Thousands Protest Against Azerbaijan Government
Led by an opposition bloc, marchers demand electoral
reforms before
a parliamentary vote planned for November.
From Associated Press
June 19, 2005
BAKU, Azerbaijan — In the biggest protest in years, thousands of
demonstrators chanting "freedom" and carrying portraits of President
Bush marched across Azerbaijan's capital Saturday, demanding the
resignation of the government and free parliamentary elections.
The gathering of about 20,000 marchers, the second such rally in as
many weeks, was organized by three leading opposition parties that
formed the Azadlig (Freedom) bloc to run in parliamentary elections set
for November.
About 200 police in full riot gear stood guard
around a central square where protesters gathered. Brief clashes
erupted when demonstrators tried to push police away from the square
and officers fought back with truncheons. Last month, police beat back
protesters who tried to hold a banned rally in Baku and detained
dozens.
Tensions have been building steadily in this oil-rich
Caspian Sea nation in the run-up to the elections, leading some
observers to predict that Azerbaijan could see a massive uprising
similar to those that toppled unpopular regimes in other ex-Soviet
republics — Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan — during the last 18
months.
The opposition bloc has chosen orange as its campaign
color — the same color that was used by the Ukrainian opposition during
mass protests dubbed the "Orange Revolution." They helped force a
rematch in which a Western-backed candidate defeated a pro-Russia
rival.
Many participants in Saturday's rally wore orange T-shirts and baseball
caps and carried orange flags.
The Azadlig opposition bloc includes the Musavat Party, the Popular
Front of Azerbaijan and the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan.
They are demanding election law reforms and access to state-controlled
television. They have accused authorities of rigging the October 2003
presidential election when President Ilham Aliyev succeeded his father,
Heydar A. Aliyev, who died later that year. They want changes to
prevent fraud in the parliamentary vote.
The 2003 election
set off clashes between police and opposition demonstrators who claimed
the vote was rigged. Two people died and nearly 200 were injured.
Azerbaijan, a mostly Muslim country of 8.3 million, is the starting
point of the key pipeline that Washington says will reduce dependence
on Middle East oil.
The country also is a U.S. ally in the war in Iraq and has sent troops
there.
