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The Azerbaijani state company Socar is sharing war propaganda against Armenia on social media. In Switzerland he runs the Migrolino gas station stores. The Armenians are beside themselves. A national council is already calling on Migros to end the cooperation.
Socar gas station with Migrolino workshop: Migros is criticized for its cooperation with the Azerbaijani state company.
The fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region also worries Armenians in Switzerland. More than a hundred of them gathered in the city center of Zurich on Thursday. Not just to demonstrate against the aggressor in distant Azerbaijan.
His protest is aimed mainly at Switzerland, as one of the organizers explains in an interview, who does not want to read his name in the newspaper. “We want the Swiss population to be aware that a second Syria could emerge on their doorstep.” Switzerland only looks and hides behind its neutralism, according to the businessman born here with Armenian roots.
Together for Armenia: A good hundred people demonstrated in the city center of Zurich on Thursday afternoon.
In the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the belligerent former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting for more than a week. There is a state of war, many people have already died. Both sides accuse each other of attacking civilians.
Arguments against Migros
Armenians in Switzerland also vent their anger on Migros. Its subsidiary Migrolino maintains business relations with the Azerbaijani state company Socar. Its Swiss branch operates Migrolino stores at Socar service stations. The cooperation exists since 2012.
The Socar group is 100% owned by the authoritarian Azerbaijani state. Much of this income comes from the oil and gas business. Socar plays a fundamental role in this. (More about the Socar group here.) Armenians in Zurich, who accuse Azerbaijan of financing terrorism, rant: “Anyone who buys a croissant at a Socar gas station in Migrolino supports IS terrorists and the use of Syrian mercenaries in Nagorno-Karabakh “.
Boycott call for Swiss politics
Critical tones also come from Swiss politics. Stefan Müller-Altermatt, National Councilor of the Solothurn CVP, calls for a boycott of the Socar gas stations with reference to a war propaganda video that the Socar Group shared on social media: “Definitely not refueling in Socar,” he writes him on Twitter.
the@migrosHe definitely has a problem with the couple who go straight into war propaganda.
I definitely don’t refuel at Socar. And for next week I am organizing a meeting between Migros and the Armenians in Switzerland. It requires a lot of explanation. pic.twitter.com/ERgudgZO8k– Stefan Müller-Altermatt (@MullerAltermatt) October 7, 2020
Müller-Altermatt is a member of the Swiss-Armenian Parliamentary Group. To CH Media he says: “Socar is the war chest of the authoritarian government of Azerbaijan.” The fact that Migros does business with the group “hurts my soul.” “If I buy a chocolate bar at the Migrolino, it may be helping to finance the war, but that just doesn’t work,” says Müller-Altermatt. His demand: “Migros should get out of society!”
The National Council is now working to bring both parties to a table. After all, he says, he has a certain closeness on both sides. To Armenia, but also to Migros. “I am a son of Migros,” Müller-Altermatt said. A meeting of the Armenian Society with representatives of Migros is scheduled for next week.
Migros refers to “laws of national and international validity”.
Faced with the allegations of the Armenians, Migros simply says: “We are closely monitoring the current situation in the Caucasus.”
The cooperation with Socar, explains Migros, takes place “in the form of a master franchise contract for the operation of the Migrolino stores” at the Socar Energy Switzerland gas stations. That means: Socar’s Swiss subsidiary operates not only the fuel business but also the sales outlets at 57 locations.
“Of course,” continues the retailer, “Migros only makes contracts that take into account national and international laws.”
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