BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 30. The heads of religious confessions of Azerbaijan issued a joint statement in connection with the biased resolution adopted by the European Parliament, Trend reports.
According to the statement, the allegations contained in the resolution text are untrue, defamatory, and completely unacceptable.
"Not only representatives of the European Parliament, but the whole world should know that, unlike Armenia, in Azerbaijan, the capital of Baku and the regions of the country, representatives of various nationalities and religions, including thousands of citizens of Armenian origin, live in peace and harmony,” the statement said. “The Armenian Church in the center of Baku is kept in proper conditions and protected by the state as a historical and religious monument.”
“At the same time, during almost 30 year-occupation of Azerbaijan's territories by Armenia, mosques and other temples, cemeteries, historical monuments, museums, libraries were looted and destroyed, the temples of ancient Caucasian Albania and Orthodox churches were Armenized, animals were kept in mosques," the statement authors reminded.
The heads of religious confessions also reminded that Armenia completely destroyed the historical Azerbaijani religious monuments on its territory, the Iravani "Shah Abbas", "Sardar", "Haji Novruz Ali" mosques and other examples of cultural-spiritual heritage.
Besides, according to the statement, Armenia completely destroyed unique architectural monuments, deliberately changed the architectural features the only surviving "Blue Mosque" in Yerevan.
Along with the destruction of the cultural-spiritual heritage of Azerbaijanis, Armenia Gregorianized the Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist in Azerbaijan's Shusha, the ancient Albanian churches, and completely destroyed the Orthodox Church in Khojavand.
"After the restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, the Armenian side is trying to convince the whole world that it has allegedly been subjected to aggression by Azerbaijan,” the statement authors said. “In fact, Armenia initiated the former Karabakh conflict to occupy the neighboring country’s territory, and spreading the lie that this conflict is allegedly between Muslims and Christians, presents Armenian people as the "oppressed people."
“Unfortunately, Armenian propaganda is actively using various means to cover up its territorial claims to foreign lands, including the religious factor,” the heads of confessions pointed out. “Therefore, we, appealing to Pope Francis, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, other religious leaders and international institutions, invited delegations of religious representatives to visit Azerbaijan in order to see the terrible consequences of Armenian vandalism in the previously occupied territories.”
“As a result of the Armenian occupation, thousands of historical and cultural monuments, libraries, cultural centers, residential buildings, schools, museums, art galleries and theaters, shrines and cemeteries were destroyed and looted,” the statement said. Armenia must be held accountable for the mentioned crimes representing aggression against the culture of all mankind and must be condemned by the European Parliament, the heads of religious confessions noted.
“In 1992, Armenian armed forces committed genocide in Azerbaijan’s Khojaly, killing 613 peaceful Azerbaijanis, including 63 children, 106 women, 70 old people, and eight families were completely annihilated, the statement authors reminded, regretting that European MPs still haven’t made the legal assessment of this crime.
The statement also reminded that the "Armenian terrorism" word was officially used for the first time in the monthly bulletin of the US State Department in 1982.
The Armenian terrorist organizations - "Armenakan", "Hunchak", "Dashnaktsutyun", "ASOA", "ASALA" and others are based in various regions of the world, including a number of European countries, and don’t abandon their policy of terror against Azerbaijan and Turkey, the authors said.
“Historical and religious monuments in Azerbaijan, regardless of their belonging, are protected by the Azerbaijani state,” the heads of confessions noted. “Azerbaijan is committed to the traditions of multiculturalism, regards this policy as a priority and has contributed to the restoration of historical and religious monuments not only in Azerbaijan but also in other regions of the world.”
“Against this background, the European Parliament adopted a biased anti-Azerbaijani resolution accusing it of "destroying the Armenian cultural heritage," the authors said.
The heads of the religious confessions of Azerbaijan called to give a political-legal assessment of the crimes of Armenia and cancel the biased resolution.
The joint statement was signed by Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Secretary of the Baku and Azerbaijan Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Archimandrite Alexy, Head of the Community of Mountain Jews in Azerbaijan Milikh Evdayev, Chairman of the Albanian-Udi Christian Religious Community in Azerbaijan Robert Mobili, and Head of the Community of European Jews Baku Alexander Sharovsky.
