Rally on May 14, and police intervention. Trying to justify or...?

Baku/18.05.22/Turan: The Ministry of Internal Affairs expressed a strong protest against the information of the British Embassy in Azerbaijan about the presence of detainees during a protest rally held on May 14 at Fountain Square in Baku.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that the British Embassy in Azerbaijan should not disseminate false information about serious police interference in the protest and the presence of a large number of detainees.

“This is unacceptable and is also unjustified interference in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan. While the organizers and participants of this action considered that it went well and the behavior of the police was satisfactory, the British Embassy in Azerbaijan gave an incorrect assessment of this action and made accusatory statements that were beyond understanding. We regard this statement as an attempt to undermine the reputation of the police, which are carrying out their official duties,” the statement of the ministry.

The Interior Ministry called on the British Embassy in Azerbaijan to refute this statement.

By the way, the US Embassy called on the Azerbaijani government to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and not to prevent citizens from peacefully expressing their views and enjoying the right to freedom of assembly.

This is stated in the response of the US Embassy to Toplum TV's request about the May 14 violence against peaceful demonstrators in Baku and pressure on journalists and public activists.

The US government calls on the government of Azerbaijan to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right of citizens to peacefully express their views, Turan was told by the  representative of the US State Department, commenting on the rally on May 14.

The State Department says peaceful protests are part of an open political system. "We fully support the people's right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, guaranteed by the Azerbaijani Constitution," a Washington official said.

Was there any police intervention in the May 14 rally? What does the Ministry of Internal Affairs want to say with this statement?

The head of the Institute of Political Management Azer Gasimli, answered these and other questions are answered in the "Difficult Question" program.

According to him, the rally participants claim that the police intervened in the protest.

“In this regard, there were many statements from its participants. They claim that there were interferences. True, according to them, it was not as tough as before, but the police rudely pushed away not only men, but also women and girls, calling them obscene words,” Gasimly said.

At the same time, Gasimly noted some softening in the actions of the police.

“Some progress should also be acknowledged - there was no such large-scale intervention this time. Obviously, this is due to the processes that are taking place in our region and in the world, the war in Ukraine. The Azerbaijani authorities in such a sensitive period of time did not want to apply the previous methods to the protesters,” the activist said. He added that by their actions, the police, as it were, sent a message to the protesters who sympathize with them, and indeed the whole society - “Look! Nothing changed. The fact that we do not disperse and seize the protesters with the same ferocity does not mean at all that we are not ready to use force.”—0—