The Voice of Mirza Xazar: Category News

DEBKAfile: Egypt nears military coup. USS warships in Suez Canal

Mirza Khazar — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 09:58:33 -0500

source: debkafile

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 8, 2011

USS Kearsarge with Marine helicoptersA fresh surge of popular anti-Mubarak protest ripping across Egypt Tuesday, Feb. 8 has brought the country closer to a military coup to stem the anarchy than at any time since the street caught fire on Jan. 25.

Vice President Omar Suleiman warned a group of Egyptian news editors that the only choice is between a descent into further lawlessness and a military takeover in Cairo. The distinguished political pundit of the 1960s and 1970s Hasnin Heikal saw no other way out of the crisis but a government ruling by the army's bayonets.

The arrival of US naval, marine and air forces in the Suez Canal's Greater Bitter Lake indicated that the crisis was quickly swerving out of control.

debkafile's military sources report that the American force consists of the USS Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group of six warships. Helicopters on some of their decks are there to carry and drop the 2,200 marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit which has been bolstered by two special operations battalions.

The flotilla has a rapid strike stealth submarine, the USS Scranton, which is designed to support special forces' operations.

The US strike force has taken up position at a strategic point opposite Ismailia between the west bank of the Suez Canal and its eastern Sinai bank. It is poised for rapid response in the event of the passage of about 40 percent of the world's marine freights through the Suez Canal being threatened or any other extreme occurrence warranting US military intervention.

For a few hours Tuesday, it looked as though Egypt was finally going back to normal after a two-week popular uprising. But then, suddenly, thousands again took to the streets and squares of Egyptian towns - from the Western desert on the Libyan border up to the northern Sinai town of El Arish in the east, recalling Hosni Mubarak's warning of chaos if he were to depart too soon.

They mounted their biggest demonstration of the campaign to oust Mubarak - in Cairo, Alexandria, the Delta Cities, the industrial belt around Mahalla-el-Kebir and the steel city of Heluan, shouting "Death to Mubarak!" and "Hang Mubarak!"
Although reforms and pay hikes have been pledged by the new Egyptian government, large groups of workers, mainly in Cairo, rebelled against state-appointed managements and set up "Revolutionary Committees" to run factories and other work places, including Egyptian state TV and Egypt's biggest weekly "Ros el-Yusuf."

The stock market and the pyramids remained closed and traffic blocked solid on the streets of Cairo.

DEBKAfile http://www.debka.com/article/20646/

Political parties represented in the Swedish Parliament express their concern over the detoriation of freedom of expression and human rights in Azerbaijan

Mirza Khazar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:45:45 -0400

ll seven of the political parties represented in the Swedish Parliament, The Social-democratic Party, The Conservatie Party, The Liberal Party, The Centre Party, The Christian-democratic Party, The Green Party and the Left Party, are involved in the case of Emin and Adnan. Six of them have already taken action and the seventh are preparing forceful actions.

Also, the Youth Federations of the above mentioned parties have come together and engaged in this question, as well as the Swedish blogworld which is soon launching an international solidarity campaign with the two arrested bloggers.

Swedish parliamentarians demand that the EU observs the trial of Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizadeh

In a joint pressrelease the spokespersons on foreign affairs questions for the Swedish Social-democratic Party, the Left Party and the Green Party demand that the Swedish government, as holder of the EU presidency, sends an observer to the trial of Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizadeh. The members of the Foreign Affairs Committe also express their concern over the detoriation of freedom of expression and human rights in Azerbaijan and calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to release Emin and Adnan.

source: Nərgiz Nedayi

Swedish Youth Federations demand the immediate release of Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizadeh in a letter to President Aliyev

Mirza Khazar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:36:28 -0400

Leaders of all the Youth Federations of the seven political parties in the Swedish Parliament, have in a joint letter to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, expressed their concern over the detainment of the two young bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizadeh. The letter states that the youth leaders finds the arrestment of Emin and Adnan politically motivated and demand their immediate and unconditional release. They also demand that all charges against them are dropped and that the perpetrators are brought to account. The letter is ended with a note to the Azerbaijani government underlining that the undersigned will continue to follow the case of the two bloggers, as well as the genreal development in the country.

