Baku, Azerbaijan – Azerbaijani authorities are growing concerned over the increasing condemnation and hostility in the wake of the release of Ramil Safarov. Following speculation that the Armenian government is considering putting a $500,000 bounty on the head of the army officer, people gathered in the capital of Yerevan calling for the “opening of a hunting season for Safarov.” Buses were covered with bulls eye images portraying Safarov as a target and photos of him were burned by activists.

“We are seriously concerned about these violent reactions in Armenia, condemning a fully legal extradition and subsequent amnesty,” said Azerbaijani MP Elkhan Suleymanov, Vice President of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. “Now they are calling for revenge in ways that are absolutely outside of international legality,” he added.

“Playing a dangerous blame game is likely to create even more national heroes and enemies and will hardly contribute to people and stability in the Caucasus.”

Safarov was convicted of murdering an Armenian soldier during a NATO training course in Budapest in 2004, claiming that he spat on the Azerbaijani flag and humiliated him. Hungary extradited Safarov to Azerbaijan after serving years of time in prison, and his subsequent release drew attention again to the lingering Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, where the illegal Armenian occupation has been condemned by the UN.

“The Safarov controversy risks undermining Yerevan’s responsibilities in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and justifying the illegal Armenian occupation of about 20 per cent of our country,” Suleymanov said, further stressing that four United Nations resolutions calling for Armenia’simmediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal from the occupied territories have not been enforced. Analogous resolutions have been approved by PACE, OSCE and the European Parliament.

Safarov’s case has drawn similarities with Varoujan Grabedian’s extradition to Armenia in 2001. A member of the terrorist organisation ASALA, Grabedian was convicted for a bombing which killed eight people at Orly Airport in Paris, France. Although he was sentenced to life imprisonment, appeals from the Armenian government culminated in his extradition to Armenia, despite the fact that Grabedian is not an Armenian citizen but a Syrian. In Yerevan, he was hailed a national hero.

“Killings by Armenian snipers along the cease-fire line alone, accounted for 1,250 civilian deaths and 1,300 wounded over the last 20 years,” said Sulemanov. He added that children have been targeted repeatedly through explosive toys, elderly visiting the graves of their relatives were shot and numerous explosions have killed civilians in buses, trains, ferries and open places.

“The international community should help to stop the continuous breach of the cease-fire to prevent the recurrence of civilian casualties,” Suleymanov said.

Image Courtesy of  shalunts / Shutterstock.com

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The 57^th annual Eurovision song contest occurred earlier this month in Baku, Azerbaijan. Like every year, the 2012 competition was a predictably showy camp-fest that featured prominent artists from a host of European countries competing within the realm of song and dance. The elected winner was Swedish songstress Loreen whose capoeira inspired act brought Sweden the honor of hosting the competition next year.

Despite the escapist themes of many Eurovision submissions, however, the event does not take place in a vacuum. This year, the financial crisis of the European economy had a noticeable impact on the purely European song contest.

Rambo Amadeus, the Montenegrin entry and a popular musical satirist, brought the economic situation to the fore with his song “Euro Nero” whose chorus features lyrics such as “give me chance to refinance” and “monetary break dance.” While the middle-aged performer and his symbolic trojan horse did not make it to the final stage of the competition, his witty rapping hinted at some of the considerations that would constitute the majority of the scandal surrounding the show as a whole.

In its preamble to the broadcast of the annual show, the international media doggedly introduced and reintroduced the question of who, should they win, would be fiscally capable of hosting Eurovision next year and whether this would effect the quality of contestants. One of the greatest conspiracy theories leading up to the competition was the rumor that the Spanish contestant, Pastora Soler, had been instructed to lose. The Herald Sun reports that Soler allegedly said “I think it is not the moment, neither for Spain nor for the Spanish public, to win Eurovision.” This claim was later denied by the singer herself.

Many felt that the participation of Eleftheria Eleftheriou for Greece, the country that has perhaps been most affected by the devaluing of the Euro, demonstrated a lack of economic responsibility on the part of the country’s politicians. Others argued that this was a necessary boost to Greek moral. Still others felt that the voting aspect of Eurovision would be used as an opportunity for countries to ally themselves. In particular, many believed that Greece might use Eurovision to influence Germany’s decision to spearhead an economic bailout.

Post-Eurovision, it is clear that the motivation for individual country’s voting was vastly more complicated than had been suspected. While many countries, including Portugal, Spain, Italy and Ireland, did vote along the lines of natural economic and political alliances, both Greece and Germany awarded each other zero points. Far from their original hypotheses of mutual understanding expressed through song approval, theorists now view the peculiar voting habits of this pair of countries as a kind of complicit revenge tactic or, as Charles Robinson explains in the Wall Street Journal, a form of “protest”.

