President chides grave desecration claims
AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 20 2006
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has called Armenia’s claims
concerning the alleged desecration of ancient graves in the Azeri
exclave of Nakhchivan as completely false.
“All cultural and historical monuments in Azerbaijan are under
state protection,” Aliyev said during his visit to the country’s
western regions last week. “As you know, some Armenian circles and
hypocritical politicians under the Armenian lobby’s influence have
claimed that Armenian tombstone crosses are allegedly being destroyed
in Nakhchivan. This information is an absolute lie and slander.”
The European Parliament passed a resolution condemning the alleged
desecration of the ancient gravestones in February, sparking public
outrage in the country. Aliyev said that all mosques, cemeteries
and monuments have been destroyed in the occupied Azeri land, which
was confirmed by a relevant fact-finding OSCE mission. The president
said there is religious tolerance and representatives of different
ethnicities peacefully co-exist in Azerbaijan. There is an Orthodox
church and a Jewish Synagogue in the country, while a Catholic church
is expected to be set up soon.