source: Nərgiz Nedayi

Human Rights Foundations Appeal On Behalf of Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade

Mirza Khazar — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:36:00 -0400

Minister of Internal Affairs

AZ 1001, 7 H.Hajiyev

Republic of Azerbaijan

Fax: (99412) 492 45 90

Oslo, 11. July 2009

The Human Rights House Foundation, the Rafto Foundation, Norway, The Human Rights House Azerbaijan, the Human Rights House Sarajevo, the Human Rights House Skopje, The Belarusian Human Rights House in exile, the Armenian Helsinki Association and the Human Rights Center Georgia condemn the unlawful detention and call for an immediate release of Emin Milli (Abdullayev), Coordinator of Alumni Network (AN) Youth Organization and leader of ANTV Online TV, and one of OL Youth Organization’s coordinators, well-known video-blogger Adnan Hajizade. According to the information received by the Human Rights House Azerbaijan, Emin Milli (Abdullayev) and Adnan Hajizade were detained on 8 July 2009.

The Human Rights House Foundation and ++… call for an immediate release of Emin Milli (Abdullayev) Adnan Hajizade from detention, which contradicts Article 5 of the European Convention to which Azerbaijan is a party. We would also like to remind that according to Article 11.1 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, "everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others."

Background information:

On 8 July, at approximately 8:00 p.m. Baku time, Emin Milli (Abdullayev) and Adnan Hajizade were sitting at a table in a restaurant along with several other young adults, discussing the activity of youth organizations related to the internet, when two people that looked like sportsmen came up to them, insulted them, and demanded that they stop talking about politics. Then they attacked Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, causing physical injuries. The restaurant staff and other youth interfered to save them from attackers.

Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli sustained several injuries. Adnan Hajizade’s nose was broken and he sustained bruising on his face, around his eyes and on other parts of his body. It is said that Emin Milli sustained several injuries to his face, and possibly a crack in one of the bones in his foot.

Victims Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade appealed to police immediately and asked for medical assistance at the police department, however they were not provided with any assistance. Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade demanded a lawyer and their lawyers went to the police department to represent the youth, however police did not let allow the lawyers to see Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade. Although they appealed to police as victims, police detained Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade under article 221.2.1 (hooliganism) of the Criminal Code after five hours of interrogation and freed the attackers.

Police have not provided any official information about the detention of Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, and for 17 hours the youth were deprived of the opportunity to meet with their lawyers. Although the incident occurred at 8 p.m. on 8 July, the lawyers only finally met with Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade at 3 p.m. on 9 July.

According to the latest information, the judge has approved a 2-month preliminary; the lawyer has a right to appeal against it.

We urge the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release the detained youth activists Emin Milli (Abdullayev) and Adnan Hajizade and to investigate the beatings of them.

Sincerely,

The Norwegian Human Rights House (on behalf of the following NGOs):

- The Human Rights House Foundation

The Rafto Foundation, Bergen

Human Rights House Azerbaijan

The Belarusian Human Rights House in exile in Vilnius (Lithuania)

Human Rights House Sarajevo (on behalf of the following NGOs):

- Association of Female Citizens "Renaissance"

- Foundation CURE

- Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina

- Regional Co-ordinator for Youth Groups

- Serb Civic Council - Movement for Equality - The Council of the Sarajevo Canton

- Woman and Society Centre

Human Rights House Skopje (on behalf of the following NGOs):

- Association for Democratic Initiatives (ADI)

- The First Children’s Embassy in the World – "Megjashi"

- Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Macedonia

- Macedonian Women’s Rights Centre (MWRC) - Shelter Centre

- Polio Plus – Movement Against Disability

Armenian Helsinki Association

Human Rights Center, Georgia

Copies have been sent to:

* Delegation of the European Commission to Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan
*
* Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Council of Europe
*
* UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders
*
* The OSCE/ODIHR, Human Rights Focal Point, Warsaw
*
* The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Azerbaijan
*
* The Human Rights House Network

With warm regards,

Fuad Hasanov
Director, Democracy Monitor

Azerbaijan: ARTICLE 19 Deplores Harassment of Internet Journalists

Mirza Khazar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:21:19 -0400

ARTICLE 19 calls on the Government of Azerbaijan to immediately drop
the politically-motivated charges of hooliganism against two
journalists, Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, who are currently being
held in pre-trial detention.

