Azeri authorities do not sanction pressure group’s march to Karabakh
Trend news agency
7 May 04
BAKU
Trend correspondent S. Agayeva: The authorities have not given
official permission for a peace march to Karabakh by members of the
Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) scheduled for 8 May, the
chairman of the organization, Akif Nagi, told a news conference on 7
May. He said that the organization had received a letter from the Baku
Mayor’s Office saying that “although the mayor’s office approves the
move itself, it does not think it expedient to hold it as the
authorities themselves are dealing with a solution to the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict”.
Despite this, the organization is set to hold the march which will
start from a visit to the Martyr’s Avenue and then a delegation of 150
people will go to Karabakh. Nagi did not disclose the route of the
march as he had not agreed it with the authorities.
All political parties, except for the [ruling] New Azerbaijan Party,
gave their support for the action. Representatives of embassies and
international organizations intend to closely follow the march. The
aim of the action is to let the international community know that the
Azerbaijani people will not allow any compromise to be made on
Nagornyy Karabakh, Nagi said, denying Armenian media reports that the
march had been organized by the Azerbaijani authorities “as a show
that they want to perform for the international community and
international organizations”.