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Heads of Christian religious communities of Azerbaijan protest against draft resolution submitted to US Congress

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 21 October 2020 14:19 (UTC +04:00)
Heads of Christian religious communities of Azerbaijan protest against draft resolution submitted to US Congress

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 21

Trend:

The heads of the Christian religious communities of Azerbaijan expressed the protest against the falsely characterized draft resolution #1165 in connection with the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, submitted to the US Congress on October 1, 2020, by Congresswoman Jackie Speier, the Azerbaijani State Committee for the Work with Religious Organizations told Trend.

In this regard, the letters were sent to the US Secretary of State, President of the Senate, Ambassador at Large of the US Department of State for International Religious Freedom, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, the heads of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party of the House of Representatives, members of the House of Representatives, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, "In Defense of Christians" organization.

In the letter, the confessional leaders stated that Christians have freely carried out their religious services in Azerbaijan for centuries, lived based on their moral and cultural values without any barriers; Azerbaijan always paid attention to the communities and houses of worship.

While focusing on Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan, the heads of the Christian religious communities of Azerbaijan emphasized that the Armenian military units occupied the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and seven adjacent districts, as a result of which more than one million Azerbaijanis, including Christians and adherents of other religions, became refugees and internally displaced people.

“Four resolutions of the UN Security Council related to the conflict require the unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani lands,” the letter said. “Armenia has not fulfilled these resolutions for almost 30 years, purposefully disrupts negotiations while Azerbaijan pursues a peaceful policy and demonstrates a constructive position in the negotiations.”

“Particular attention was focused on the fact that during the military provocation initiated by the Armenian side on September 27, settlements located far from the conflict zone namely, Ganja, Mingachevir, Naftalan, Khizi, Absheron, Goranboy, Dashkesan, Tartar, Barda, Aghdam, Aghjabadi, Yevlakh, Fuzuli, and Beylagan, including historical and religious monuments, are subjected to regular artillery and missile attacks,” the letter said.

“As a result of a ballistic missile launched in direction of Ganja from the Armenian territory on October 11, 10 civilians were killed, including four women, over 30 were injured, dozens of civilian facilities and residential buildings were destroyed,” the letter said.

“Armenia’s these actions were regarded as the violation of the norms and principles of international law, including international humanitarian law, as well as the Geneva Conventions of 1949,” the letter said. “This poses a threat to peace and security in the region.”

“In the occupied territories, along with other religious structures, Christian churches and monuments were destroyed or changed to Armenia’s style,” the letter said. “On the contrary, over 30,000 Armenians continue to live in Azerbaijan, an Armenian church has been preserved in the center of Baku.”

At the end of the letter, the heads of the Christian religious communities of Azerbaijan expressed confidence that draft resolution #1165 will not be adopted, stressing that its rejection will greatly contribute to the establishment of peace and justice in the world.

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