Milli, who works for ANTV Online, and Hajizade, a video blogger, were
detained on 8 July 2009, after they reported being assaulted in a Baku
restaurant to police. They were allegedly attacked in a restaurant by
two individuals who demanded that they stop discussing politics; Milli
and Hajizade had been sitting with a group of young people, discussing
the activities of their youth organisations. When Milli and Hajizade
appealed to police at the Sabail District Police Department and
requested medical assistance, they were instead detained under charges
of “hooliganism” (under Article 221.2.1 of the Azerbaijani
Criminal Code). On 10 July, the Sabail District Court ordered Milli
and Hajizade to be detained for two months in pre-trial detention.

ARTICLE 19 is concerned that these events are another measure by the
Azerbaijani authorities to silence independent and opposition
journalists.

This is not the first time the Azerbaijani authorities have used
criminal charges, such as “hooliganism” to intimidate journalists
in cases considered to be politically motivated. In November 2007, the
editor-in-chief of opposition newspaper Azadliq, Ganimat Zahid, was
arrested and sentenced to four years in prison in March 2008. A
similar charge was used in the case of Yeni Musavat columnist Mahal
Ismayiloglu, who was convicted on 1 July 2009 and received a two-year
suspended sentence.

“It is unacceptable that these two men, who were subjected to an
unprovoked attack, should now face criminal charges,” comments Dr
Agnès Callamard, ARTICLE 19 Executive Director. “The authorities
are persecuting the victims, rather than the perpetrators, in a manner
which looks entirely politically motivated.”

Milli and Hajizade’s detention happens against a backdrop of other
disturbing actions by the Azerbaijani authorities, which have had a
negative impact on freedom of expression in the country. For example,
on 10 May 2009, police used physical force against four journalists
who were covering events related to the annual Flower Holiday, as well
as beating members of the public and detaining approximately 50
demonstrators. In addition, the Azerbaijani authorities have yet to
disclose the findings of their investigation into the killing of 13
people at the State Oil Academy in Baku on 30 April 2009. Journalists
attempting to investigate these killings were prevented by authorities
from accessing information.

The Government of Azerbaijan has ratified the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and ARTICLE 19 calls on the
authorities to respect its commitments under international law. We
also request the authorities to immediately release Emin Milli and
Adnan Hajizade without charge, and to thoroughly investigate and
prosecute those responsible for assaulting them.

Azeri Liberal Expelled from University

Mirza Khazar — Sat, 02 May 2009 20:24:13 -0400

DECLARATION

From: Dalga (Wave) Youth Movement (IFLRY Candidate Member)

To: International Liberal Youth Organizations

On behalf of Dalga (Wave) Youth Movement, we appeal to all youth organizations acting in the worldwide and notify that we are the friends of freedom, liberalism and protectors of the democracy, freedom of speech, human rights and pluralism of ideas. During our five years’ activity we always supported the formation of free youth and development of free media. We fought against the authoritarian regime in Azerbaijan government. We fought against the breach of human rights, strangling of freedom of the press, increased corruption. We are planning to continue this in future.

Recently Parviz Azimov, the head of South office of Dalga (Wave) Youth Movement, the correspondent of the newspaper “ The South News” and the IV year student of Lankaran State University was expelled from the university because of his article written in the newspapers “South News” and “Alma” (Dalga Youth Movement’s ), as well as in Qaynar.info information portal. As a reason of expelling, it was mentioned that he is breaking the discipline rules in the university.

