Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 1, 2006 Friday

ARMENIA IS THREATENED WITH JIHAD;
Religious leader of Azerbaijan sends a no-nonsense message to the
neighbor state

by Sohbet Mamedov

STATEMENT MADE BY THE RELIGIOUS LEADER OF AZERBAIJAN ON THE READINESS
TO DECLARE A JIHAD ON ARMENIA AS AN INDICATION OF COMBATIVE
DISPOSITION IN AZERBAIJANI SOCIETY; Allahushukjur Pashazade: I’m
prepared to declare a jihad to liberate the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan.

Religious factor is to be added to the equation of the
Azerbaijani-Armenian confrontation now. Sheikh-ul-Islam Haji
Allahushukjur Pashazade, religious leader of Azerbaijan and the head
of the Moslem Directorate of the Caucasus, issued a warning to
Armenia at his press conference in Baku the other day. "I’m prepared
to declare a jihad to liberate the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan," he said. Pashazade added, however, that he would do so
when the time is "ripe" because potential of negotiations was not
depleted yet. According to Pashazade, the subject of Nagorno-Karabakh
ranks the highest on the agenda of all his meetings with senior
officials and religious leaders from foreign states. "Many of them
support our just case," Pashazade said. "They are even prepared to
help Azerbaijan with resolution of the conflict." (It should be noted
that Pashazade commands considerable respect both in Azerbaijan and
throughout the Islamic world.)

Pashazade is known as a level-headed person in Azerbaijan itself, and
his jihad warning therefore made headlines in the republic. Indeed,
Pashazade has been urging the faithful to keep their heads and give
the authorities a chance to settle the matter (have the occupied
territories released, that is) by peaceful means for the last decade
or so.

Local analysts take Pashazade’s warning to official Yerevan as an
indication that Azerbaijani society is weary of waiting for conflict
resolution and that it is becoming more and more accepting of radical
ideas. Even the OSCE Minsk Group is aware of the trend. Its officials
are frantically trying to arrange another round of the
Azerbaijani-Armenian peace talks. Tair Tagizade of the Directorate of
Information of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said yesterday that a
meeting of two foreign ministers was to be organized in the middle of
September. The ministers might even agree to arrange a meeting
between national leaders, Tagizade said.

Attempts to revive the dialogue between Baku and Yerevan are made
against the background of frequent skirmishes at the line dividing
national armies of the warring sides. Press Service of the
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said yesterday that the Armenians had
violated the cease-fire regime once again and opened up on
Azerbaijani positions in the environs of the village of Gjuljustan
(Geranboi district). The Azerbaijanis returned fire and the skirmish
eventually wound down without any losses reported.

Delays with the conflict resolution process, occupation of almost 20%
of the territory of Azerbaijan by Armenia lasting for over 13 years,
and Yerevan’s reluctance to obey four resolutions of the UN Security
Council demanding withdrawal from the seized areas compound mount
tension in Baku. Local analysts point out that this state of affairs
that constitutes neither peace nor war can last and the chances of
renewal of the hostilities increase by the day. Almost 1 million
Azerbaijani refugees are waiting for the word to go ahead and
liberate their ancestral lands. Even President of Azerbaijan Ilham
Aliyev keeps saying that "this is Armenia’s last chance to settle the
matter without bloodshed."

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, August 29, 2006, p. 3

Translated by A. Ignatkin