Russian community in Azerbaijan is concerned with destruction of cemetery

The Russian community of Azerbaijan is extremely anxious about the destruction of the Russian cemetery in the Narimanovskiy District of the city of Baku.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that the members of the Russian community have told him that the Coordination Board of Russian-Speaking Public Organizations of Compatriots in Azerbaijan lodged applications with a demand to stop vandalism to President Ilham Aliev and Mayor of Baku Gadzhibala Abutalybov.

According to Alexander Alekseev, deputy chairman of the Russian community of Azerbaijan, the reburial, as he was informed by the executive officials of Baku, is undertaken with the aim to build a highway across the cemetery.

"We perfectly understand that the transport system of the capital requires modernization. However, we don't understand, how it can be possible not to warn the relatives about the forthcoming destruction of the cemetery, open tombs by power shovels, level then down by bulldozer, and smash fencings and gravestones. Do the contractors really have at least any decency and culture to organize the reburial in a civilized manner?" Mr Alekseev asked.

Besides, he added that the reburial, despite all the assurances of the authorities, is far from being free-of-charge, since directors of the cemetery are claiming some 300 US dollars from the relatives for every place provided for reburial.

He has also noted that should the authorities of the capital of Azerbaijan persist in this vandalism, the Russian community will bring action against them, up to the European Court for Human Rights.