So, according to the previously prepared scenario, Parviz Azimov was called to the yard of the university by another student and he was bitten by that student. Hence the student gave an explanation to the Dean against Parviz Azimov and as a result Parviz Azimov was expelled from university with false accusation. Though the document about his expelling was written on March 5, the document was delivered to Parviz on March 13, 2009 only. And the copy of this document was sent to Lankaran Military Registration and Enlistment Office. This fact proves once more that his expelling was prepared previously.

Later the student given the false explanation against Parviz, repented and informed that he had written the explanation under pressure.

But, the authority of the University did not pay attention to this and did not change his decision.

On behalf of Dalga (Wave) Youth Movement we have sent official request to the Ministry of Education, the University Ombudsman, President’s Office, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, but the problem is still unsolved. We have sent request to the Court as well. Onwards, we are marching in support of Parviz’s rights and enlighten this fact in press daily.

We should note that analogical subversion activities are occurred against free thoughtful people frequently. So, two years ago the chief editor of “Azadlig” was held guilty in alleged hooliganism, his brother, the correspondent of the “Azadlig” Mirza Sakit was condemned in alleged drug using, the chief editor of the newspapers “Gundalik Azerbaycan” ( The Daily Azerbijan) and “Realniy Azerbaycan” ( The Real Azerbaijan) Eynulla Fatullayev was considered to be guilty in alleged treason and were sentenced to imprisonment. These actions are against media freedom and freedom of speech. Azerbaijan government is ignoring the demands of International Organizations about stopping repressions again media freedom and freedom of speech.

May 1, 2009 Baku, Azerbaijan

Sincerely,

Vafa Djafarova

The chairman of Dalga (Wave) Youth Movement

Orkhan Nabiyev

Co-ordinator of International Relations

URL: http://iflry.org/blogs/mos/archive/2009/05/01/Azeri-Liberal-Expelled-from-University.aspx

BAKU STUDENTS RALLY FOR OFFICIAL MOURNING PERIOD

Mirza Khazar — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:38:59 -0400

Roughly 2,000 students demonstrated in Baku on May 1, calling on the government to declare a period of national mourning for 13 individuals killed by a lone gunman at the prestigious State Oil Academy, the Turan news agency reported.

The government has not yet responded to the request, although Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on April 30 ordered financial assistance to be extended to relatives of the victims. The government will pay 30,000 manats (about $37,286) to families of the deceased and 15,000 manats (about $18,643) to families of the 12 individuals wounded, APA news agency reported.

The father of alleged gunman Farda Gadirov, a Russian citizen, told the APA news agency that he would fly to Baku from Moscow to assist in the investigation.

APA also reported that another Georgian man of Azeri origin has been detained in Baku. Authorities suspect that Nadir Aliyev -- who comes from Gadirov's native village of Dashtepe in Georgia's predominantly Azeri-populated Marneuli region, and who reportedly knew the gunman well -- could be linked to the shootings.

URL: http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/news/articles/eav050109a.shtml

PACE RAPPORTEUR VISITED NOVRUZALI MAMMADOV IN PRISON

Mirza Khazar — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:08:03 -0400

BAKU/10.04.09/TURAN: On April 8, 2009 Andres Herkel, rapporteur of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and Veronika Kotek, special representative of the General Secretary of Council of Europe in Azerbaijan, met with Novruzali Mammadov, head of the Talysh Cultural Centre, who is servicing his term of imprisonment in the high security colony No 15.

A source from the Committee for Mammadov’s Rights told Turan that the meeting took about two hours. Mammadov said that the charge on cooperation with the Iranian security services brought against him is “absurd.” The verdict read that Tolyshi Sado newspaper published by Mammadov was nationalistic and paved the way for the Talysh autonomy in the future.

Herkel said he and Christopher Schtrasser, the recently appointed PACE rapporteur for political prisoners, is familiar with his case and he will remind president about it during the meeting. Herkel also said that Schtrasser will meet with Mammadov during his first visit to Baku.

