Azerbaijani intelligentsia condemns political repression against

Baku/24.07.20/Turan: A group of representatives of the country's intelligentsia made an open appeal to the country's authorities, urging them to stop the wave of political repression that began after the mass demonstration in support of the army on July 14-15.  “In the current fatal period for our state and our people, internal political relations have become dangerously aggravated, and the civil world is at great risk,” the appeal says.

The attack of Armenians in Tovuz, because of which 12 service members of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, including General Polad Hashimov and Colonel Ilgar Mirzoev, were killed, aroused the legitimate anger of the people and the manifestation became its expression.

The people, social and political organizations, without waiting for any initiative from the outside, in a single impulse expressed their full support to the state and the army. This was a natural expression of grief, the address says.

Soon after the news on the death of our officers, the head of the Popular Front Party, Ali Karimli, wrote on his Facebook, “Armenia and its supporters have gone too far. We fully support our army. Our prayers are with our soldiers and officers. We leave aside our differences with the government. It is necessary to mobilize all the resources of the state to put the enemy in his place. We support our state and army. "

This behavior of the party leader, known for his uncompromising stance towards the government, deserved praise and received public support.  Ali Karimli has demonstrated that he is a mature state politician.

One could expect a similar reaction from the government to Ali Karimli's statement, but the opposite happened. The demonstration on July 14-15 ended in an unpleasant incident. The manifestation of the patriotism of the people was overshadowed by the provocative actions of some persons who entered the building of the Milli Mejlis and overturned two police cars. Unfortunately, the authorities decided to use this to harass political opponents. During the arrests that began after that, many PFPA activists, who did not participate in the demonstration at all, were detained.

Speaking at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on July 15, Ilham Aliyev accused the PFPA of organizing the attack on the Milli Mejlis and demanded that the police start repressions. To date, more than 30 PFPA members have been arrested and accused of organizing riots and attacking the police.

There is information that they are tortured to extract testimony against the leader of the party and Ali Karimli. There is no evidence of the involvement of the PFPA members in the provocation in the Milli Mejlis, which was confirmed in the courts.

Such repressions against an opposition party damage the state's image and reinforce negative attitudes towards the authorities. Epithets: “the fifth column”, “enemies are worse than the Armenians”, “traitors”, “scum”, “this will be the last lesson for them”, “it is necessary to end the fifth column” - do not paint the country's leadership.

Such an acute intolerance in the opposition, which does not provoke the authorities in any way, is incomprehensible, inexplicable and counterproductive.

The chair of the party, Ali Karimli, has been deprived of his passport for 15 years, during this period he was repeatedly prosecuted. In the past three months, he has been denied access to the Internet, and in fact under house arrest,

“We call on the authorities to end their hostile attitude towards the Popular Front Party. We must not forget the historical role of this organization in gaining our state independence, protecting our lands. "

“The government should not forget about its responsibility to the people and the state and should not make the socio-political environment even more difficult. We call on the world's democratic institutions and international organizations to use all possible means to persuade the Azerbaijani government to abandon the policy of suppressing civil opposition,” reads the conclusion of the appeal, which is open for joining here. -02D-