IN BAKU THEY OPPRESS CHRISTIANS

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Baku authorities and mass media pretend as if they do not understand why they have been included in the ''black list''. The official propaganda was doing its best to present Azerbaijan as a civilized country respecting the European values. They tried to blame the international organizations: ''Open Doors'', being led by its own interests, deliberately distort the reality,'' the ''Eco'' newspaper writes.

Meanwhile, we have already written that the official authorities had prohibited the activity of the Baptist church on their territory, and the leader of the community Sari Mirzoyev was house arrested. The spiritual leader was liberated only after the European and American Baptists raised the issue in the international institutions. The Secretary General of the World Baptist Alliance Denton Lots was obliged to apply to the U.S. President George Bush, Secretary of State Collin Powell urging to pay attention to the facts of pursuit of Christian minorities in Azerbaijan. The leader of Baptists asked the political leadership of the United States to intervene and prevent the repressions of citizens who practice religions, untraditional for Azerbaijan.

Demonstrating a care towards the followers of Orthodox and Judaist churches, the Azerbaijani authorities want to prove that the religious minorities are protected in their country. At the same time, representatives of religions untraditional for that country – Lutherans, Baptists, Lettuces, Adventists, Evangelists and even Catholics undergo repressions. This, in particular, was testified in the report of the U.S. Department of State published recently, where the situation with the liberty of conscience was being reflected. The document reads that there are ''facts of pursuit and arrest of representatives of untraditional religious organizations'' in Azerbaijan. It is noted that the force structures are oppressing the leaders of Christian communities. The report reads that repressions and cases of discrimination were fixed in Baku, Gyandzha, Nakhichevan, Sumgait, Khachmaz, Ismailla, Neftchal. According to American investigators, everyone who practices any religion except Islam, Orthodox and Judaism, are under the control of the special services.

So, the Baku journalists pretending they are surprised with the decision of the ''Open Doors'' representatives are lying. Having driving away the Armenians and liberated thus the country from the biggest Christian community, the Azerbaijani authorities now are doing their best to destroy other religious and ethnic minorities. The world community notices this and gives an appropriate evaluation to it.