Monument to Azerbaijani poet Nizami damaged in Derbent

As reported by local residents, at night on January 9, in the city of Derbent, a monument to the prominent Azerbaijani poet and thinker Nizami was desecrated.

The information about the desecration of the monument was sent to the SMS service of the "Caucasian Knot" by a user: "Today, the monument to Nizami was desecrated in Derbent; the monument is burned."

According to eyewitnesses, in the park, where the monument was erected, some repair works are underway; therefore, the statue was covered with a cloth.

At night, unidentified persons set fire to the cloth, as a result, the monument got burned, the edition named "Vestnik Kavkaza" reports.

A day earlier, at night on January 8, in Derbent, the tomb of Sayyid Mir-Gafar aga was destroyed. Azerbaijanis of the city are concerned about such incidents.

"There are two options here: either they specifically provoke Azerbaijanis to cause them to 'blow up' and get out into the streets, or this is a hint to Azerbaijanis that they are aliens in Derbent; and the city is no place for monuments of their history and culture," the "Vesti.az" quotes a resident of Derbent. According to his story, "Azerbaijanis are squeezed out of Derbent."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.