Fortunately, Sweden, the eventual winner, appears to be fully capable of hosting Eurovision 2013 and has managed to escape relatively unscathed from the political furore that has surrounded some of its compatriot countries. What social changes might occur between then and now to reshape the complexion of this contest remains to be seen.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.eurovision.tv

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Two of Germany’s leading Turkish organisations are upset about the recent spate of criticism levelled against Azerbaijan by a magazine and by a member of the SPD.

The Verein zur Vorderung der Ideen Atatuerks (Ataturk Foundation) and Zentralrat der Tuerken in Deutschland (Committee of Turks in Germany) have written to SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel and to Der Spiegel to complain about a series of negative remarks made about Azerbaijan by a SPD Member of Parliament from Muenster.

In the letters, the two German Turkish groups described a recent Der Spiegel article entitled “Azerbaijan Seeks to Burnish Image Ahead of Eurovision” as “misleading, prejudiced, and close to libelous against the nation that represents the closest cultural brothers of the three million Germans of Turkish ethnic background.”

The article highlighted the negativity of SPD Bundestag member, Christoph Strasser, who is – according to the Turkish orgnisations – heavily biased.

The letter to Mr. Gabriel pointed out that millions of Turkish votes are at stake in Germany, and the groups asked him to examine the actions and rhetoric of Strasser, who has engaged in a long-running war of words with Azerbaijani officials over a visit to the country in his capacity as rapporteur for the Council of Europe.

Azerbaijan has said it is willing to consider inviting Mr. Strasser provided he agrees to come with an open mind and be fair and impartial. Strasser has repeatedly criticised the country and has publicly admitted he would write a negative report, even before visiting.

“For the past two years, a few SPD Bundestag members, together with Mr. Strasser, have been conducting a private war against Azerbaijan,” the letters said.

Addressing Sigmar Gabriel directly, the Turkish groups said “in writing this letter to you, we would ask you to see if you and the entire SPD agree with Mr. Strasser’s war against our brothers.”

“We do not know why Mr. Strasser, MP for SPD from Muenster, is conducting this private crusade against our Azeri brothers,” the letters to Gabriel said. “Neither do we understand why suddenly all these attacks are orchestrated from all these different directions. But we do wish to point out that this one-man war by Mr. Strasser and his anti-Azeri allies is deeply unfair and should stop.”

The letter to Mr Gabriel suggested he should listen to the concerns of the Turkish groups in Germany so that his party does not face a “noisy wake up call at the next federal elections in Germany.”

Image Courtesy of   Faraways / Shutterstock.com

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After a 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey on Sunday, people are scrambling to rescue those who may still be buried underneath the rubble of destroyed buildings. The southeastern region of Turkey was badly hit by the earthquake, where the death toll has soared to over 400.

Over 1,300 people have been injured because of this natural disaster. As time speeds forward, the amount feared dead is expected to rise. Thousands of buildings have collapsed due to the destructive power of the earthquake, burying people within layers of concrete and debris. The town of Van is one of the hardest hit areas in Turkey, along with Ercis.

The southeastern region of Turkey is heavily mountainous and is considered to be one of the poorest areas of the country. Turkey is located on a geological fault line that makes it highly susceptible to destructive earthquakes. 90 countries from around the world have stretched out their funds towards Turkey in hopes of rescuing potential survivors and providing aid.

Turkey’s government has held by its strong stance of providing for its own country and has only accepted the help from neighboring countries Azerbaijan and Iran. Turkey is continuously being pressured to agree to international aid as the devastation from the earthquake continues to take a toll on its citizens.

The government is receiving much criticism for not accepting international aid when hundreds of people are still missing. Many of the hard to reach areas are remote villages. Rescue efforts have not been able to travel to these areas because roads are impassable.

Typical villages in this area have houses made out of clay and mud, which are materials that are not made to withstand the powers of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, believes that the majority of the buildings in these remote villages are completely destroyed.

Turkey’s Health Ministry has set up a crisis center in Ankara, while the hardest hit areas of Turkey have had help from international relief organizations. 2,300 emergency personnel have arrived to the hardest hit areas of the region by Monday and continue searching for people in collapsed buildings.

Upcoming weather forecasts will undeniably play a role in the rescue efforts as overnight freezing temperatures are predicted, as well as snow. Hundreds of aftershocks have played a detrimental role in rescuing people, often making it hard to make successful rescues. Positive rescue efforts have been seen throughout the hard hit areas.

On Tuesday, an infant girl at just two weeks old was rescued with her mother and grandmother within their destroyed home. Their family was taken to a hospital in Ercis, near the town of Van, where much of the earthquake’s impact was felt. There are many organizations that are helping with the earthquake crisis and a numerous amount of ways people can donate to this unfortunate disaster.

