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THE HILL: ACCORDING TO ILHAM ALIYEV'S TWEETS HE LIVES IN 'UTOPIA'
19:29 05/02/2015 >> POLITICS
If one lived within the confines of the Azerbaijani president's
official Twitter account, one might think Azerbaijan is situated within
Utopia, writes Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, the writer of the book
"Nowhere: The Story of Exile" in the site of "The Hill".
As noted in the article, independent coverage of the rigged elections,
violations of the rights of journalists, civil society and activists
are in contradiction with statements of Aliyev in microblog "Twitter".
"What Aliyev forgets to include in his Twitter monologues are
the recently raised concerns by U.S. Secretary of State Kerry of
Azerbaijan's human rights abuses. Once these concerns were raised,
Azerbaijani authorities raided and closed Radio Free Europe - Radio
Liberty's Baku bureau, interrogated its employees while denying them
access to legal representation. According to RFE/RL, the bureau, funded
by the U.S. government, was taken over by Azerbaijani prosecutor's
office, which confiscated documents and equipment before sealing
off the premises. The criticism that triggered such a response
focused on treatment of journalists, specifically the imprisonment
of investigative journalists and rights activists Leyla Yunus, her
husband Arif, and Khadija Ismayilova," the author writes.
The author reminds that in his op-ed in the Wall Street Journal,
David J. Kramer of Human Rights and Democracy at the McCain Institute,
called the raid "a direct challenge to the U.S.," and called for U.S.
to "impose consequences on" Aliyev's "thuggish" regime. Kramer
correctly pointed out that some responded to the dictator's capricious
actions, as did the Council of Europe's human-rights chief, Nils
Muiznieks, and several U.N. envoys. The war of words erupted when
the U.S. Ambassador to OSCE, Daniel Baer, tweeted that the raid was a
"behavior of weak, insecure corrupt governments and leaders." Words
are not enough. "Why does the Aliyev regime think it can get away with
its abuses?" Kramer asks, before answering, "Because so far it has."
"With the unfolding of the tragic events in Paris, the Azerbaijani
crackdown is alarming to the observers. But this reality always
simmered under the glittery disguise of Baku's downtown, with promises
of a progressive nation, eager to receive its investors.
Azerbaijan's abuses have been swept under the rug not only with its
internal crackdowns on freedom, but also with its blatant disregard to
international law over the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) conflict,"
Astvatsaturian Turcotte stresses, specifically, the 2014 downing
of the NKR military helicopter did not trigger any strong OSCE,
or world, reactions.
In response to Aliyev's tweets that Armenia does not want peace,
while the Minsk Group can't achieve any result in this matter, the
author notes that this speech doesn't correspond to reality.
"As far as NKR and Armenia are concerned, peace is the only thing that
is advantageous for the continued development of the two Armenian
nations. Since 1994 NKR enjoyed rebuilding of its nation, free of
Azerbaijani aggression. Why, then, would NKR disturb the peace it has
won, and the roads and buildings it has built in the last 21 years,
by agitating a war-mongering neighbor next door that threatens war
daily?" the author wonders.
"And every time Aliyev gets bored, expect a tweet from him describing
his fictitious Utopia," Astvatsaturian Turcotte says and adds,
yet on the 25th anniversary of Baku pogroms when innocent Armenian
population of Azerbaijan was killed, violated and exiled from their
homes, one of his 43 tweets that day declares: "Armenia is a powerless
and poor country.
The author calls on the US administration to enforce consequences on
Azerbaijan's disregard for human rights and international agreements
by which it must abide.
http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2015/02/05/anna-aliyev-twitter/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
19:29 05/02/2015 >> POLITICS
If one lived within the confines of the Azerbaijani president's
official Twitter account, one might think Azerbaijan is situated within
Utopia, writes Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, the writer of the book
"Nowhere: The Story of Exile" in the site of "The Hill".
As noted in the article, independent coverage of the rigged elections,
violations of the rights of journalists, civil society and activists
are in contradiction with statements of Aliyev in microblog "Twitter".
"What Aliyev forgets to include in his Twitter monologues are
the recently raised concerns by U.S. Secretary of State Kerry of
Azerbaijan's human rights abuses. Once these concerns were raised,
Azerbaijani authorities raided and closed Radio Free Europe - Radio
Liberty's Baku bureau, interrogated its employees while denying them
access to legal representation. According to RFE/RL, the bureau, funded
by the U.S. government, was taken over by Azerbaijani prosecutor's
office, which confiscated documents and equipment before sealing
off the premises. The criticism that triggered such a response
focused on treatment of journalists, specifically the imprisonment
of investigative journalists and rights activists Leyla Yunus, her
husband Arif, and Khadija Ismayilova," the author writes.
The author reminds that in his op-ed in the Wall Street Journal,
David J. Kramer of Human Rights and Democracy at the McCain Institute,
called the raid "a direct challenge to the U.S.," and called for U.S.
to "impose consequences on" Aliyev's "thuggish" regime. Kramer
correctly pointed out that some responded to the dictator's capricious
actions, as did the Council of Europe's human-rights chief, Nils
Muiznieks, and several U.N. envoys. The war of words erupted when
the U.S. Ambassador to OSCE, Daniel Baer, tweeted that the raid was a
"behavior of weak, insecure corrupt governments and leaders." Words
are not enough. "Why does the Aliyev regime think it can get away with
its abuses?" Kramer asks, before answering, "Because so far it has."
"With the unfolding of the tragic events in Paris, the Azerbaijani
crackdown is alarming to the observers. But this reality always
simmered under the glittery disguise of Baku's downtown, with promises
of a progressive nation, eager to receive its investors.
Azerbaijan's abuses have been swept under the rug not only with its
internal crackdowns on freedom, but also with its blatant disregard to
international law over the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) conflict,"
Astvatsaturian Turcotte stresses, specifically, the 2014 downing
of the NKR military helicopter did not trigger any strong OSCE,
or world, reactions.
In response to Aliyev's tweets that Armenia does not want peace,
while the Minsk Group can't achieve any result in this matter, the
author notes that this speech doesn't correspond to reality.
"As far as NKR and Armenia are concerned, peace is the only thing that
is advantageous for the continued development of the two Armenian
nations. Since 1994 NKR enjoyed rebuilding of its nation, free of
Azerbaijani aggression. Why, then, would NKR disturb the peace it has
won, and the roads and buildings it has built in the last 21 years,
by agitating a war-mongering neighbor next door that threatens war
daily?" the author wonders.
"And every time Aliyev gets bored, expect a tweet from him describing
his fictitious Utopia," Astvatsaturian Turcotte says and adds,
yet on the 25th anniversary of Baku pogroms when innocent Armenian
population of Azerbaijan was killed, violated and exiled from their
homes, one of his 43 tweets that day declares: "Armenia is a powerless
and poor country.
The author calls on the US administration to enforce consequences on
Azerbaijan's disregard for human rights and international agreements
by which it must abide.
http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2015/02/05/anna-aliyev-twitter/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress