October 27, 2003 - 19:19 AMT
AZERI ORGANIZATION AGAINST OSCE MINSK GROUP RUSSIAN CO-CHAIRMAN'S VISIT TO BAKU
The day before Azeri Organization for Karabakh Liberation (OKL) spread information that it is arranging a number of actions of protest against the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen's visit to the Karabakh conflict region planned November. As Zerkalo Baku newspaper writes, the organization chairman Akif Nagi stated that the principal protest is directed to the Russian co-chairman Yuri Merzlyakov's presence within the delegation membership. The discontent was aroused by the fact that during his visit to the region September 9 Yuri Merzlyakov went to Nagorno Karabakh not from Baku but from Yerevan, thus "violating Azerbaijan's sovereign rights". Expressing their protest the OKL members appeal not only to the Minsk Group but also to all the international organizations to respect Azerbaijan's sovereignty. "Otherwise they will have to deal with our organization", - Akif Nagi stated.