The Turkish Red Crescent has set up tents for those who have become homeless after the earthquake, along with providing food and water for thousands. Donations are being accepted by the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund. Donations can be made on the website of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society.

From the United States, people can donate $10 by calling (941) 907-6036 or text “SHELTER” to 20222.

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An area most people would be unable to point out on a map, the narrow strip of land bordered by both the Black and Caspian seas has been a point of contention for centuries.

Strategically located and historically known as where Europe fades into Asia, this mountainous region is reminded of policies enacted by Communist leader Josef Stalin twenty-plus years after the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia (Stalin’s birthplace), declared independence from the Soviet yoke. But this region is not so easily divided.

There are more than three types of people here, with at least fifty different ethnic groups all trying to establish themselves.  With no Kremlin and powerful military to qualm nationalistic interests, tribal feuding emerges resulting in a multitude of regional conflict.

The Chechens, with their terrorist attacks in Moscow railways may be the most notorious of this lot, but are just one example of post Soviet problems presented in the 21^st century.

Societies that may be similar, but speak drastically different dialects crowd these narrow and ancient settlements, a region that harbors the most ancient forms of Christianity and churches. This small area has spent time being ruled by such superpowers as Persia, Turkey, Byzantium and Russia, but managed to keep their way of life alive against such odds.

Armenians have had a glorious history; only to have experienced such tragedy during their vast existence. A nation known to be passionate with the written language, their chronicles cover a range of history, and even translations of neighboring literature.

The holocaust of World War two even has ties to this enigmatic region. Hitler mentioned the forgotten Armenian genocide prior to his invasion of Poland in 1939. In the years between 1915-1918, 1.5 million Armenians would die from unnatural causes, and continue to suffer from the humiliation of denial.

By creating an ethnically Armenian exclave within the borders of Azerbaijan in 1923, Stalin caused conflict amongst both peoples claiming the area to be their own, creating internal strife that would in turn, weaken both nations of any potential cooperation against Moscow.  The plan worked and is still working nearly nine decades after it was initiated.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of 1988-1994 was a result of borders created by Stalin to create disunity between the peoples of this region. The effects are still relevant today as both Turkey and Azerbaijan have a closed border policy resulting from Armenia’s victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The war ended in bitter peace and severed trade routes with the West. This currently strains Armenia economically, falling further behind her neighbors while oil-rich Azerbaijan bypasses  Armenia and routes their new pipeline from the Caspian, to Georgia, and out through the Black Sea.

War between Georgia and the territory of South Ossetia has been declared three times in the past two decades. The Ossetians are an ancient Indo-Iranian ethnic group that presently has both a north territory within Russian borders, and an adjacent southern province that is a continuing point of conflict with Georgia claiming ownership.

The first war was in 1991-1992 and would break-out again in 2004.

With the Georgian-Russian war over South Ossetia contained since 2008, the conflict lasted ten days and resulted in a cease-fire.  Presently, Russia and Venezuela are the only countries that recognize South Ossetia as a separate government from Georgia, who was receiving and implementing weapons provided by the USA and NATO.

With Ossetia backed militarily by Russia, comparisons can be made to the ideological cold-war conflicts in Southeast Asia. Poor host countries serving as the battleground for empires to show off weaponry.

The notorious Chechens still have animosity toward Moscow and are not afraid to hide it. After Stalin deported the entire Chechen population to Siberia or Kazakhstan, some returned home to the mountains and developed national identity once Communism fell. The Islamic Chechnyns committed jihad acts against their northern neighbor, and former ruler, Russia in recent history.

Numerous suicide bombs in and around Moscow, and the immensely tragic hostage situation at a North Ossetian elementary school in 2004 are just more examples of a region in strife.

The Armenian Genocide is a hotly debated subject to this day, as Turkey and the United States do not declare this loss of life due directly toward the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Many Armenians will agree on the contrary, and place the systematic slaughter off their people and culture on Turkish sabers and rifles.

Obama had addressed this issue during his campaigning, assuring the world that the tragedy would finally be recognized appropriately. The promise is left unfulfilled to this day, as the USA has a vested interested in Turkey’s strategic location, operating several air-bases in the most ‘western’ of Middle Eastern countries.

What can explain an area so small and isolated, yet, so full of war and conflict? The easy explanation is to blame communism as a failed social experiment, with Transcaucasia as a result of it. Or is it that diversity and multiculturalism doesn’t work? That when you have dozens of different peoples all vying for domination in a confined area, that such aspirations will turn violent toward your neighbor?

Either way, it is a tragic circumstance for a place that is used to being controlled by someone else.

Sergey Kamshylin / Shutterstock.com

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