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March 10, 2011
Is Azerbaijan Ready For Its Own Revolution?
by Arife Kazimova, Daisy Sindelar
Inspired by last month's Egyptian uprising, young activists in
Azerbaijan are calling for antigovernment demonstrations on March 11
-- and using Facebook to spread the word.
Originally planned as a "virtual protest," in which supporters could
express their solidarity with a simple click of the mouse, the March
11 movement has since morphed into calls for a flesh-and-blood
demonstration of growing disenchantment with the country's autocratic
regime. It is a move that has rattled Baku.
But it's uncertain what size or shape the March 11 protests will take
-- or even if they'll take place at all, with organizers being
intentionally vague about locations. As of March 10, nearly 4,000
people had used Facebook to signal their intention to mark the day of
protests. Protest organizers have stressed the peaceful nature of the
initiative, but have not minced words when it comes to their goal --
bringing an end to the country's "dictatorial regime."
The Azerbaijani government does not take such phrases lightly. In the
past several days, authorities have arrested a number of activists
tied to the March 11 events and the country's Musavat opposition
party, which is planning a subsequent day of rallied on March 12.
(Members of another opposition force, the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan,
are They forget that Azerbaijani youth will not be fooled by these
crazy attempts."
planning yet another protest in the coming days.) They forget that
Azerbaijani youth will not be fooled by these crazy attempts."
Among those arrested is Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, the only March 11 organizer
operating within Azerbaijan. A fellow organizer, France-based
Azerbaijani activist Elnur Majidli, said the arrest of Hajiyev and
others shows how anxious the authorities have become about rising
opposition to the regime of President Ilham Aliyev.
"If the government detains young men for a minor Facebook page and
exerts pressure on their families, it means the end for the
government," Majidli says. "The authorities have admitted as much
through their actions. The more they detain young people, the more
they're going to motivate those young people to protest and aggravate
the situation."
The New Opposition
Hajiyev, Majidli, and other organizers of the so-called Great People's
Day action say they chose March 11 as the day for their protest
because it marks one month since public demonstrations in Egypt forced
the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
Indeed, the March 11 organizers share the tactics and goals of their
Egyptian counterparts. All are young, Internet-savvy, and
Western-educated -- Hajiyev, for one, is a 2009 graduate of Harvard
University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. As a group, they
have emerged as a fresh-faced complement -- or alternative -- to the
Azerbaijan's graying class of political oppositionists, represented by
parties like Musavat and the Popular Front.
Hajiyev was detained March 4 in his home city of Ganja, on charges of
leaving the city limits while under investigation for evading military
service. But Hajiyev says his one-month detention is tied to his
Facebook activities, and has complained of being insulted and harassed
by prison officials.
In a statement, the U.S. Embassy called on the Azerbaijani government
to ensure Hajiyev receives due process and proper treatment. The
rights watchdog Freedom House has called the recent arrests
"disturbing" and said further crackdowns "will be an indication not of
the Azeri regime's strength, but rather its weakness."
The March 11 campaign has sparked efforts from pro-government youth
groups to discredit activists like Hajiyev and question the loyalties
of government opponents. But Hajiyev's mother, Solida Movlayeva,
argues her son is fighting for a better Azerbaijan.
"Bakhtiyar has been detained for his political views, because of his
search for justice," Movlayeva says. "He's a patriotic young man who
loves his country and its people. Otherwise he never would have
returned after paying to get an education somewhere else."
Preparing For The Worst
Many countries have seen a rise in public protests inspired by the
political turmoil in Tunisia and Egypt. Oil-rich Azerbaijan, which is
ruled with an iron grip by Aliyev and a tightly knit network of
allies, has been no exception, with widespread poverty and political
and religious repression fueling anger among ordinary Azerbaijanis.
Mindful of the mood, the government has attempted to stave off public
unrest by trumpeting a new anticorruption drive. But critics have
shrugged off such campaigns as window-dressing and accuse the
government of redoubling its pressure on activists and boosting the
police presence in Baku. (The government's lockdown efforts have been
so strenuous they've spawned a March 11 joke among young Azerbaijani
activists: "If they're trying this hard, we'd better show up!")
The government in recent days has also sought to crack down on a
number of foreign NGOs operating in Azerbaijan, including the U.S.
National Democratic Institute, a nonprofit group working with youth
groups in the country. An NDI employee in Azerbaijan told RFE/RL the
group's country director received a letter from the Justice Ministry
requesting their office be closed.
In a statement published on its website on March 9, the Azerbaijani
Interior Ministry likewise blamed foreign agents for the rising
unrest, saying that "radical opposition forces" were attempting to
"create color revolutions in Azerbaijan."
"Adventurers are trying to take advantage of the developments in North
Africa, and are using as their tools a group of youths and some NGOs
that are directly dependent on foreign donations," the ministry said.
"But they forget that Azerbaijani youth will not be fooled by these
crazy attempts."
The government has even brought out its chief psychiatric expert to
warn about the consequences of Facebook-style revolt. Speaking to the
Trend news agency, Garay Geraybeyli advised the country's online
activists to seek mental help and said, "Those who prefer virtual
communication have problems communicating in real life. Such people
have a limited vocabulary. They have problems speaking."
Geraybeyli's admonition apparently does not extend to the country's
president, Ilham Aliyev, who recently waded into the world of social
networking by launching his own Twitter and YouTube pages.
