Police blocked hundreds of young Azerbaijanis on April 30 from commemorating the one-year anniversary of a shooting spree at Baku’s State Oil Academy that left 13 dead. The Ministry of the Interior claims that 10 individuals were arrested in connection with the unsanctioned commemoration; youth activists and bloggers report dozens more.
An arrest warrant has been issued for an individual - a Georgian citizen of Armenian ethnicity - who allegedly ordered the shootings, the General Prosecutor’s Office stated on April 30, APA news agency reported. The suspected gunman, another Georgian citizen, of Azeri ethnicity, killed himself on site. [For details, see the EurasiaNet archive].
Beginning at 9am on April 30, young people came to place carnations and candles in front of the Academy to mark the deaths. Staff brought the flowers into the building, while police tried to block entrance into the Academy itself. Plainclothesmen discouraged other youngsters from approaching the area; at times, pushing and shoving them away, a video posted by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Radio Azadliq shows.
Baku Mayor Hacibala Abutalibov on April 27 had refused to authorize a commemoration rally on the site. The mayor argued that "the place is close to a railway station and the event can disturb traffic by cars and pedestrians" in the area. Student petitioners rejected proposed alternative sites outside of downtown Baku.
Several police cars and buses from the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Quick Response Regiment arrived at the building. Police officers dispersed young people, sometimes escorting them into waiting buses. Pedestrians and cars were blocked from passing in front of the building.
Hundreds of young people instead went to a nearby park to continue their demonstration; they lit candles and chanted slogans.
A crowd of young people singing Azerbaijan’s national anthem tried to move back toward the Academy by early afternoon, but were blocked by police, who reportedly arrested dozens of them.
Turan news agency reported that police detained "over a hundred" youngsters.
The Interior Ministry later issued a statement that claimed that 10 individuals had been arrested for holding an "unauthorized action" in connection with the Oil Academy shooting. Ministry spokesperson Ehsan Zahidov said that many of those who were detained were warned and released. The police have petitioned the court to apply administrative sanctions or a few days of detention for the remaining 10 persons, he said.
To prevent the rally, police warned activists at the office of the Dalga (Wave) youth movement on the day of the gathering, Radio Azadliq reported. The opposition newspaper Yeni Musavat also reported the alleged disappearance of the leader of the Musavat Party’s youth committee, Tural Abbasly, in an unmarked car on April 29, but the report could not be verified independently.
Some non-governmental and human rights organizations have condemned the dispersal of the rally.
The reluctance to let young people gather outside the Academy demonstrated "the government’s actual treatment of the youth in this country," said Emin Huseynov, chairman of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety.
Huseynov and other civil society activists are keeping a close eye on how the government will choose to mark May 10, the birthday of the late President Heydar Aliyev, father of Azerbaijan’s current president, Ilham Aliyev. Profuse flower decorations usually mark the date, known as "Flower Day." Its recognition after last year’s Oil Academy shootings sparked sharp protests by students.
"The commemoration of students and teachers who became the victims of terror should be conducted at a state level," said Novella Jafaroglu, chairperson of the Society for Protection of Women’s Rights. "If FlowersDay is not forgotten to be marked every year, mourning should not be forgotten, too."
Mina Muradova is a freelance reporter based in Baku.
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