Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

[Persopolis]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Isn't the whole point why Iran is called Iran and not Persia is because of the multiple ethnic groups that make up the Iranian state? I didn't think it forces integration either, it would beat the point of the republic.

Hi Federate, in response you are correct. I've excerpted an explanation I wrote to Mos on a similar topic (copied below); Iran-Zamin (technically "The Land of the Aryans") has smaller constituent groups (mostly on its border regions, for example: SouthWest = small minority of Arabs; NorthEast = small population of Turkmen (not to be confused with Azeris); Western Border = small population of Kurds); Parskahye = all over but with a historic presence in Shiraz & Tehran (Parskahye = Persian-Armenians, from the prefix "Pars"). You are correct: Iran has no problem with any group in the abstract, unless they want to exert a pretext for separatism and turmoil). The word Persian comes the prefix Pars (Iran's cultural capital is called Pars); it's combined with the suffix "ian," meaning "to originate from," thus Pars + ian = Persian (Greeks used the spelling "Pers" = Pers + ian - Pers-opolis). There is a city called Pars-Abad that's walking distance from Armenia (it means "City of Persians") - one of the reasons we know the Turks have screwed over the Armenians is that we have been next door neighbors for thousands of years; Parskahye have always been good citizens of Iran, allies since the times of antiquity, and brothers (intermarriage & shared houses of nobility). In the Azeri/Azari context, my response to Mos is below, and I think it's useful for Armenians to know in formulating their strategy. The real enemy is Pan-Turkism and its supporters. Pan-Turkists have literally been stealing Persian, Armenian, & Georgian history and using it as their own to justify expansion and land theft. Basically, they're causing a huge nuisance in the neighborhood, and it is about time we banded together as neighbors to say "enough is enough."

(Asked by Mos) I agree with that, but then why are the Iranian authorities so afraid of the Azari minority wanting to succeed?

ANSWER: The Grey Wolf "Turkic-Azeris" send agents into the Persian-Azari population and try to sell them a false bill of goods that they are Turks (a concept sometimes called 'Pan Turkism.') (Information about Pan-Turkism and its dangers:http://www.rozanehma...azariINDEX.HTML)

* Persian-Azaris = on Armenia's side & vastly greater in numbers (millions).
* Pan-Turkic Azeris = Bad guys (like Aliyev/Grey Wolves) & are a small handful of trouble-makers (but they are the ruling elite of The Republic of Azerbaijan).

It's important to note that the name Azerbaijan is a stolen word - it's originally Persian not Turkic; "The Republic of Azerbaijan" needed a pretense to make a country, and they *borrowed* (without asking) that word. The so-called minority population the government of Iran impedes are spies, provocateurs ("inciting agents"), or brainwashed kids being used to put pressure on Iran. (Here's how it works: A spy agency sends in a bunch of cash, gets a handful of people to push for *minority rights* and tries to build a critical mass of followers under the sole pretense of causing ethnic strife to put pressure on the leadership of the country (under an implied threat of separatism) - the government of Iran then rounds them up (and the rest isn't pleasant!).

What are the implications for Armenians? Well can you imagine what would happen if the Pan-Turkists brainwashed a million or two Persians living on the border with Armenia into thinking they are ethnic Turks who should join Aliyev? If I was Armenian, I would volunteer to give the handful of separatists in Iran a beat-down. We know that Stalin and Grey Wolves employed this tactic - after the USSR folded, a number of Russian secret documents were de-classified from Stalin's era, and admitted the tactic.

"The Republic of Azerbaijan" is a Pan-Turkic entity - in contrast, the province of Azerbaijan in Iran is mostly Persian, but because of a recent historical phenomenon (one of Iran's most hated Shahs made good friends with the Turks and decided to conduct government business in Turkish) people in Northern Iran had their language changed to a Turkic dialect due to commerce etc. with the Turks. However, their original language for several thousand years was 'Pahlavi' (Middle Persian). Thus, the Grey Wolves et al. think that because of the recent language change in the North of Iran, they can sell Persian-Azaris the idea that they are ethnic Turks. The government of Iran has told people to stop speaking that B.S. language, and revert back to their Persian mother-tongue.

