habergiris.zamanaustralia.com

Tag: Azerbaijani President

  • Aliyev aides say summit absence was response to Erdoğan’s Baku no-show: journalist

    Aliyev aides say summit absence was response to Erdoğan’s Baku no-show: journalist

    Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s aides described his absence from Friday’s Organization of Turkic States (OTS) summit in Ankara as a response to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s decision to skip a meeting in Baku earlier this month, Turkish journalist Deniz Zeyrek reported on the T24 news website.

    Zeyrek said Aliyev’s aides pointed to Erdoğan’s absence from the October 15 summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), a regional security forum, in Baku.

    Turkey sent Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan instead. Azerbaijan’s decision to send Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to Ankara for the Organization of Turkic States summit, a gathering promoting cooperation among Turkic-language-speaking countries, followed the same principle, the aides reportedly said.

    They also wanted Turkey to take action against seven Turkish citizens accused of targeting Azerbaijan and its leadership, according to Zeyrek’s account.

    The alleged demands follow a dispute over Azerbaijani school uniform regulations that have reportedly led to girls wearing Islamic headscarves being excluded from classes. Criticism from Turkish politicians and religious groups prompted accusations from Azerbaijan’s ruling party that they were interfering in the country’s domestic affairs.

    They complained that only two of the seven Turkish citizens on a list submitted by Baku had been questioned and sought action against all seven, along with the closure of social media accounts accused of targeting Azerbaijan.

    That account differs from the publicly stated explanation for Aliyev’s absence. Azerbaijan’s Report Information Agency cited previously scheduled commitments, including a youth football tournament’s closing ceremony in Baku.

    Aliyev stayed away despite Erdoğan’s personal invitation during an October 21 telephone conversation.

    Friday’s OTS summit brought together Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which cooperate on political, economic and cultural issues. Bayramov represented Azerbaijan as Turkey assumed the organization’s rotating chairmanship.

    A Thursday analysis by APA, an Azerbaijani news agency close to Aliyev’s government, also defended his absence on grounds of diplomatic reciprocity. It accused Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and allied religious groups of fueling hostility toward Azerbaijan.

    The school dispute intensified after Erdoğan adviser Oktay Saral criticized the restrictions on October 12, saying girls wearing headscarves should not be prevented from attending classes.

    Middle East Eye reported that Baku had asked Ankara to remove Saral and act against Turkish commentators accused of insulting Aliyev.

    Saral announced his resignation on October 26 after saying Erdoğan had instructed him to leave. Asked whether his departure was connected to his remarks about Azerbaijan, he replied, “Yes, it seems so.”

    Azerbaijan has also barred 31 Turkish nationals, including journalists, political figures and religious commentators, from entering the country over statements related to the controversy.

    Reuters reported that the tensions also reflected disagreements over Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, its close relations with Israel and Turkey’s efforts to normalize relations with Armenia.

    Despite the tensions, Turkey and Azerbaijan maintain close military, energy and transportation ties. Opening Friday’s summit, Erdoğan emphasized unity among Turkic states.

    “There is no room for separation, division or discord in the Turkic world’s family portrait. We are all one, we stand together and, God willing, we are brothers for all eternity,” he said.

    Erdoğan said the leaders’ group photographs symbolized their commitment to a shared future and that Turkey would seek concrete results from the organization’s work during its rotating chairmanship.

  • Turkey detains journalist over posts criticizing Azerbaijan’s school headscarf restrictions

    Turkey detains journalist over posts criticizing Azerbaijan’s school headscarf restrictions

    Turkish police detained Ahmet Sapa, a columnist and the Hatay representative of the Islamist Köklü Değişim media outlet, at his home in southern Turkey on Tuesday over social media posts criticizing headscarf restrictions in Azerbaijani schools, the outlet’s general coordinator, Mahmut Kar, said.

    Sapa’s detention followed that of Muhammed Emin Yıldırım, the outlet’s İstanbul representative, on Monday night. Yıldırım was released Tuesday morning after questioning on suspicion of insulting a foreign head of state. He had called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev a “tyrant” on social media and a “dictator” during a protest, Deutsche Welle’s Turkish service reported.

    Activist Fatih Erşahin was also summoned for questioning by Ankara police over social media posts and released afterward. Another person, whose name was not disclosed, was detained and released in Ankara, bringing the number of people investigated to four, according to the same report.

    Kar questioned whether Aliyev’s administration had provided Turkish officials with a list of people to target. No such list has been publicly confirmed, and Turkish officials had not publicly explained the detentions.

    The cases prompted criticism from politicians and public figures. Mahmut Şahin, deputy chair of the Islamist Free Cause Party (HÜDA PAR), called the detentions “unacceptable,” while Nureddin Gül, a deputy chair of the New Welfare Party (YRP), criticized the action against Yıldırım.

    Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) who is among the Turkish citizens barred from entering Azerbaijan, also criticized the developments.

    The detentions followed protests outside Azerbaijan’s embassy in Ankara and consulate in İstanbul organized by Köklü Değişim, an outlet associated with Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist movement seeking to establish a caliphate.

    The dispute centers on school dress rules Azerbaijan amended on September 21. The rules do not explicitly mention headscarves but prohibit clothing considered inconsistent with the secular character of education. Girls wearing headscarves have since been refused entry to schools.

    Azerbaijani prosecutors have cited speeches at protests on October 3 and October 13 as evidence against Rıdvan Kaya and Zekeriya Ceran. Ceran, who writes for Köklü Değişim under the name Abdullah İmamoğlu, is among seven people sought internationally after a Baku court ordered their arrest in absentia on accusations of calling for the government’s overthrow and inciting religious hostility. Prosecutors have also announced judicial cooperation with Turkey in that case.

    On October 21 Azerbaijan announced an entry ban on 31 Turkish citizens, including politicians, journalists, writers and academics, accusing them of making statements targeting the country’s sovereignty, national security and constitutional order. Yıldırım and Gergerlioğlu were among those listed.

    Oktay Saral, a chief adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who had criticized the restrictions, announced his resignation on Monday.

    Aliyev criticized foreign interference in countries’ domestic affairs during a speech Tuesday at the seventh World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, questioning the right of outsiders to tell an independent country “how to live.”