ECRANAS SPOKESMAN IS ASKED TO LEAVE BAKU FOR "NKR" VISA IN HIS PASSPORT

APA
July 21 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku.Mehman Suleymanov – APA. Spokesman for Lithuanian Ecranas club
Gedas Sarochka’s interview to apasport.az

– Today your team meets with Baku in return match within the second
qualifying of the Champions League. But you are not in Baku, but
at home…

-Yes. I am in Vilnius. I was asked to leave Baku.

– Recently you visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,
Khankendi. Did the problem arise from that?

– Yes, I have a visa in my passport tat I was in Nagorno
Karabakh. Therefore I faced with a problem in Baku. We were invited
there month-two ago. We attended the journalists’ tournament there.

– You probably know that Armenians declared non-recognized "Nagorno
Karabakh Republic" in the Azerbaijan’s territories. Didn’t you expect
that you will face with a problem in Baku in this case?

-I didn’t expect that the problem would be so serious. I came to Baku
and received hotel accommodations together with my team. But then I
needed to leave Baku. The person who came to hotel informed me that I
couldn’t stay in Baku for that visa in my passport. I returned home. I
didn’t face with any pressure. They only told me that I should leave
Baku for that visa. They informed me about the situation between
Azerbaijan Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and said that I can return to
Baku after changing the passport. It was late. I can’t change the
passport and return to Baku in a short time. Today is a return game
between Baku and Ecranas.

-Didn’t they see that visa in your passport during the registration
in Baku airport?

-I think, no. They didn’t pay attention in that time, but then found
out it and asked me to leave. I regret for this story. I came to Baku
as a representative of the visitor team, as a friend and it was a
business travel at last. But it happened… I regret that I couldn’t
see beautiful Baku.

-How the return ticket and visa issue were solved?

– I had round-trip ticket for this Friday. They gave me a ticket for
another date and I had free ticket to return home.

-Do you regret for that?

– This is a life. The Armenians say that Nagorno Karabakh is their land
and you say that it is yours. I don’t want to speak about that and to
interfere in the political issues. In any case you know truth better.