Azerbaijan: oppositional rally demands early parliamentary elections

The participants of the 10-thousand-strong rally in the capital of Azerbaijan have demanded to hold early parliamentary elections, release political prisoners, eliminate corruption and settle the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

The action was agreed with the authorities and organized by the Civil Movement for Democracy "Public Chamber" (CMDPC). The rally took place in the township of Bailovo in the south-western outskirt of Baku.

The announcement to the rally that the authorities prevented to arrival of many citizens by removing buses from the city routes running from the nearest metro stations to the rally venue arouse indignation among the crowd, which reacted by chanting "Ilham Aliev, resign!", "Freedom to political prisoners! Embezzlers - to prison!"

Sakhlab Bagirov, the commander of the fast-reaction regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), has refuted the data about authorities' interference to citizens' arrival to the rally.

Still, many activists, who were late for the event, and a number of journalists, have confirmed that they could not wait until buses at bus stops and had to hire taxies.

There were many youngsters among the audience; they were holding posters reading: "Down with poverty!", "Freedom, equality and fraternity!", "We need Karabakh, not Eurovision!", "We demand power without corruption!", "Government = destroyer", "Remove election falsifiers!", "Freedom to political prisoners!" and other.

Many young people were wearing T-shirts with photos of the 14 activists, convicted for participation in protest actions last spring. They all were named "prisoner of conscience" by the Amnesty International.

Kerimli: first sanctioned rally in seven years

The first speaker at the rally was Ali Kerimli, the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA). "This is the first rally sanctioned by the authorities in the last seven years. Throughout all this period, they tried to suppress and strangle the opposition; however, the ruling regime has failed to do it - either by prohibiting rallies or by killing journalists," he has noted.

In his criticism of the authorities' home and foreign policies, Mr Kerimli said that neither Geidar nor Ilham Aliev did anything to liberate Karabakh.

"The corrupt regime is engaged in 'charities' abroad trying to make up a good image. It is done by robbing its own people. The authorities are financially supporting Alexander Lukashenko's regime, but would not completely return people's deposits of the Soviet period," said Kerimli.

"This regime shall resign!" he added; and his appeal was enthusiastically perceived by the audience, who started chanting "Resign!"

Panakh Gusein, a former MP and a member of the Coordination Board of the CMDPC, said that "today, we have 10,000 present here; next time we'll have 100,000."

He called to dismiss "the non-legitimate parliament and the mediocre government," and the head of the state Ilham Aliev.

Isa Gambar, the leader of the "Musavat" Party, has stated that the wave of democratic changes and freedom will not bypass Azerbaijan. "These changes are inevitable; the Aliev's regime has exhausted itself; and its termination is just a matter of time. We just want these changes to be bloodless; and to achieve this, we need to gather 100,000 at rallies," Mr Gambar has noted.

A resolution was passed by the end of the rally, where the following demands were formulated: release of political prisoners; end of repressions against believers and participants of social protests; holding new free parliamentary elections in 2012; elimination of corruption and monopolies in economy; doubling of pensions, scholarships, and salaries of teachers, doctors and scientists.

Besides, the participants of the action demanded to stop violations of property rights, pay fair compensations to the victims of the 2010 floods and return the monetary deposits of the Soviet period to the population at the rate of one manat for every Soviet rouble.

They also moved a demand to develop a nationwide platform on Karabakh settlement, directed at restoration of the Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

The rally passed without incidents. According to the organizers, the crowd was 10,000 strong; independent observers quoted 5000, while the Baku police has reported that the number of the participants of the rally was about 1200.

Novruzov: commemoration of a respected person gathers 2-3 times more people

Siyavush Novruzov, an MP and the deputy executive secretary of the ruling Party "Eni Azerbaijan" (PEA), believes that the rally brought together too few people. "I was near the venue; there were so few people there that the organizers should have resigned at the very beginning and gone away. A commemoration meeting of a respected deceased person often brings together 2-3 times more people. They should have qualified it as a picket, not a rally," the APA Agency quotes Mr Novruzov as saying.

In his turn, Intigam Aliev, the well-known independent Azerbaijani lawyer and the head of the "Society for Legal Education" believes that the action of democratic forces was a success. "First of all, the provided venue is in fact outside the city - I surely treat it as an illegitimate decision, contrary to the main principles of the freedom of assembly," said Mr Aliev.

According to his story, the main aim of such actions - pickets, rallies, marches and protests - is to disturb the government and set agog the society.

"Still, despite the numerous obstacles erected by the authorities with the aim not to admit people to the rally, I think the organizers have reached the aim," he added.

The next rally of the CMDPC was scheduled for April 22.