Norvegian Helsinki Committee: Referendum in an atmosphere of intimidation and fear

Mirza Khazar — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:27:55 -0400

STATEMENT ON THE REFERENDUM IN THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN
18 March 2009

Referendum in an atmosphere of intimidation and fear

Baku, 19 March 2009. The Referendum over Constitutional amendments in the Republic of Azerbaijan took place in an atmosphere of intimidation of voters and of all those who opposed the reform of the Constitution. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee has listened to numerous witnesses recounting how they have been subjected to pressure to coerce them to go the vote during yesterdays’ poll. The hastily called referendum was never subjected to a meaningful public debate, which would have allowed for raising any relevant concerns related to the Constitutional reforms. The speedy procedure also puts into questions the legality of the called referendum.

The Constitutional reform put to referendum contains as many as 41 amendments and additions to 29 articles of the Constitution. The referendum covers a wide range of issues with no apparent common theme. In the case of a referendum, all voters are in need of thorough information, and the campaign period should allow for discussion of the pros and contras of each amendment. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in the period leading up to the referendum.

The amendment causing the highest concern is the removal of the two-term limit of the President of the article 101(V).

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee believes that the abolishment of the two-term limit of the President of the Republic will contribute to further consolidation of powers in a country where power is already concentrated. The core of the rule of law is the separation of powers. In Azerbaijan, as is also the case in other republics, power is concentrated in the hands of the President, while that of the legislature or the judiciary is relatively weaker. Therefore, the regular change of regime through the process of election is the method to prevent too strong a concentration of powers in the hands of the President. By removing the limitation of terms, Azerbaijan is moving away from European governance practices. In Europe, presidency without limitation of terms exists only in the Republic of Belarus, often called ‘the last dictatorship in Europe’.

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee is also very concerned about the additions to the articles 32 (III) regarding the Right to personal immunity after which the Constitution now provides that “no one shall be followed, filmed, photographed, recorded, or subjected to any other similar actions without his or her knowledge or despite his or her disapproval, except for cases established by law”. The article opens to a wide interpretation of the right to privacy, which in turn could be used in practice to exclude unwelcome journalists from reporting on events of public interest.

In Azerbaijan, the practice of impeding the freedom of expression is already a matter of serious concern, and the existing legislation has been frequently misused the to raise defamation charges against journalists critical to the government. Article 32 (III) may open further such abuse. As an example, the photographic documentation of a police official abusing a citizen may be refused publication under the pretext of personal immunity, or, in the case of publication, the journalist and media outlet may be subject to administrative or criminal responsibility.

The killing of the prominent editor Elmar Huseynov in 2005 remains unsolved. The journalists Qanimat Zahidov, Eynulla Fatullayev, Mushfig Huseynov and Novruzali Mammedov have been sentenced to long prison terms and are considered prisoners of conscience.

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee believes that basic conditions for democracy and freedom of choice is not present in Azerbaijan. This requires a vivid public debate free of fear for repercussions, a free press and equal conditions for all political forces in the country.

Protest Rally Was Held In New York Against Unlimited Presidency In Azerbaijan

Mirza Khazar — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:43:28 -0500

New York, USA. January 9, 2009: Azerbaijani-Americans for Democracy (AZAD) organization held its second protest action today against the removal of term limits on the presidency in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijanis living in the United States protested in New York in front of United Nations building. Over 20 protesters held signs and chanted slogans “No to Monarchy”, “Free Media in Azerbaijan”, “Save Republic”, “No King for Azerbaijan”.

An appeal to all democratic countries in the world to support Azerbaijani people in their struggle to preserve the Republic and future of democracy in Azerbaijan was distributed to the representatives of member countries of the U.N. and the organizations offices in New York.

The previous protest picket of AZAD took place in Washington, DC on December 30, 2008 in front of Azerbaijani Embassy.

Below is a photosession from todays protest rally in New York.

http://azerireport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=876&Itemid=49