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Abbas Ganbay

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The new year began with a note of protest and an announcement from Washington that Azerbaijan is on a special list of countries and under special surveillance, fearing religion. Having failed to justify their actions, the US authorities, apparently under pressure from the Armenian lobby, decided to resume their anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric. Azerbaijan is known worldwide for its commitment to tolerance. The culture of its Turkic ancestors, as well as its faith, was founded with deep love and spiritual equality with other religions.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, by adding Azerbaijan to the "black list" of countries in the freedom of religion, added gravity and problems on the way to signing a peace treaty with Armenia. This action by Blinken is a gesture of lies and propaganda to reduce the pressure of the Armenian lobby on him, as well as on most of the congress and candidates for the US presidency. Having gradually lost the support of the American people in the presidential race, the administration of President Joe Biden is trying to gain the support of the Armenian lobby in 6 states. In turn, the Armenian lobby is not satisfied with the fact that the Biden administration has not given "due" support to Armenians on the issue of the return of "Artsakh" and its residents.

One of the authors of the report presented by the head of the US Department of State is Daniela Ashbakhyan, a representative of the very nation whose "religious values" and "feelings" are allegedly "belittled" and "insulted" by Azerbaijan.

Every year on November 16 Azerbaijan celebrates the International Day of Tolerance, established in 1995 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of UNESCO.

Today, not only churches and synagogues but also numerous Christian and Jewish religious educational institutions operate freely in Azerbaijan without any obstacles. The Azerbaijani State provides them with the necessary support within the framework of the law. Azerbaijani people have always, not only in the East but all over the world, been and still are characterised by a specific tolerant attitude towards different religions and religious-philosophical trends.

Armenian lobby receives support from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as a consequence of the unjustified inclusion of Azerbaijan in the "black list" of countries in the freedom of religion. Earlier, such cases, based on Azerbaijan's experience, were handled by Armenian lobbies around the world, in condemning and accusing Azerbaijan, of encroaching on other people's property and appropriating it for themselves. Publishing the annual list, the Secretary of State retained all 12 countries blacklisted last year, including China, Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Aware of the kinship of the "Hai's" with India, Blinken declined to include India on the blacklist.

The only change, Azerbaijan was added, and the reaction of the Armenian nationalists who want to take "revenge" is not surprising, they demand to lead the "sanctions".

As a "Christian" country, America defends separatists who destroyed churches, mosques, and synagogues during the First Garabagh War and the following decade. State Secretary Blinken turns a blind eye to the desecration of Synagogues in Yerevan as well as other weighty and provable cases.

It is also worth recalling that the Armenian Church and Armenians continue to exist in Azerbaijan.

Certain separatist groups use religious elements of faith to justify their activities, often terrorists.

In that context, it is very important to establish a dialogue between cultures and religions to preserve the cultural diversity of human civilization, and the experience of countries and regions with strong traditions of tolerance and religious tolerance is instructive in that regard. In this respect, Azerbaijan is a unique example of the peaceful coexistence of many ethnic groups and religious beliefs.

The roots of this tradition go deep into history: the land of Azerbaijan was inhabited by Jewish settlers who fled the plundered kingdom of Judah after the capture of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon (586 B.C.). According to historical sources, there were up to 40000 captives in Babylon at that time.

In the middle of the first century AD, the first followers of Christianity fled to Azerbaijan, laying the foundation for the subsequent establishment of the independent Albanian Church. The emergence of Islam further strengthened the tradition of religious tolerance in the ancient lands of Azerbaijan. Islamic tolerance was based on the Holy Quran's verses that "there is no compulsion in religion / la-ikraha fid-din -Holy Quran: 2/256".

According to numerous testimonies of historians, in the seventh and eighth centuries, Muslims treated followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism with respect and tolerance. The West's double standards towards Azerbaijan are not new, and such actions have always come from personal gains in achieving world order.

Surprisingly, Secretary of State Blicken did not pay attention to the recent Nazi procession in Yerevan, as well as the cold-blooded attitude to the mass burning of the Holy Quran in the countries of the "crusaders". We know that the minions of "order out of chaos" wanted to lead the world to religious war and a new crusade, provoking the Islamic world by burning the holy book of Muslims. The US authorities are well aware of the state of religion in Azerbaijan, and of its relations with Armenia, and despite this continue to act on the weight of a bag of gold.

"Jew-hatred has no bounds: the few Jews left in the Armenian capital continue to be persecuted, culminating, after several deliberate arson attacks on the country's only synagogue, in a neo-Nazi march in the city center, unimpeded by authorities or police," writes The Jerusalem Post journalist Mark Fish.

On the first of January, a serious incident took place in the Armenian capital, which has a small Jewish population, where a group of neo-Nazis paraded through the streets of Yerevan carrying flags with stylised swastikas and chanting derogatory slogans against "enemies".

The movement in question is the Husnak movement, a nationalist movement whose website praises Hitler and contains anti-Semitic cartoons, as well as articles calling for the deportation of Jews and for "exposing their activities towards children." More than a month has passed since news spread around the world of the second arson attack on Armenia's only synagogue in a matter of weeks by local anti-Semitic organisations

According to reports published on social media, the same young neo-Nazis organised a march to the memorial of Garegin Nzhdeh, who was a Nazi collaborator (and whose birthday falls on January 1). A bouquet of flowers was laid at the memorial.

The Jewish community is outraged that the Armenian authorities have not taken any action against the "shameful acts and against the extremist group that has raised its head." Furthermore, the Jewish community representatives added that the police did not stop the march or summon any of the participants for questioning, and in all likelihood, given what has been happening in the country recently, they should be quite satisfied with these actions.

Moreover, no one has been arrested for attempting to set fire to the only synagogue in the country. According to media reports, a group calling itself the "Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia" has threatened attacks against rabbis and Israelis around the world and praised Hamas and Hezbollah since the 7 October massacre.

Let's fix the Secretary of State's two-facedness, duplicity, and disguise by the fact that despite these aggressive actions against Jews and other nations, the Secretary of State still added Azerbaijan to the "watch list" and not Armenia.

Let us also remind about Vladimir Poghosyan, a former advisor to the Armenian Armed Forces, who made anti-Semitic statements and said that he helped Hamas and Hezbollah to kill Jews.

"I will shout to the whole world about the just killing of Jews." In addition, he claimed that Jews have no right to exist because, in his words, "you are jackals who should be completely exterminated." He also made some serious statements, including that Israel was lucky not to be helping Hamas and Hezbollah: "I would have killed 100,000 Jews."

There are streets named after Garegin Nzhdeh, a Hitlerite general sentenced to execution by the Soviet court, in Agarak, Aparan, Artik, Ashtarak, Burastan, Byuravan, Dvin, Goris, Mrgavan, Mrgavet, Nshavan, Sisian, Stepanavan, Vanadzor, Verin, Artashat and Yeghvard. In Armenia, an entire village is named in Nzhdeh's honor.

The state has done nothing to stop it.

The new year may go down the path of war, and it is also possible to prevent all this and achieve peace, but as long as there are double standards and corrupts bending the law, the road to achieving peace in the South Caucasus and the world at large will not be easy.

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Abbas Ganbay is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @Noend33

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