Baku authorities refused to agree to Tofig Yagublu's protest action

Baku/16.07.22/Turan: Baku executive power refused to agree to the notice to hold a protest in front of the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers at noon on 20 July under the slogan "Open the land borders!

The action was initiated by Tofig Yagublu, a member of the coordinating center of the National Council of Democratic Forces and the Musavat Party.

The city administration advised Yagublu not to hold a picket because of the pandemic, but to appeal to the "appropriate structure".

Yagublu considered the response of the executive power Baku as"illegal." "We do not intend to comply with their illegal demands. On 20 July at 12 p.m., an action under the slogan "Open the land borders!" will be held in front of the Cabinet of Ministers.  All restrictions have been lifted in the country, people are free to use public transport; schools, restaurants, gyms and mosques are open. Why is the virus only spreading along the land border? Nakhchivan's land borders have not been closed and there was the lowest number of infections in the country," Yagublu said.

However, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said July 15 at an expanded government meeting that the authorities do not intend to open the land borders for now and they will remain closed "as long as necessary."

"Our land borders are closed and must be closed. Why? So that people don't get sick. Because the disease spreads mostly through land borders. So we keep our borders closed and rightly so. We will keep them closed for as long as necessary - we are talking about land borders," Aliyev stated.

Ehsan Zahidov, head of the Interior Ministry press service, told the Azerbaijani service of Voice of America that any action not coordinated with the authorities would be considered illegal and stopped by the police. -06В-