s Inga & Anush, whose “Jan Jan†came 10th. This was, apparently, not good enough for the Azerbaijani authorities. In recent weeks, several Azerbaijanis have been hauled in by the police, who are clearly in receipt of private telephone records, and invited to explain why they had voted for Armenia. One detainee told Radio Liberty that the cops had accused him of “lacking ethnic prideâ€. To which there are two retorts. First, that a country possessed of any pride either sits out Eurovision or laughs it off. Second, that a state that harasses its citizens in this manner has little to be proud of. <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/efece5fa-906d-11de-bc99-00144feabdc0.html" rel="nofollow">link</a></blockquote>
]]>Moment of madness: The Eurovision witch-hunt
[…]
The 2009 event, held in Moscow in May, seemed a definitive derby win for Azerbaijan. Their entry, Aysel & Arash’s “Alwaysâ€, finished a creditable third, a long way ahead of Armenia’s Inga & Anush, whose “Jan Jan†came 10th. This was, apparently, not good enough for the Azerbaijani authorities. In recent weeks, several Azerbaijanis have been hauled in by the police, who are clearly in receipt of private telephone records, and invited to explain why they had voted for Armenia. One detainee told Radio Liberty that the cops had accused him of “lacking ethnic prideâ€. To which there are two retorts. First, that a country possessed of any pride either sits out Eurovision or laughs it off. Second, that a state that harasses its citizens in this manner has little to be proud of. link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE0HmRCSkG8&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.allkindsofeverything.ie%2F&feature=player_embedded ]]>
The Azerbaijan Service of BBC has received a comment from the Ministry of National Security concerning the calls to th office who voted for the Armenian singers at Eurovision 2009.
A member of the MNS Jeyhun Suleimanov confirmed to BBC the call of Rovshan Nasirov and getting explanations from the latter.
In the view of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan is natural, said the officer.
http://top7.az/default.asp?yr=2009&tb=&vr=ru&mn=5819&pgnew=2&pgmain=1&pgexp=1&pgsit=&stnew=1&stmain=1&stexp=1&stsit=1&mon=&day= ]]>
]]>Eurovision: Azerbaijan Backs Down
Embarrassed government says Armenia song votes probe was a mistake.
The Azerbaijan security services’ interrogation of people who voted for Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest was “a mistake by one officialâ€, the government says, while commentators said the probe humiliated the whole country.
[…]
“I am sure this mistake was made by just one low-ranking official. And harm was done to the whole country,†said Togrul Juvarli, a political analyst.
“The political weight of this incident has been great. When it is important to show the world that we are a civilised country, we behave like this.â€
Nasirli said he was shocked by how little public protest there had been over the affair, and how the government was prepared to dismiss as a “mistake†the summoning of dozens of young people.
[…] link
The coordinated council of the worldwide Azerbaijanians set a round table on Friday on the subject:Was it correct for Azerbaijani 43 residents to vote for Armenia on Eurovision 2009?
Those who talked on debates accused the 43 Azerbaijanians who voted
for Armenia for the lack of patriotism and love towards homeland.Moreover
the leader of the Yought Organisation of Worldwide Azerbaijans
Seymour Hasanli called this fact “Armenian provocation & and a number of organisations who get grants ”
The leader of press service of this Social organisation Alirza Amanbayli
said:”The voting of this people for Armenians was organised beforehand
and they new that THEY KNEW THAT THEY WOULD BE CALLED to MNS and a scandal would be risen and it would give to some organisations to accuse Azerbaijan of the supressing freedom
http://www.news.bakililar.az/news_sovet … 24462.html ]]>
A member of Milli Mejlis,the head of the Committee on Culture, Nizami Safarov said: “The qualifications of the Ministry of National Security is very high. This structure could not deal with a challenge, and poll voters. This is a trifling talk. The security of any country can call any citizen of any of their interest. And it is not cause all sorts of media to discuss the validity of the security forces ”
Currently, Armenia, continued Safarov, being the aggressor, has a policy of conquest against Azerbaijan. Therefore, people who eat azerbaijiani bread and Azeri Azerbaijani citizens and at the same time voting for the Armenians in any competition, on a mandatory basis should be closely monitored and trials with MNS Otherwise, what is MNS ?
“Furthermore, what all this have to do with the organizers of” Eurovision “, who threaten us with sanctions, in our internal affairs” perplexed higher MP , there can not be talks about art, this kind of talks with the Armenians we finished long ago.
The resent intentions of Alla Pugacheva to give a concert in the Nagorno-Karabakh, we said to her – “go to Armenia and then give a concert”
In such a situation, even if the organizers of Eurovision deprive us the right to participate for several years in the competition, we can not set it aside because of the Karabakh .Either we should arrange concerts, or defend our land.
Even if they ban us for 10 years, the state should continue its control over these cases. As for the contests an songs, “concluded Safarov – Azerbaijan in future will have a lot of of time for singing and dancing.”
http://www.azadliq.org/content/article/1803368.html ]]>
Mobile Traitors
In recent days in our press as one of the most formidable challenges discussed the voting of 43 of our people for the Armenians in the Eurovision. In fact, no point in this discussion after 3 months and there would be, if not for the MNS, suddenly questioned these people.
thanks to them, long live our patriots for that in the newspapers and on television they chased these Mankurts, from corner to corner for their dastardly SMS.
