AZERBAIJAN: Police break up opposition demonstration, but protesters remain defiant

Record ID: 218517

  • Title: AZERBAIJAN: Police break up opposition demonstration, but protesters remain defiant
  • Date: 27th November 2005
  • Summary: (W3) BAKU, AZERBAIJAN (NOVEMBER 26, 2005) (REUTERS) POLICE LINE AROUND THE SQUARE/ OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS IN SQUARE POLICE POLICE ADVANCING OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS WITH ORANGE FLAGS ON THE SQUARE POLICE ADVANCING POLICE BREAKING UP PLATFORM FROM WHICH OPPOSITION LEADERS ADDRESSED CROWD POLICE PUSHING THE OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS OFF SQUARE POLICE ADVANCING POLICE CLASHING WITH
  • Embargoed: 12th December 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Azerbaijan
  • Country: Azerbaijan
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8RPQ33GXHXZUYW9VPHO04RIO0
  • Story Text: Police in Azerbaijan's capital used truncheons and water canons to break up a protest on Saturday (November 26) by opposition supporters complaining of vote fraud in an election earlier this month.
    The scene of the clashes in the outskirts of Baku was calm after police rounded up dozens of protesters, some of them with blood coming from head wounds, and dispersed the rest. Several ambulances were at the scene.
    There had been brief pitched battles after police moved in to break up a rally of about 10,000 people and some protesters fought back with stones and pieces of wood as they were driven down the surrounding streets.
    Police intervened when the time the authorities had allocated for the rally ran out, but demonstrators refused to leave the square.
    Most people ran away but sections of the crowd fought back with stones and wooden poles, leading to brief pitched battles in the streets surrounding the square.
    One of the leaders of the main Azadlyq opposition bloc told Reuters by phone that a lot of people had been hurt and that police started beating up unarmed people who were peacefully protesting.
    Opposition parties have been holding frequent demonstrations since a parliamentary election on November 6 that Western observers said was marred by vote fraud. The protests until now were peaceful.
    At a media conference held at the opposition headquarters in central Baku, leaders of the main opposition parties Ali Karimli and Lala Sovkat Hachiyeva accused the police of cruelty and excessive use of force, but promised to continue protest actions.
    "We will continue our struggle in both political and legal directions. Today, during the demonstration, the police acted cruelly and have used force excessively. We just returned from there and we have to assess the situation - how many of our supporters have been wounded, also many have been detained, arrested. After we have the full picture we will continue our struggle in both political and legal ways. Nobody can stop our struggle," said Lala Sovkat Hochiyeva, leader of National Unity movement of Azerbaijan.
    Azerbaijan, a Muslim ex-Soviet state which borders Russia and Iran, supplies growing volumes of oil to world markets from its fields in the Caspian Sea.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register