JAN. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Vugar Gashimov, a 27-year-old Azerbaijani chess Grandmaster, died while receiving treatment for a brain tumour in Germany. Chess is an important and widely followed sport in Azerbaijan and Mr Gashimov’s death was heavily reported.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)
JAN. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Lankaran, south Azerbaijan, sentenced Yadigar Sadiqov, a political activist for the opposition Musavat party, to jail for six years for hooliganism. Sadiqov denied the allegations and described the verdict as politically motivated. Police arrested Sadiqov in June for allegedly beating a man.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)
DEC. 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijani state energy company SOCAR has completed its purchase of a 66% stake in Greek gas distributor DESFA, media reported quoting Greek officials. According to reports, SOCAR agreed to pay 400m euros for the stake. Azerbaijan is building a major pipeline to send gas to Europe via Turkey, the Balkans and Greece.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)
JAN. 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — An Airbus A380 carrying 467 passengers and 27 crew from London to Singapore made an emergency landing in Baku. Reports said that the pressure in the cabin dropped triggering oxygen masks to lower. The pilot landed the plane without any further scares.
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(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)
JAN. 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan has started building a new factory for passenger railway wagons in the eastern city of Ganja, media reported by quoting an official from the state railway company. Swiss company Stadler is developing the factory with the Azerbaijani government. Azerbaijan has said it wants to develop its railway.
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(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)
JAN. 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Human rights groups have said they are concerned about the pre-trial conditions of Anar Mammadli, arrested last month in Azerbaijan on tax evasion charges, media reported. Mr Mammadli is the head of the independent Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center and has previously criticised Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
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(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)
DEC. 29 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — On Dec. 25, Zaur Ahmadov sat outside an Azerbaijani government ministry in Baku, doused himself in fuel and set himself on fire. He died of 70% burns four days later.
Mr Ahmadov, 42, was protesting at the perceived injustice of not receiving compensation for the bulldozing of his restaurant nearly 20 years ago by a pro-government official.
His frustration was the frustration of the little man. In Azerbaijan, like most places in former Soviet Central Asia and the South Caucasus, power and contacts often means immunity.
The World has seen this before — and with immense consequences.
Frustrated by bullying from government officials, in December 2010 in Tunisia Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight. He died a few days later. His immolation captured the attention of the Arab World, triggering street protests that ultimately changed regimes in North Africa.
Mr Ahmadov’s immolation last week also triggered small street protests and the authorities were predictably tough on the demonstrators. Police arrested 22 demonstrators when they tried to hold a protest immediately after Mr Ahmadov’s funeral. Six were imprisoned for a few days.
Mr Ahmadov’s frustrations are shared by many in Azerbaijan and it is important to monitor just how the authorities will react to dampen any signs of further discontent.
Importantly, the authorities clearly recognise the danger of the situation. After Mr Ahmadov died, the government paid his family around $125,000 in compensation. A Conway Bulletin correspondent in Baku also said the government had told Mr Ahmadov’s family not to politicise his death.
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(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)
DEC. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Zaur Ahmadov, 42, set himself on fire outside an Azerbaijani government ministry. Mr Ahmadov, who blamed bullying government officials for destroying his business nearly two decades ago, died four days later. His death triggered protests.
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(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)
JAN. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to increase the number of loans it gives to small and medium sized businesses in Azerbaijan by extending the number of banks it works with. Last year ADB gave AccessBank a five year $50m loan specifically to lend to companies in rural areas.
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(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)
JAN. 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s Musavat party quit the main opposition group saying the mission to unseat President Ilham Aliyev had been unsuccessful.
The announcement in a terse statement, if unsurprising, throws Azerbaijan’s disparate opposition into more difficulties.
At the election in October, the opposition alliance had eventually united behind one candidate but the campaign was marred by poor organisation. Their preferred candidate, Oscar winning screen writer Rustam Ibragimbekov was ineligible to stand because he had dual Russian citizenship.
Local media outlets have reported that Musavat, which is not particularly popular, is looking to other fringe opposition groups to team up with.
The other opposition group, the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP), has accused Musavat of doing deals with the authorities.
Founded in 1911, Musavat, which means equality in English, was outlawed when Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union. It returned to active politics in 1993.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 166, published on Jan. 8 2014)