BAKU, Sept 25: Police in Azerbaijan on Sunday broke up a peaceful demonstration demanding free parliamentary elections and attacked a well-known opposition leader smashing the windows of his car. Groups of opposition supporters scattered throughout central Baku — many wearing orange shirts in reference to Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution — were beaten by police as they attempted to converge on a central square.
Dozens of police charged the leader of Azerbaijan’s largest opposition party Musavat and a candidate in the upcoming November legislative vote, Isa Gambar, as he tried to speed away in a car.
Two riot policemen were knocked over when Gambar’s driver made a getaway as police converged on the car knocking out its widows with rubber clubs.
Gambar, who was a presidential candidate in Azerbaijan’s contested 2003 presidential election, told AFP that protestors had not provoked the police.
“We are supporters of peaceful demonstrations and we thought the authorities would use common sense but they attacked the people with me and came after me.”
Police officials said 42 demonstrators were arrested as they attempted to break police lines while the opposition claimed that over 100 people had been detained in the failed demonstration.
“Some 700 to 800 members of the radical opposition resisted police and were interested in provoking disturbances,” Baku police said in an official statement, adding that 15 police were injured during the demonstration.
The crackdown comes just before this strategically important oil-rich nation — sandwiched between Russia and the Middle East — holds parliamentary elections in November.
The opposition Azadliq (Freedom) block had asked Baku city authorities to grant them the central venue earlier in the week, but decided to go ahead with the demonstration when they were denied access.
Azerbaijan has been criticized by the West for failing to live up to commitments it has taken upon itself such as guaranteeing freedom of assembly and free speech.
“We would like not to be forced to hold illegal demonstrations, but if we aren’t allowed to hold our peaceful protests in the future we will continue to hold them without government sanction,” the leader of Azerbaijan’s Popular Front opposition party, Ali Kerimli, said.—AFP
