RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN BAKU RECEIVES NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT CHRISTIAN CEMETERY DEMOLITION

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.09.2007 19:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Every day the Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan received
complaint about the decision of Baku authorities to replace the graves
of the Nariman cemetery also known as Montinskoe or Armenian cemetery,
where Russians, Jews, Tatars, Georgians and Armenians were buried.

Nariman cemetery director Kyamran Mammadov assures that "the
replacement of graves is conducted at the state’s expense in compliance
with the decision on construction of a highway to extend through
the cemetery." "No problems with the relatives of the deceased have
emerged so far," he added, IA Regnum reports.

As it was reported earlier, under the pretext of building a highway
Baku demolishes a Christian cemetery (the Nariman cemetery), where
Armenians, Jews and Russians were buried.

Although local authorities assure of reinterment, photos in Internet
show a complete dump. The photographers say the bulldozers just raze
the graves to the ground depriving the relatives to rebury the remains.

The city administration says exhumation and reinterment is performed
in accord with ethnic and religious traditions in the presence of
relatives of the deceased. Meanwhile, the Jewish News Agency reports
that "observance of Jewish traditions is restricted to the fact that
grave-diggers throw the ashes into sacks and then give them to the
relatives."