Mostly my attention was attracted by the position of an ordinary citizen Aidan Gurbanova, in relation with these 43.«These people should be executed»-she said.
But what ,I liked it. Congratulations to all the journalists who scribbled on this subject a lot of pages in the newspapers and internet resources,your labour wasn’t wasted in vain. The common people, as we know never fail in their assessments and decisions.
You know, the 43’s, who gave their votes to the Armenians had to be put to death yesterday, August 23, just cause and was 16 th anniversary of the seizure Fizuli and Jabrail districts. No, really … the execution of 43-villains, with their shameful phone right at the alley martyrs think would be appropriate.
And in fact, they are voting for the Armenians, who have disgraced our homeland, our homeland before the whole world. A little more, we would have lost and honor and dignity, even slightly, and would have escaped from the hands of the last remnants Honour. I spit in your face! Mankurt degenerates!
Although. As it’s is the 24 August, is still not too late, hold them alive until 29 October and will betray the penalty on the day of the seizure Zangilan region.
Of course we can show humanism, to keep them alive, ashamed, let them live with this shameful black mark on his forehead, and cell phones. You can also enter the names of these 43-in big letters in a conspicuous place on the wall, and every day nationwide to come back and spit on them. In short, that in our country nobody would ever dare to vote for the Armenians.
In my opinion in this case there is a «great fault» Ismail Omarov, the head of Al. Public television, who during this same competition was unable to properly close the demonstration of SMS number, which could vote for the Armenians. Thus, 43 of our fellow strayed from the righteous path and succumbed to temptation. Ismail Muallim, you do not feel ashamed?
My claim also to the leaders Azerenegro, Bakelektroset who first had to be summoned to the MNS. And ask the full extent. Why, during the performance of the Armenian duo the electricity was not turned off? After doing so, they would have saved our 43-citizens from forced betrayal.
Moreover, we have such experiences,
In national issues, we can not compromise, the investigators correctly concluded ..
«Today you vote for the Armenians, and tomorrow you may blow up the subway»
To be honest, it would be good to collect and liquidate all mobile phones, well … for safety. For young people today are actively «chatting in Bluetooth, tomorrow they could become maniacs.
A sale of clothing company «Giorgio Armani» in Baku should be stopped immediately, because the label shamelessly resembles the word «Armenians». And lousy Europe go away with their care about the call of people to the MNS. Just think a great thing.
There is an ancient parable. some people decided to root out .. stealing
and they caought the horse (the thief himself managed to escape), which .. and decided to strip all their clothes and put it on the back of the horse,so that the hors’s back wouldn’t bear the weight and break and .. people would get rid of the theft. So they did,. stripped all their clothes, lay on its back . One young man was very shy, he didn’t took off his pants .. leaving it to himself. At this moment the horse started and rode away. taking with them all their clothes of naked people.
The crowd began to beat the young guy, saying, if you took off your pants, the back of the horse would break down.
Zamin Haji.
http://www.musavat.com/site/?name=yazar … 8894&yid=5 ]]>
http://www.rferl.org/content/Azerbaijani_Interrogated_Over_Eurovision_Vote/1808333.html ]]>
[…] This year, the whole contest has gotten even weirder. First, Georgia’s entry into the contest was an open slap at Russia. Now, the Azerbaijan authorities have harassed people who had the audacity to “vote” for the Armenian entry in the contest.
Of course, it was unrealistic to expect that nationalist politics would not invade such a contest. After all, chauvinistic nationalism pervades so much of society in the region. […] link
There are also round ups of what bloggers are saying on the matter on Global Voices Online:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/08/18/azerbaijan-eurovision-voting-scandal/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/08/22/azerbaijan-eurovision-scandal-continues/
t, find one and forge a new friendship, if for no other reason than to counter the Azerbaijani rhetoric and deflate the sounding war drums.
For, if thereâ€s not a single Azerbaijani we can call “jan, jan,†then we may win Eurovision 2009, but thatâ€s as good as it gets. <a href="http://www.hairenik.com/weekly/2009/08/20/turpin-you-canâ€t-stop-the-beat-but-you-can-question-its-patriotism/" rel="nofollow">link</a></blockquote>
]]>What it does represent, however, is a softening in the traditional attitude towards Azeris in the Diaspoa which I find refreshing. I hope the same attitude will also greet those Armenians which might want to see normalized relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Here’s hoping…
]]>The fact remains that as the world saw in Iran, “It rains on the just and unjust alike.†And there are good Azerbaijanis that need to be supported in their efforts if Azerbaijan is ever to make headway in its desperately needed civil society reforms.
So if you know a good Azerbaijani activist or student, send them a gift of support and solidarity, as they dwell like Daniel in a geopolitical lion’s den. And if you don’t, find one and forge a new friendship, if for no other reason than to counter the Azerbaijani rhetoric and deflate the sounding war drums.
For, if there’s not a single Azerbaijani we can call “jan, jan,†then we may win Eurovision 2009, but that’s as good as it gets. link