· October, 2010

Stories about Azerbaijan from October, 2010

Armenia: Nationalist backlash against Azerbaijan film festival

  31 October 2010

Unzipped and Le Retour (in 3 Parts) comment on the nationalist backlash to a festival of films from Azerbaijan to be staged in Yerevan, Armenia, next week. The former says that the negative reaction is hypocritical when the same nationalists decry attempts to prevent artistic expression and freedom of speech...

Video: One Minute Jr video nominees for 2010 Awards

  27 October 2010

The nominees for each of the 3 categories in the One Minutes Jr project competition 2010 have been selected. In each of the categories of  (Self)-portrait, Inside-Out and One Minute of Freedom there will be one winner who will be awarded a JVC Piscio HD Hand-Camera.  The nominees are all...

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Online campaigns for the return of casualties of war

  24 October 2010

A campaign represented as being organized by ‘Armenian bloggers’ has been established to demand the return of the body of Manvel Sarinbekyan, an Armenian who reportedly hung himself while in detention after crossing the border with Azerbaijan.The campaign has been launched in both Russian and English. Meanwhile, and as the...

Armenia: Prolific blogger suspended on LiveJournal

  24 October 2010

Kornelij Glas [RU] details the case of Pigh, an Armenian blogger prolific in the mutual tit-for-tat online information war with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Speaking to Global Voices, Pigh says that his blog on LiveJournal was suspended on 8 October after some Azerbaijanis made complaints to the site's administration which included...

Azerbaijan: Free Expression under Attack

  22 October 2010

Global Voices Advocacy features a guest post from Rebecca Vincent, Article 19's Advocacy Assistant for Azerbaijan. The post details the situation with freedom of expression in the oil-rich former Soviet republic and the case of imprisoned video blogging youth activist Adnan Hajizade.

Azerbaijan: Visa restrictions ahead of parliamentary vote

  21 October 2010

Back in a Bit confirms that new visa restrictions on foreigners wishing to visit Azerbaijan are now in place, and ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for 7 November. Having arrived at the airport in the oil-rich country's capital, Baku, without a visa and with no warning from even the airline,...

Caucasus: Attitudes to inter-ethnic marriage

  15 October 2010

After posting the results of a survey last year examining perceptions of inter-ethnic friendship in the South Caucasus, Social Science in Caucasus now posts information on attitudes to inter-ethnic marriage. According the results, 99% of Azerbaijanis disapprove of their women marrying Armenians while 92% of Armenians disapprove of marriage with...

Caucasus: Women as a reflection of nationalism

  15 October 2010

Motherhood, Repatriation and other fictions comments on a recent event staged in Istanbul, Turkey, which women activists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Russia attended. The blog particularly examines the role of nationalism and patriarchal societies in peace-building and cross-border initiatives in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijan: Blog Action Day

  15 October 2010

Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines marks Blog Action Day by examining the situation in its native Azerbaijan. The blog says that while the country is rich in energy, it lags behind in providing its citizens with clean drinking water with the situation even worse outside of the capital, Baku.

Azerbaijan: Satirical site blocked?

  13 October 2010

Quoting local media, Azeri Report says that a satirical site, Eqreb.com, has been blocked in Azerbaijan. Covering political developments in the oil-rich country, the site has been reported inaccessible since 8 October. On 7 November, Azerbaijanis go to the polls to elect a new parliament and so far users contacted...

Caucasus: Perceptions of inter-ethnic friendship

  12 October 2010

Social Science in the Caucasus posts the results of a survey held last year which includes data examining perceptions of inter-ethnic friendship in the South Caucasus. Riven by frozen conflicts and ethnic rivalry, the results show that 70 percent of Armenians disapprove of friendship with Azerbaijanis while 97 percent of...

Azerbaijan: Playing the Armenian card

  8 October 2010

As Azerbaijan prepares for parliamentary elections on 7 November, opposition bloggers are unhappy with the conduct of the vote so far. Now, they report, the local media is starting to publish what they consider to be black propaganda aimed at discrediting opposition candidates in the eyes of the electorate.

Azerbaijan: Up in flames

  6 October 2010

After erecting the tallest flag pole in the world and importing London taxi cabs to service the capital city, Baku, Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines says it is amazed at what it considers another waste of money — the construction of a fountain with a musical flame at its center.

Azerbaijan: Violations reported as parliamentary elections approach

  4 October 2010

As parliamentary elections approach in Azerbaijan, candidates go through the final registration process. However, the process has not been without allegations of violations and the frustration not only of candidates, but also of observers and local activists. Bloggers and activists comment.