AZERI MP, OFFICIAL CONDEMN DAGESTANI SCHOLAR’S STATEMENT AT YEREVAN CONFERENCE
Azerbaijani news agency APA
3 Sep 07
Baku
An Azerbaijani MP and a Foreign Ministry official have condemned a
statement made by a historian from the Russian republic of Dagestan
in Armenia that the Avars, an ethnic group, living in northern
Azerbaijan are striving for autonomy. They described the statement
as "provocative" and said that the Avars support Azerbaijan’s
statehood. The following is the text of report by Azerbaijani news
agency APA:
"Occasionally, there are various provocations against Azerbaijan,
and this is one of them. The Avars living in Azerbaijan have never
had any plans on that score," a member of parliament from Balakan
[northern Azerbaijan], a master of sciences in philosophy and chief
lecturer, Rabiyyat Aslanova, has told APA.
Expressing her attitude to the statement made by the professor
of Dagestan State University, Timur Aytberov, at the symposium
"Caucasian Albania: Statehood and Ethno-Cultural Legacy" held in
Armenia that the Avars living in Azerbaijan intend to attain autonomy,
Aslanova described it as an attempt to disrupt peace and stability
in Azerbaijan.
"The national minorities living in Azerbaijan have accepted the
greatest idea of Azerbaijani statehood as their conviction. The Avars
living in Azerbaijan have never had such an intention. Representatives
of national minorities have always expressed their attitude to such
words and provocative steps. I don’t know who this person is, because
as a scientist, his name is not known to the scientific community. Nor
do we know him as a public figure. He has no right to speak on behalf
of the Avar people, especially the national minorities living in
Azerbaijan. As a member of parliament from that region, I state that
all talk about ‘national minorities or national majorities’ is totally
alien to Balakan. We are against raising this issue. Representatives
of every people, nation and ethnic group living in Azerbaijan are
guided by the great idea of Azerbaijani statehood and take special
pride in being citizens of this country," [she said].
The head of the press office of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry,
Xazar Ibrahim, who expressed his view on the issue, described the
statement made on behalf of the Avars as a provocation: "Armenia is
using various people who call themselves scientists and is trying
to stake more territorial claims to Azerbaijan. The international
community and regional countries must take this into account. I hope
that Armenia will study the history of Caucasian Albania [an ancient
kingdom that existed on the territory of present-day Azerbaijan]
and realize that all its claims are totally groundless," [he said].