POLITICS
US envoys meet deputy chairman of Milli Majlis human rights committee
Baku, March 15 (AZERTAC). US Department of State`s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal and Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith have met deputy chairman of the human rights committee at Azerbaijan`s Parliament Yevda Abramov.
Abramov said there had never been any kind of anti-Semitism in Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan is a tolerant country. Mosques, churches and synagogues are functioning here closely, and representatives of the three religions are free in their beliefs.”
“Under instructions of the Head of State a new synagogue was built in the center of Baku for more than 20,000 mountainous Jews living in the capital,” added Abramov.
Rosenthal said they were amazed at the tolerance and religious diversity in Azerbaijan.
She said they saw Azerbaijan as a model in this respect.
Pandith highlighted the 2011 Hours Against Hate campaign, which is aimed at stopping bigotry and promoting pluralism and respect across lines of culture, religion, tradition, class, and gender.
The Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was also discussed. Abramov said Armenians have destroyed all mosques and cemeteries in Azerbaijan`s occupied lands. He expressed regret that there still was a double-standard approach to the conflict, adding “a Christian prejudice has been playing an important role in this”.