Friday, January 23, 2004

Azerbaijan--Our Ally in Iraq

I noted below that Azerbaijan didn't make it into the SOunTrUe address, but instead had to accept the amorphous, anonymous "seventeen other countries" sash to wear. I don't know, maybe Azerbaijan killed in the swimsuit competition, but was found lacking in the talent segment. Or maybe just the opposite. Today's New York Times explains:

Azerbaijan Represses Dissent, Rights Group Says

MOSCOW, Friday, Jan. 23 — In its first three months in office, the new government of Azerbaijan has conducted a campaign of repression marked by arbitrary arrests, beatings, torture and the dismissal of dissenters from government jobs, according to a report released on Friday by the international rights group Human Rights Watch.

The detailed 55-page report describes a wave of up to 1,000 arrests of opposition party leaders and members, democracy activists, journalists and election officials and observers who challenged widespread electoral fraud. It said that more than 100 detainees remained in custody and that the police were still harassing opposition supporters.

The crackdown may reflect the relatively weaker political position of the new president, Ilham Aliyev, who followed his ailing father, Heidar Aliyev, in a strong-arm election on Oct. 15, according to the author of the report, Peter Bouckaert.

It was the first dynastic succession in a former Soviet nation, and opponents of the government were harassed and repressed before, during and after the election.


More.

Azerbaijan, in the talent segment of the contest, will now lead the opposition in a real-life version of the Milgram Experiment. The new president Aliyev invites you to follow along as his main political rival utters the immortal all too mortal line, "Goddamn it, make it stop!"

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