ARMENIAN CHURCH LEADER IN HISTORIC AZERBAIJAN VISIT

Hurriyet
April 27 2010
Turkey

Armenian Apostolic Church leader Catholicos Garegin II (C) speaks
with the chairman of the Azerbaijani State Committee for Work on
Religious Structures, Hidayat Orucov, while arriving in Baku.

Religious leaders from Armenia and Azerbaijan called for a peaceful
resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during a landmark meeting
in Baku, the Azerbaijani capital.

The call came as the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos
Garegin II, made his first-ever trip to Azerbaijan on Monday, joining
a gathering of some 200 religious figures from around the world,
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, or RFE/RL, reported on its website.

Garegin II was invited by Azerbaijan’s long-serving Shiite Muslim
leader, Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, and Russian Orthodox
Church leader Patriarch Kirill. The three met on the sidelines of
the gathering and later issued a joint declaration pledging support
for efforts by Yerevan, Baku, and international mediators to end the
conflict over the disputed region.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also received Garegin II in Baku.

They discussed the importance of the Baku summit which has brought
together world religious leaders, News.az reported.

Aliyev and Garegin II said the event would contribute to strengthening
inter-faith dialogue and expanding contacts among religious leaders.

Aliyev told participants he hoped Baku would become "a center of
dialogue between religions."

"Azerbaijan is a natural bridge between Europe and Asia," Aliyev said.

"Representatives of different religions and nationalities have lived
together in Azerbaijan throughout the centuries. I hope the day will
come when Baku will be selected the capital of European culture,
and it will contribute to the development of Azerbaijan’s ties with
Christian and Muslim worlds."

‘A specific opportunity’

"It is vitally important not to allow a return to military ways of
solving contentious issues," the leaders said in a statement released
after their meeting. "With our peace efforts, we will be sustaining
people’s hopes for the elimination of existing divisions, barriers,
and animosity, for war, if it is continued, will have no end." Garegin
II also invited Pashazade to visit Armenia.

Patriarch Kirill told journalists the declaration reflected the role
religious leaders can play in resolving protracted conflicts.

"Religious leaders don’t have political power. They cannot move
troops. They cannot use state force," he said. "But they have a
specific opportunity to appeal to those values and to those ideals
which are very important for believers."

Earlier, in his remarks to the meeting, Garegin II called on religious
authorities to help solve world conflicts, directly addressing the
territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.

"The problems should be solved in accordance with international law
and the rights of the nations," Garegin II said. "As the Armenian
patriarch, I find it very important to continue our efforts with
the head of the Muslim of the Caucasus, Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur
Pashazade, to continue our work and try to find a solution for the
problem. This is our duty."

Turkish-Armenian protocols

The Nagorno-Karabakh region and much of the adjoining territory has
been occupied by the Armenian forces since a war with Azerbaijan that
ended in 1994.

Turkey has called on Armenia to resolve the ongoing dispute in
order for Ankara to move forward with a historic accord establishing
diplomatic relations and opening the shared border between Turkey
and Armenia.

Armenian President Serge Sarkisian suspended Armenia’s ratification
process last Thursday, citing different problems and highlighting
"the Nagorno-Karabakh problem." Armenia contends that Nagorno-Karabakh
was not a precondition to its agreement with Turkey.

Pashazade also addressed Nagorno-Karabakh in his opening remarks. "We
are making efforts to solve the conflict with Armenia," Pashazade
said. "We held a series of meetings with the Armenian Catholicos. I
consider it an important factor that the Armenian Catholicos accepted
the invitation and joined the summit."

He said he expected the meeting to "contribute to this work."

But Garegin II’s visit prompted a small protest by a radical group
called the Karabakh Liberation Organization. Roughly a dozen members
of the group, some of whom said they were parents of the victims of
the war, held a demonstration in Baku that was later dispersed.

Spiritual leaders from over 30 countries were expected to discuss
globalization, conflict resolution, ecumenism, and the role of religion
in public life at the Baku meeting, which was finishing Tuesday.