Azeri diaspora in Moscow accuses Kremlin

The Messenger, Georgia
Nov 26 2004

According to the Azeri newspaper Ekho.Baku, the Azeri diaspora is
gathering strength in Russia to demonstrate against the Kremlin.
According to the president of the public organization “In the name
of Azerbaijan” Eldar Namazov, Azeri people in Moscow are sure that
Russia is impeding the settlement of the Karabkh conflict. He said
that rumors regarding the breakup of the Azeri diaspora in Russia do
not correspond to reality.

“The Azeri diaspora has recently started the process of organizing.
But two other structures have already created their own branches all
over Russia. This is international charitable fund ‘Karabakh’ and the
federation of national-cultural autonomy for Azeris in Russia. Azeris
as well as high-ranking officials in Russia are taking part in these
events,” he noted.

According to Namazov, Moscow journalists have taken note of the
high attendance at recent Azeri demonstrations and commented during
broadcasts that “there has never been such wide scaled demonstrations
of Azeris in Moscow.” According to Namazov, representatives of the
Azeri diaspora were expressing their dissatisfaction in connection
with the delay of the settlement of the Karabakh conflict by the
Russian side.

Azeri protesters have accused the Kremlin of conducting a
double-standard policy. As an example, demonstrators cited the
presence of Russian military bases in Armenia, a country that they
say is occupying 20 percent of Azeribaijan’s territory. “Russia will
have problems in the North Caucasus because separatism has started
from Nagorno-Karabakh,” protestors stated. “Azeri people think that
this problem should be solved based on the principles of territorial
integrity and national-cultural autonomies,” added Namazov.