02:05, 6 September 2017

Azerbaijan condemns violence against Muslims in Myanmar

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for Azerbaijan supported the Muslim population of Myanmar.

The situation in Myanmar deteriorated in August, when clashes began to occur between Buddhists and Muslims of the Rohingya people. As a result, more than 400 people were killed.

On September 5, the Azerbaijani MFA condemned mass acts of violence against Muslims in Myanmar, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

"We call on the international community, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to support efforts to stop the violence," announced Khikmet Gadjiev, the spokesman for the Azerbaijani MFA.

In Azerbaijan itself, believers are subjected to persecution from the authorities. So, in January 2017, Talekh Bagirzade, the leader of the movement "Muslim Unity", and his 16 supporters were sentenced in the case of the riots in the village of Nardaran. According to the US Department of State, in 2016, the Azerbaijani authorities intensified the suppression of independent religious activity, and Sunni mosques were closed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has also reported about actions in support of Muslims in Myanmar organized in Northern Caucasus. So, on September 4, the Grozny Mayor's Office reported the participation of at least one million people in the action, but those figures aroused scepticism among users of social networks and experts.

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

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent