The US Department of State has recently released an annual Report on International Religious Freedom.
Report informs via AZERTAC that the document contains the parts regarding Azerbaijan and Armenia. Both parts are not objective and of evident anti-Azerbaijani nature in essence, according to the statement of the Western Azerbaijan Community.
“The State Department, which puts forward baseless claims regarding Armenian religious monuments in Azerbaijan, somehow turns a blind eye to the complete expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia on the grounds of ethnic and religious hatred, the destruction of about 300 mosques registered by the state in this country, and all other religious and cultural heritage belonging to Azerbaijanis.
The fact that the mentioned report of the State Department refers to Cornell University, but actually to a conjured-up claim by three Armenian authors (L. Khachaturyan, H. Gulyan, S. Bokcheriyan) funded by extremist organizations such as " Armenian General Benevolent Union" and "Aragats Foundation". as the only source of Armenian allegations against Azerbaijan shows that this report is biased.
We call on the US State Department to revise the said parts of the report, remove baseless claims, and reflect the facts of rampant Azerbaijan-phobic tendencies in Armenia, as well as the systematic violation of religious freedoms in this country, e.g. the destruction of religious and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan, including mosques and cemeteries.
We also call on the US government to make effort to force Armenia to stop destroying this heritage and restore what it has already destroyed.
Finally, we hope that, in accordance with our request to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the US government will make effort to ensure the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to their homes, protect their rights and freedoms, including religious freedom,” the statement said.