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Azerbaijan insists European Games safe despite violence

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  • Azerbaijan insists European Games safe despite violence

    Associated Press International
    March 28, 2015 Saturday 11:50 AM GMT

    Azerbaijan insists European Games safe despite violence

    By JAMES ELLINGWORTH
    MOSCOW


    MOSCOW (AP) - Azerbaijan insists its hosting of the European Games in
    June will be safe despite clashes over the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh
    region last week which left at least three dead.

    Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia, which backs the separatists, have
    remained technically at war since a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in
    the late 1980s and early 1990s.

    Azerbaijan foreign ministry spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev told The
    Associated Press in e-mailed comments that the games would not be
    affected by the fighting, pointing out that the region affected is
    more than 400 kilometers from the venues and that fighting is confined
    to the separatist region.

    He added that "safety and a peaceful environment for both the athletes
    competing in the Games and for the spectators in attendance will be
    provided."

    The defense ministry of the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region said
    three of its soldiers were killed and another four were wounded last
    week while repelling an Azerbaijani incursion.

    It said an unspecified number of Azerbaijani invaders were killed
    during the clash, which lasted about two hours. Azerbaijan's Defense
    Ministry, in turn, blamed the Armenian side for the clash and claimed
    that 20 Armenian soldiers were killed or wounded. The conflicting
    claims couldn't be independently verified.

    Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region and some adjacent territory have
    been under the control of Armenian soldiers and local ethnic Armenian
    forces since a 1994 cease-fire that ended a six-year war.

    Earlier this month, the Armenian Olympic Committee said it would
    participate in the European Games, with head Gagik Tsarukyan saying
    the decision to compete was "based on sporting reasons alone."

    He added "it is important to keep sport independent from politics."

    Hajiyev declined to detail specific security measures which will be
    used to protect the capital Baku during the June 12-28 games.

    "In accordance with the international procedures and standards
    designed for such large-scale sport events all necessary safety,
    security and civil emergency measures are being undertaken by the
    relevant authorities of Azerbaijan," he said.

    Protests during the games will not be allowed unless they take place
    within a specified venue with the permission of the authorities, he
    added.

    Hajiyev said that it is a "well known principle that one's freedom
    should not come at the expense of others and mutual respect shall
    always be prevailed."

    "Beyond specified venues, deliberate attempts to disrupt the traffic
    and public transport and affect daily routine of others particularly
    during the large scale events is inappropriate," he added.

    Azerbaijani politics is dominated by the ruling party of President
    Ilham Aliyev and large-scale protests are rare.

    Azerbaijan has hosted an increasing number of international events in
    recent years and is due to host a Formula One Grand Prix from next
    year.

    However, Baku has yet to host a multi-sports event on the scale of the
    inaugural European Games, which are likely to include around 6,000
    athletes in 20 sports. Azerbaijan failed in bids to host the 2016 and
    2020 Olympics.

    As well as the separatist conflict, Islamist terrorism has been a
    sporadic security threat in Muslim-majority Azerbaijan, although
    attacks are rare. In 2007, a grenade attack on a mosque left three
    dead.



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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