Los Angeles bishop writes to Sargsyan
Bishop Juan Carlos Mendez has addressed an open letter to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
In his letter the chairman of the organization 'Churches in Action' functioning in Los Angeles and Los Angeles Interreligious Council, founder of more than 40 churches in the United States and different places of the world and one of the most influential Christian religious figures in California has condemned the killing of Sahiba Guliyeva and her 2-year-old granddaughter Zahra Guliyeva as a result of shelling of Alkhanli village of Fizuli by Armenian armed forces on July 4. A copy of the letter has been sent to the Azerbaijan Consulate general in Los Angeles.
In his letter, Mendez says that as the US people were celebrating the 4th of July Independence Day, a two-year-old Azerbaijani girl named Zahra Guliyeva and her grandmother Sahiba Guliyeva were brutally killed, when Armenia’s armed forces targeted and shelled their house.
"After all the tragedies our world has experienced over the last few years in various parts of the globe, where the killing of the civilian population has simply become a norm, it is extremely
painful to see that we have not learned our lessons and people continue to hurt each other in every way possible."
Mendez notes that the continued occupation of Azerbaijan’s territory by Armenia has been a major factor behind the ongoing suffering of not only hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani refugees, who were expelled from their homes and stripped of everything they had; but this invasion and occupation of Azerbaijan’s lands by the Republic of Armenia has also caused much suffering to the Armenian people.
As a Christian faith leader in Los Angeles, Mendez cites Bible which tells “Do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty” (Exodus 23:7). He goes on saying that killing innocent civilians does not only constitute a flagrant violation of all international legal norms, it also violates the very principles of Christianity.
He expressed the hope that Armenia, as one of the proudest Christian nations and its leadership fully realize the tremendous responsibility for upholding these principles no matter what.
In conclusion, he urged Sargsyan to fiercely condemn this terrible crime and do his best to locate and punish all those who are responsible for this heinous murder.
News.Az
Similar news
