Saturday, September 02, 2006

"Level-headed" leader of Azerbaijan ready to declare a JIHAD on Armenia

When I read stories like the following, it reassures me that when we fought for and won independence from Azerbaijan, what we did was the right thing.

If a high-ranking level-headed leader of Azerbaijan is ready to call for a jihad and he claims to be supported by high-ranking governmental officials and Islamic leaders around the world, that sure does not sound a vote in favor of become a part of Azerbaijan ever (not that I would consider it anyway).

The reality is that Azeri leaders for the most part have proven to be unreliable when one is not Azeri and lately they don’t seem all that reliable for their Muslim population.

Bottom line is that we have to be ready for any acts of war or terrorism that could come from a jihad and if that time comes we have to strike our enemy with such force that it leaves them running back to the rock they came out from under with their tails between their legs.

For those Azeris who don’t want the Gods of fire to rain down on their cities, villages and oil fields (thanks to our Scud missiles and other methods we have to cause damage to our enemy), then when the call for jihad is made, you make sure that the time is "ripe" before jumping in the fire with both feet. You will know if it is really the time is the guy calling for jihad is leading you into the fire and not driving you into it.


Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 1, 2006 Friday



ARMENIA IS THREATENED WITH JIHAD;
Religious leader of Azerbaijan sends a no-nonsense message to the neighbor state


by Sohbet Mamedov

STATEMENT MADE BY THE RELIGIOUS LEADER OF AZERBAIJAN ON THE READINESS TO DECLARE A JIHAD ON ARMENIA AS AN INDICATION OF COMBATIVE DISPOSITION IN AZERBAIJANI SOCIETY; Allahushukjur Pashazade: I'm prepared to declare a jihad to liberate the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.



Religious factor is to be added to the equation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian confrontation now. Sheikh-ul-Islam Haji Allahushukjur Pashazade, religious leader of Azerbaijan and the head of the Moslem Directorate of the Caucasus, issued a warning to Armenia at his press conference in Baku the other day. "I'm prepared to declare a jihad to liberate the occupied territories of Azerbaijan," he said. Pashazade added, however, that he would do so when the time is "ripe" because potential of negotiations was not depleted yet. According to Pashazade, the subject of Nagorno-Karabakh ranks the highest on the agenda of all his meetings with senior officials and religious leaders from foreign states. "Many of them support our just case," Pashazade said. "They are even prepared to help Azerbaijan with resolution of the conflict." (It should be noted that Pashazade commands considerable respect both in Azerbaijan and throughout the Islamic world.)

Pashazade is known as a level-headed person in Azerbaijan itself, and his jihad warning therefore made headlines in the republic. Indeed, Pashazade has been urging the faithful to keep their heads and give the authorities a chance to settle the matter (have the occupied territories released, that is) by peaceful means for the last decade or so.

Local analysts take Pashazade's warning to official Yerevan as an indication that Azerbaijani society is weary of waiting for conflict resolution and that it is becoming more and more accepting of radical ideas. Even the OSCE Minsk Group is aware of the trend. Its officials are frantically trying to arrange another round of the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace talks. Tair Tagizade of the Directorate of Information of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said yesterday that a meeting of two foreign ministers was to be organized in the middle of September. The ministers might even agree to arrange a meeting between national leaders, Tagizade said.

Attempts to revive the dialogue between Baku and Yerevan are made against the background of frequent skirmishes at the line dividing national armies of the warring sides. Press Service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said yesterday that the Armenians had violated the cease-fire regime once again and opened up on Azerbaijani positions in the environs of the village of Gjuljustan (Geranboi district). The Azerbaijanis returned fire and the skirmish eventually wound down without any losses reported.

Delays with the conflict resolution process, occupation of almost 20% of the territory of Azerbaijan by Armenia lasting for over 13 years, and Yerevan's reluctance to obey four resolutions of the UN Security Council demanding withdrawal from the seized areas compound mount tension in Baku. Local analysts point out that this state of affairs that constitutes neither peace nor war can last and the chances of renewal of the hostilities increase by the day. Almost 1 million Azerbaijani refugees are waiting for the word to go ahead and liberate their ancestral lands. Even President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev keeps saying that "this is Armenia's last chance to settle the matter without bloodshed."

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, August 29, 2006, p. 3

Translated by A. Ignatkin

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