"ZERKALO": ONCE MORE ABOUT "DESTROYED ARMENIAN CHURCHES"

Ïðaâî Âûaîða, Azerbaijan
Democratic Azerbaijan
Oct 4 2006

Baku has got another agitation blow

Some Russian mass media spread information that complete destruction of
Armenian churches dated to late middle ages is under way in Khanlar and
Dashkesan regions of Azerbaijan. Accordingly to mentioned information
"churches of XVI-XVIII centuries have already been destroyed in
Dastafur and Mirzik villages of Khanlar regions. In Chiragidzor village
of Dashkesan region Church of Holy Maria built in XVIII has been
destroyed. Referring to available data basil of Saint Akop (Jakob) of
XVII c. has been destroyed in Voskanapat (Zurnabad) village of Khanlar
region. Moreover, it informs that in Kushchi village, controlled by
Azerbaijan, church of saint Minas dated to 1650 has been destroyed".

Information was spread by Moscow office on human rights. In turn the
mentioned office refers to Armenian information Agency (de facto).

Representatives of this agency have already urged respectable
organizations and church representatives to stop "war of Azerbaijan
against Christian churches on controlled territories".

Be that as it may, Moscow office on human rights shouldn’t hasten
to blame with anti-Armenian sentiments. The matter is that this
structure is known with its intransigence about facts of xenophobia
and intolerance. Activists of Moscow office on human rights including
the head of the structure, Alexander Brod, have been involved with
active exposure of facts of aggressive nationalism throughout Europe
and post-soviet area (first of all in Russia), manifested by official
structures and ordinary people. So, in this case most likely the
matter concerns the fact that representatives of Moscow Office
on Human Rights became the victims of usual misinformation. And
Azerbaijani part, "having" another blow from Armenian agitation,
should be blamed with it.

Respond of official Baku is predictable. Deputy chairman of the
Committee for the Work with Religious Associations, Elchin Askerov, is
convinced that it is another Armenian canard aiming at clearing of the
rest territories in order to go on insisting upon existence of Armenian
monuments in Azerbaijan, however destroyed by "Azerbaijani vandals".

As for Khanlar deputy chairman declared that Germans used to have lived
there for a long time. "In XVIII c. there were Lutheran churches there,
and these ones are protected by state", Askerov said.

As for latest scandal representative of State Committee for the Work
with Religious Associations reminded that Armenians has tradition to
show ancient Albanian churches as their own. "For example 7-column
church in Gandja is no doubt Albanian. But Armenians attempt to
prove contrary. Perhaps now they start to do with Lutheran historic
monuments. However, information concerning their destruction is false",
he concluded.

Ministry of Culture and Tourism has the same approach towards this
issue. Head of press service of this structure, Zokhra Aliyeva, holds
that Armenian part "attempts to pass ahead of developments and to
justify their vandalism against Azerbaijani monuments, mosques and
cemeteries situated on territories controlled by Armenians". As for
churches we speak about, these monuments are referred to early middle
ages and to Caucasian Albania.

At the same time head of press service of the Ministry of Culture
informed that there are Armenian churches in Khanlar region.

"Armenians used to live their, they had churches. But they reached us
in the state they were left. We do not destroy them; we do protection
works what proves tolerance of Azerbaijani nation". Moreover, she
informed that special people works for Ministry who obliged to protect
cultural monuments. "Now we are starting work concerning new register
of these monuments", Z. Aliyeva has informed.

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