, has led dozens of humanitarian trips to Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. In 2006 she was awarded a Mkhitar Gosh Medal of Armenia for state and public-political activities, as well as for considerable contribution to diplomacy, legal studies and politics. A rehabilitation center in Stepanakert, established under the auspices Christian Solidarity Worldwide, was named after Caroline Cox.