Written in Prague by Daisy Sindelar based on reporting by Arife Kazimova in Baku
From: A. Papazian
March 10, 2011
Is Azerbaijan Ready For Its Own Revolution?
by Arife Kazimova, Daisy Sindelar
Inspired by last month's Egyptian uprising, young activists in
Azerbaijan are calling for antigovernment demonstrations on March 11
-- and using Facebook to spread the word.
Originally planned as a "virtual protest," in which supporters could
express their solidarity with a simple click of the mouse, the March
11 movement has since morphed into calls for a flesh-and-blood
demonstration of growing disenchantment with the country's autocratic
regime. It is a move that has rattled Baku.
But it's uncertain what size or shape the March 11 protests will take
-- or even if they'll take place at all, with organizers being
intentionally vague about locations. As of March 10, nearly 4,000
people had used Facebook to signal their intention to mark the day of
protests. Protest organizers have stressed the peaceful nature of the
initiative, but have not minced words when it comes to their goal --
bringing an end to the country's "dictatorial regime."
The Azerbaijani government does not take such phrases lightly. In the
past several days, authorities have arrested a number of activists
tied to the March 11 events and the country's Musavat opposition
party, which is planning a subsequent day of rallied on March 12.
(Members of another opposition force, the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan,
are They forget that Azerbaijani youth will not be fooled by these
crazy attempts."
planning yet another protest in the coming days.) They forget that
Azerbaijani youth will not be fooled by these crazy attempts."
Among those arrested is Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, the only March 11 organizer
operating within Azerbaijan. A fellow organizer, France-based
Azerbaijani activist Elnur Majidli, said the arrest of Hajiyev and
others shows how anxious the authorities have become about rising
opposition to the regime of President Ilham Aliyev.
"If the government detains young men for a minor Facebook page and
exerts pressure on their families, it means the end for the
government," Majidli says. "The authorities have admitted as much
through their actions. The more they detain young people, the more
they're going to motivate those young people to protest and aggravate
the situation."
The New Opposition
Hajiyev, Majidli, and other organizers of the so-called Great People's
Day action say they chose March 11 as the day for their protest
because it marks one month since public demonstrations in Egypt forced
the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
Indeed, the March 11 organizers share the tactics and goals of their
Egyptian counterparts. All are young, Internet-savvy, and
Western-educated -- Hajiyev, for one, is a 2009 graduate of Harvard
University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. As a group, they
have emerged as a fresh-faced complement -- or alternative -- to the
Azerbaijan's graying class of political oppositionists, represented by
parties like Musavat and the Popular Front.
Hajiyev was detained March 4 in his home city of Ganja, on charges of
leaving the city limits while under investigation for evading military
service. But Hajiyev says his one-month detention is tied to his
Facebook activities, and has complained of being insulted and harassed
by prison officials.
In a statement, the U.S. Embassy called on the Azerbaijani government
to ensure Hajiyev receives due process and proper treatment. The
rights watchdog Freedom House has called the recent arrests
"disturbing" and said further crackdowns "will be an indication not of
the Azeri regime's strength, but rather its weakness."
The March 11 campaign has sparked efforts from pro-government youth
groups to discredit activists like Hajiyev and question the loyalties
of government opponents. But Hajiyev's mother, Solida Movlayeva,
argues her son is fighting for a better Azerbaijan.
"Bakhtiyar has been detained for his political views, because of his
search for justice," Movlayeva says. "He's a patriotic young man who
loves his country and its people. Otherwise he never would have
returned after paying to get an education somewhere else."
Preparing For The Worst
Many countries have seen a rise in public protests inspired by the
political turmoil in Tunisia and Egypt. Oil-rich Azerbaijan, which is
ruled with an iron grip by Aliyev and a tightly knit network of
allies, has been no exception, with widespread poverty and political
and religious repression fueling anger among ordinary Azerbaijanis.
Mindful of the mood, the government has attempted to stave off public
unrest by trumpeting a new anticorruption drive. But critics have
shrugged off such campaigns as window-dressing and accuse the
government of redoubling its pressure on activists and boosting the
police presence in Baku. (The government's lockdown efforts have been
so strenuous they've spawned a March 11 joke among young Azerbaijani
activists: "If they're trying this hard, we'd better show up!")
The government in recent days has also sought to crack down on a
number of foreign NGOs operating in Azerbaijan, including the U.S.
National Democratic Institute, a nonprofit group working with youth
groups in the country. An NDI employee in Azerbaijan told RFE/RL the
group's country director received a letter from the Justice Ministry
requesting their office be closed.
In a statement published on its website on March 9, the Azerbaijani
Interior Ministry likewise blamed foreign agents for the rising
unrest, saying that "radical opposition forces" were attempting to
"create color revolutions in Azerbaijan."
"Adventurers are trying to take advantage of the developments in North
Africa, and are using as their tools a group of youths and some NGOs
that are directly dependent on foreign donations," the ministry said.
"But they forget that Azerbaijani youth will not be fooled by these
crazy attempts."
The government has even brought out its chief psychiatric expert to
warn about the consequences of Facebook-style revolt. Speaking to the
Trend news agency, Garay Geraybeyli advised the country's online
activists to seek mental help and said, "Those who prefer virtual
communication have problems communicating in real life. Such people
have a limited vocabulary. They have problems speaking."
Geraybeyli's admonition apparently does not extend to the country's
president, Ilham Aliyev, who recently waded into the world of social
networking by launching his own Twitter and YouTube pages.
Written in Prague by Daisy Sindelar based on reporting by Arife Kazimova in Baku
From: A. Papazian