http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/26/europe/EU-GEN-Azerbaijan-Protest.php
Police break up opposition protest in Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan: Truncheon-wielding police beat protesters and detained more than 10 people Friday, breaking up a rally by Azerbaijani opposition activists to protest over rising utility and municipal rates. About 20 people gathered outside a government building to protest the rate hikes, which were called for by the government in the oil-rich, ex-Soviet republic after it stopped importing Russian natural gas after Moscow more than doubled its prices. More than 100 police were called to the area after authorities refused to give the opposition coalition Azadliq permission to demonstrate. After protesters reached an area between two groups of officers, police began beating them with truncheons and ripping posters from their hands. Police then rounded up a second, smaller group of demonstrators. Isaq Avazoglu, a spokesman for one of the parties in the Azadliq coalition, said that 30 activists were injured and 14 were detained. A Baku police official, Samir Seydli, said 10 to 15 people were detained and that some could face jail terms of several days. Avaszoglu said that the 14 were released later Friday evening. Azerbaijan's government sharply raised domestic prices for electricity, water and gas earlier this month after announcing it would not buy natural gas this year from Russia, balking at Moscow's demand that it pay US$235 (€180) per 1,000 cubic meters of gas — up from US$110 (€85). Azerbaijan imported about 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia in 2006 to cover domestic consumption. Another opposition party, Musavat, vowed to a demonstrate Sunday and has received permission from the authorities to protest — the first time this has happened since November 2005. Azadliq has not said whether it will take part. President Ilham Aliev has maintained a tight grip on Azerbaijan since succeeding his father in a 2003 presidential vote that observers said was flawed. Western nations, while eager for close ties with the Caspian Sea nation because of its oil riches and strategic location, have expressed concern over suppression of the opposition and limits on free speech. +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
