AZERBAIJANI SOURCE: THE CLASHES IN ISMAYILI REGION ARE CONTINUED
Yesterday evening, thousands of local residents of Ismayilli, some 150
kilometers northwest of the capital Baku, attacked the headquarters of
the local executive authorities, burned the local governor’s houses,
a local hotel and the cars belonging to the relatives of the hated
governor. The local police was unable to disperse the protesters. The
riots in Ismayilli bear a striking similarity to the local protests
against unpopular governor in Guba in March last year. Azadliq.info
writes about this.
During the evening hours, the Azerbaijani government sent in Internal
Troops to quell the protests. The Ismayilli riots were triggered by
the rumors that Vugar Alakbarov, the spoiled son of the Azerbaijani
Minister of Social Welfare Fizuli Alakbarov, insulted the local
Ismayilli people making derogatory comments about them. The local
governor Nizami Alakbarov (this position is not elected, but appointed
by the Azerbaijani president) is the brother of the Social Welfare
Minister. The governor himself has no roots in Ismayilli and is viewed
as an outsider in the region.
The local media reports that the additional aggravating circumstance
was that the local governor’s illegally owned hotel “Chiraq” operated
as an unofficial brothel insulting the moral sensitivities of the
local population.
The local media reports that the Ismayili authorities have ignored
repeated calls by local residents to shut down the hotel, the site
of an alleged brothel.
The hotel and governor’s residence were seriously damaged by fire.
Protesters also targeted luxury cars, some of which were reportedly
owned by the son of the Social Welfare Minister Alkbarov and some
owned by the governor of Ismayilli himself.
Some local media outlets have reported injuries among the police
forces and the protesters.
24.01.13, 17:07