Azerbaijani Avars ask Ilham Aliev to tackle their problems

A group of residents of Zakatal District of Azerbaijan have addressed today their written application to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev. Shamil Kurbanov, one of the signatories, said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the address was caused by the unwillingness of Baku officials to register the Avars' National-Cultural Centre "Dir Vartan" (My Homeland).

The first address of the activists of the Centre to the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan dates back to January 2008. The bureaucrats of the Ministry looked into the papers submitted for registration and returned them back allegedly for bringing into conformity with the current legislation without explaining the essence of claims.

The documents were repeatedly submitted in mid-February, but were rejected again under the pretext that an organization under that name had already been registered. Only on March 11, 2008, they managed to deliver their papers, but reception was not properly documented, despite the demand of the visitors.

On April 28, 2008, a letter arrived from Baku to Zakatal saying that the term for considering the documents was extended by 30 days. Two months later, activists of the Centre from Zakatal District again went to Baku, where the Ministry asked for documents beyond those listed in the manual for registration of legal entities. In the months to follow, the situation repeated.

Zakatal residents hope that interference of President Ilham Aliev will help solving their problems.

The overall mission of the "Dir Vartan" National-Cultural Centre is defence and development of the ethno-cultural identity of the Avars' nation.