I noticed that there was a guy on this site named "Azar" - he was a Persian-Azari (= friendly to Armenia).

Another way of thinking about this issue: Imagine that Armenia starts doing business with China, and the leadership of Armenia foolishly decides to switch the Armenian state language to Chinese to foster commerce with China. After a while, some Armenians start speaking a dialect of Chinese. Then imagine that the Chinese start calling themselves *Armenians* and sending paid agents to Armenia to convince gullible Armenian kids that the Chinese are also Armenians and that they should separate a portion of Armenia and fuse it with Hong Kong. In essence, this is what the "Republic of Azerbaijan" is -- a pure contrivance based on stolen terminology. What allowed this to happen? Baku fell under Russia's (and later Stalin's) control for about 150 years, and Stalin felt that he needed a buffer zone because the Persian Empire was a threat to him - so he actively encouraged Pan-Turkism to give Russia a territorial buffer zone. There are a lot of great books written about this; and if you speak Persian, some of it is actually pretty funny because Stalin misapplied a lot of words and concepts. For example, ask an Azer-Turk to explain why they live in a country named after the Persian General of the Persian King Darius whose name was Azer-ba-gan ("protected by fire") - they have no answer. What's funny is that the Azerbaboons now admit that they stole the word -- From the Azerbaboon Official Government Site: "4th-3rd century BC – Darius III’s (Persian King of Kings) General Atropat is made King of Media Minor. Thus, the land is named after him as 'Atoorpatkan'." (http://www.azembassy.org.uk/sehife.p...=eng&page=0105.)

Of course everyone knows that Darius the Great was a Persian King (e.g., most of the ancient ruins like Persopolis are in Iran near the town of Shiraz where a lot of Persian-Armenians are also from).

QUESTION TO ASK AZERI-TURKS: Why is your 'Turkic' country named after a Persian General who served a Persian King? (Incidentally, the Kingdom of Armenia existed at that time and was a recognized subdivision of the Persian empire - an ally.)

[Karabed]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Azerbaijan warns activists against any unauthorized public event

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has warned that any actions by someone or any political forces not authorized by the executive power will not be allowed, the Azerbaijan news agency APA reported.

“We state univocally that the actions not authorized by the executive power will be prevented by the interior agencies,” said the statement.

The announcement came as a response to calls on social networks about mass actions in Baku on March 11 - “Great People’s Day.”

A group of young people announced on Facebook that they will start actions on that day. One of the initiators named Bakhtiar was reportedly arrested. It is not clear whether the arrest was related to the issue.

According to Caucasus.foreignpolicyblogs.com, the event was launched on facebook and has spread to other media.People are being urged to stage symbolic or actual protests “in a civil way without provocations” in villages and cities across the country on the 11th.

Twitter updates for the event can be found at #11mart.

The organizers sent out more than 35,000 invitations for people to support the event, but as of the early hours of 8 March (Azerbaijan time), only 3200 or so had clicked the “I’m Attending” button, with 5,577 saying they would not attend.

Twitter
Facebook

3,456 Attending

3 days to go. They will probably fail, getting crushed by the government. But interesting nonetheless.

[Armanen]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

The azeri scum enjoy living like slaves!

[Federate]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Posted this in the information war thread and posting it here too.

Սիրելի Հայրենակիցներ, նախ ասեմ որ ես Մեսրոպեան (այսինքն Դասական) ուղղագրութիւն պիտի օգտագործեմ որպեսզի հեշտութեամբ չթարգմանեն ազրբեյջանցիները այս խօսքերը։ Նաեւ մի կառք մասնաւոր ուղագրաքան սխալնէր պիտի անեմ որ աւելի դժուարացնեմ իրենց գործը։

