Azerbaijani Authorities Attempt To Clamp Down On 'Protests'

With the organizer of an antigovernment Internet campaign behind bars, the authorities are trying to minimize the risks of any social-network-fuelled protests.

Another activist, Etibar Salmanli, told RFE/RL he has been visited by the police after a campaign video was posted on YouTube. The video is titled “The day when Azerbaijan changes! The end of the beginning!" and shows Salmanli walking through downtown Baku handing out rose-colored leaflets promoting the March 11 protest.

The Azerbaijani authorities are clearly concerned about the likelihood of an "Egypt scenario." They have been for a while -- just look at how they clamped down on the "donkey bloggers" shortly after Iran's postelection unrest in 2009.

A few weeks ago, on February 16, the pro-Government ANS TV aired a show called "Cyber Politics," which talked about the negatives of Facebook and Twitter.

The show starts with Hillary Clinton's speech on Internet freedom. The anchor then suggests that the United States is using the Internet to achieve its political goals. After several expert opinions, the anchor concludes that Azerbaijanis should be careful with social networks.

On the show, Murad Isayev, a local psychiatrist, talked about the negative impact of Facebook. He suggested that people are becoming dependant on Facebook and can easily get depressed or upset by reading undesirable news. Bizarrely he mentions stories circulating that in 2012 we will witness the end of the world. These messages and programs could be planted in the minds of people, he said. And then, more revealingly, he adds that this is not a network that "we can control."

Another interview subject, local Internet expert Cahid Ismayiloglu, said there is news shared on Facebook that could damage Azerbaijan's national security. "For example, I follow Facebook and I can see a lot of news against Azerbaijan's interests and our image. It is impossible to prevent it. Either the Azerbaijani government has to ban Facebook…but we live in a democracy and it can damage our image among international organizations."

In the program, Information Minister Ali Abasov ruled out suggestions that these "dangerous" networks should be banned. He told ANS that social networks have become an open space where young people can exchange their opinions. The Internet is free in Azerbaijan and this is in accordance with the law, he said. However, with the ante upped, Abasov might be reconsidering that ban after all.

BAKU -- Youth activists in Azerbaijan say they are coming under pressure over a Facebook campaign calling for a day of antigovernment protests on March 11, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.

The organizers of the campaign are calling March 11 the Great People's Day and want people to click their approval of the protest as well as gather in different towns and cities across Azerbaijan.

Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, one of the organizers, was arrested on March 4 and ordered held in pretrial detention for a month for violating an order not to leave the city of Ganja while previous charges of evading military service were investigated.

Hajiyev, 29, a Harvard graduate and a former parliament candidate, denies those charges and has linked his arrest to his Facebook activity, about which he was questioned by police earlier on March 4.

Elchin Namazov, a lawyer for Hajiyev, told RFE/RL today that they have appealed the court decision ordering his detention and that his client ended a hunger strike pending a decision by the Court of Appeals.

In a letter to his friends, Hajiyev wrote that he had been beaten several times in the detention center and threatened with being "dishonored."

In a separate incident, independent photographer Mehman Huseynov wrote on his Facebook page that he was questioned by police today about the March 11 campaign.

And, a youth activist who distributed leaflets about the March 11 campaign on Sunday March 6 said he was visited by police today.

Etibar Salmanli told RFE/RL a policeman came to his home in Bulbule, on the outskirts of Baku, saying "he had harassed a woman" -- though an Interior Ministry official, Orkhan Mansurzadeh, denied such a visit had taken place.

Meanwhile, a counter-campaign is gathering steam.

A pro-government youth group has launched a Facebook campaign entitled "Support for stability and development together with [President] Ilham Aliyev."

The group is headed by former parliament candidate Turan Ibrahimov, who previously worked as a TV anchor.

"We are at a critical point in the Nagorno-Karabakh talks. Let's not betray our president," says one of the group posts.

Local television stations have recently launched something of a campaign against social-network sites, interviewing psychologists and Internet experts who warn of the dangers to the state's security and image.

"I'm on Facebook, I see antigovernment materials posted on Facebook which are very harmful for our state. It's impossible to prevent such a trend," Jahid Ismayiloglu, a specialist on information technology, told ANS TV channel.

He said the Azerbaijani government cannot block social networks "as we live in a democratic state. But many states are using such things against our country."

There are also continued reports that Baku universities are blocking all windows, even those in bathrooms, fearing that leaflets could be thrown from them on March 11.

Meanwhile, another youth activist was given 10 days administrative punishment on March 5.

Police said Dayanat Babayev, a member of the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP) youth wing, was detained in central Baku for resisting police, who had reprimanded him for speaking loudly on his mobile phone and "using abusive words."

Становится интересно. Задержаны три активиста: Рашадат Ахундов, Сахавет Солтанлы и Даянет Бабаев.

Значит, не все тихо в сонном царстве.

С собственным народом воевать наши власти очень смелы и отважны.

Арестами они ничего не решат.