AZERBAIJANI INTERFERENCE CAUSED CHANGE OF SHUSHA’S NAME IN ARMENIAN VARIANT IN CE RECOMMENDATIONS

Today, Azerbaijan
May 18 2006

Next meeting of Paris Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe
(PACE) on science, education, culture committee held on May 17-18
in Paris.

Azerbaijani delegation member participating in PACE Rafael Huseynov
has informed APA in his statement that two significant issues for
Azerbaijan have been discussed in the meeting.

Rafael Hasanov taking part in the discussion of rapporteur O’Hara from
Great Britain on cultural monuments’ situation in the South Caucasus,
to the region, said that several times a problem was raised in PACE
on Armenian aggression against Azerbaijani Cultural Heritage.

“It was decided on the base of documents prepared on historical
monuments in Nakhchivan claimed to be Armenian graves and on
the Azerbaijani cultural monuments condition in Armenia, expert
group headed by O’Hara will visit Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia,
investigate the situation of Cultural Heritage in the South Caucasus.”

Rafael Huseynov said that the mission will pay a visit to Azerbaijan
on May 28.

Firstly, he will visit Nakhchivan, then Georgia where Armenia and
Azerbaijani Cultural Heritage will be investigated. The next visit
will be to Armenia. The mission will pay a visit to Nagorno Karabakh
after investigating Azerbaijani and Georgia cultural monuments in
Armenia. The visit will end on June 4.

Rafael Huseynov said the mission will visit Shusha: “I have prepared
three documents on the cultural Heritage in Shusha. It is indicated
in the recommendation of Council of Europe investigations will be
conducted on the base of these documents in Shusha. In the document
on a visit to Shusha the word Shushi was written in the bracket,
that I rejected it saying that it’s name in the map is Shusha, after
that they corrected this mistake. Besides it there was indicated that
Armenian graves will be investigated in Nakhchivan visit, I told them
that Azerbaijani science of history has proved these graves to be Alban
graves. Islamic religion spread since IX centuries in Azerbaijan. Until
that period, different religion as well as Christians existed in
Azerbaijan. And now Armenians want to inherit those monuments. After
my rejection this item also was excluded from the document.”

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