Վէրջին օրերում նկատել եմ որ Ազրբեյճանի քաղաքական իռավիճակը տաքացում է եւ Ալիյեւը վախենում է որ ինչ որ պատահում է ար աբական աշխարհում նրա գլխին էլ պտի հասնի։ ԵթԷ Twitter-ի հաշիւ ունէք, ձէզանից խնդրում եմ որ տեղեկութիւն տարածէք այդ կայքում Ազրբէյջանական յեղափոխութեան մասին եւ օգտագործէք #11March #11Mart #Azerbaijan #corruption tag-երը (ամէնակարեւորը #11March tag-ն է)։

Եթէ Twitter չունէք, առաջարկում եմ ձէզ գրանցուէք եւ հաշիւ բացէք քանի որ շատ կարէւոր գործիք է «տեղեկատուական պատէրազմում»։ Կեղծ հաշիւների ստեղծումը երբէք վատ գաղափառ չի։ Twitter-ի օգնությամբ 30-տարուա բռնակալներ տապալուել են 18 օրուա ընթացքում՝ դա է ուժը այդ կայքին։ Բամբասանքներ տարածէք եւ հնարեցէք ինչպես օրինակ՝ «Էրդողանը կոչ է անում որ Ալիյեւը հռաժառականը տա եւ ժողովուրդին հանցնի ուժերը» կամ «Ալիյեւը փոխանձում է նրա անձնական հարստութիւնը Փակիստանում եւ Միացեալ Ար աբական Էմիրութիւններում։», անգլերէնով։ Սրա նպատակն է գրգռելու ազրբէյջանցիները որ միմեանց ջարդեն Բաքուի փողոցներում եւ որ Ալիյեւը բանտարկի նրա քաղաքացիներին։

[ninetoyadome]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Azerbaijan: Facebook Users Have "Mental Problems"
March 9, 2011 - 11:32am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
Tamada Tales Azerbaijan
A March 11 rally against Azerbaijan's government, heavily promoted on Facebook, may or may not prove a real "day of rage," but Azerbaijani police are not taking any chances. Nor is Azerbaijan's chief psychiatrist, who would most likely advise the country's Facebook activists to visit their doctors for treatment of "mental problems."


Chief psychiatrist Garay Geraybeyli on March 7 appeared to use a Soviet-era tactic for quashing dissent by implying that individuals who frequent Facebook and other social networks are mentally unbalanced.

In an interview with the pro-government news agency Trend, Geraybeyli asserted that "People who prefer virtual relations have problems with real-life conversation. They do not have a sufficient vocabulary. They have problems with their speech . . . The result is mental problems."


That evaluation, however, has not stopped police with their cyber-crackdown.

Sakhavan Soltani, a member of the youth wing of the opposition Musavat Party, was hauled in for questioning on March 8. The day before, another anti-government activist, Rashadat Akhundov, was taken into custody. Earlier on, two other activists, involved in organizing the same Facebook "day of rage, " were handed prison sentences.


The crackdown has drawn criticism from the US embassy in Azerbaijan and international rights groups.

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63036

[ninetoyadome]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Is Azerbaijan Ready For Its Own Revolution?
March 13, 2011 - 11:25am, by Arife Kazimova and Daisy Sindelar
Azerbaijan Egypt
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from: RFE/RL
Inspired by last month's Egyptian uprising, young activists in Azerbaijan were calling for antigovernment demonstrations today -- 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 was uncertain what size or shape the protests would take -- or even if they'd 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 rallies on March 12. (Members of another opposition force, the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, are planning yet another protest in the coming days.)

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 Azerbaijani 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 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.

Editor's note: written in Prague by Daisy Sindelar based on reporting by Arife Kazimova in Baku

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63062

that was a great line, probably get killed by aliyev's henchmen for saying it but still.

[Federate]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Fresh Azeri protest

[Joseph]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Fresh Azeri protest

Cool. I hope it builds

[Federate]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Cool. I hope it builds

Builds just enough for them to kill each other and destabilise the country but not enough for there to actually change anything.

[Joseph]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Builds just enough for them to kill each other and destabilise the country but not enough for there to actually change anything.

Agree. The only thing that saved them in 1993 was the Heidar Aliyev cult of personality but there is no one in Absurdistan who can replicate his power over the Azeri people. If this escalates and snowballs into a widespread movement- and I hope it does- the Azeris could be doomed.