Azerbaijani rights defenders urge authorities to targeted war on religious radicalism

In Azerbaijan, the entire population of the village of Nardaran should not suffer from preventive measures aimed to prevent religious radicalism, local rights defenders have stated. They believe that citizens may be influenced on by solution of a number of social problems.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 26 there were clashes in Nardaran of believers with policemen, as a result of which two policemen and five local residents were killed. On November 30, the situation remained tense.

A disconnection of power punishes the entire population, while responsibility of the debtors should be personalized, believes Arzu Abdullaeva, the co-chair of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (HCA) and the head of its Azerbaijan National Committee. She treats the events in Nardaran "as a manifestation of the fear emanating from the events in the Middle East."

Any links between the ISIL (the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant", now the "Islamic State" (IS), declared a terrorist organization and banned in Russia, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") and residents of Nardaran is unlikely, said Kyamal Ali, the author of the blog "Wind from Apsheron", run on the "Caucasian Knot".

Mr Ali, a representative of the civil society of Azerbaijan, noted that in order to eliminate the social tension, the authorities should solve the problems of unemployment, create new jobs and improve the welfare of the population.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.