Nation

STATE ENFORCES CONTROL OVER RELIGIOUS ENTITIES

The Regulations of the State Committee on Religious Affairs, launched by a presidential decree of June 21, were published by national newspapers Monday.

According to the document, the committee is a central executive body in charge of pursuing the state religious policy. The decisions passed by the committee are mandatory for other central and local authorities, as well as physical and legal entities engaged in religious activities.

Defined as the committee's key mission is creation of suitable conditions for the freedom of religion, as stipulated in Article 48 of the Azerbaijan Constitution. The committee is also to exercise control over the observance of legal acts pertaining to the freedom of religion.

The regulations outline key objectives, functions, rights and responsibilities of the committee.

The conventional division of creed in three key confessions - Muslim, Christian and Jewish - seems to be gradually disappearing as various sects are springing up.

For instance, the Sunni and Shiite trends have become more discernable, while the Wahabi threat has spread to various missionary activities. Besides, missionary activity is assuming alarming proportions, as countless pastors and preachers try to entice ignorant and needy population to their sects. Commercialization of religious shrines, including mosques, is in full swing. All this put together has necessitated the establishment of an entity to exercise control over mosques and religious communities.

ARMENIA ENGAGED IN ARMS TRAFFICKING IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

The Azerbaijan delegation attending a UN conference on illegal sale of firearms in New York has disseminated a statement accusing Armenia of arms trafficking and terrorist acts in the occupied Azeri territories, which poses a serious threat to the security and political stability in the entire region.

Head of the Azerbaijan delegation Yashar Aliyev, Charge D'Affaires of the Azerbaijan representative office in the United Nations, said in his presentation that Azerbaijan had repeatedly tried to wake up the international community to the problem of illegal arms sales to Armenia through letters to the UN Secretary General and the Security Council. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that Armenian troops control a 130km section of Azerbaijan's southern border, he said.

ABA PRESIDENT OPTIMISTIC

President of a private television channel ABA, closed down mid-last week, Faig Zulfugarov has told a news conference that the closure of the company was a serious tragedy. He was speaking to journalists from New York over the telephone.

He said ABA was the only truly independent television channel in Azerbaijan, while those manipulating other channels are known to all.

According to F. Zulfugarov, he was supposed to go on air with two addresses to the nation on Tuesday, but the channel was shut down.

Asked why ABA employees were not present at the briefing, the company president responded that he himself had asked them not to come as they were a subject of persecution.

In conclusion, he said he was optimistic and determined to fight till the end.

NGOs PLEA FOR PROTECTION OF NATIONAL LAKES

Following a public monitoring and analyses, a non-governmental organization "Ruzgar" has arrived at a conclusion that most of the Azeri lakes are in an extremely dissatisfactory condition. This was announced in Baku Thursday at a two-day science conference. The monitoring project is being implemented by the mentioned NGO in cooperation with the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences and "Azerbaijan" University.

30-40% of the 800 lakes are under permanent anthropogenic impact, as a result of which the lakes disappear or shrink. About half of swamps were dried in the 70s in an effort to expand cotton plantations, which led to a considerable reduction of fowl.

As a result of excessive salinization of lakes, which has risen 70-100 times in recent years, as well as the dumping of chemicals and sewer, the rate of fishing has dramatically declined.

Particular concerns were voiced in regard to the lakes located in the occupied Azeri territories.

The conference was attended by specialists from Georgia and Turkey.