Javid Agha

6 Posts

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Javid is a Baku-based writer and social media commentator focusing on Armenia and Azerbaijan. His articles have also appeared on the BBC. He was one of the founders of the Susma platform, where survi

Azerbaijan

Opinion | Four years of entrapment: why Azerbaijan’s land borders remain closed

by Javid Agha

•8 min read

Four years since the coronavirus pandemic began, Azerbaijan’s land borders remain closed to all civilian traffic. While officially this is to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, a number of theories exist regarding the real reason behind the measure. In the spring of 2020, Azerbaijan followed the example of many other countries, closing its land borders to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus, alongside a host of other preventive measures. Later the same year, the Second Nagorno-Kar

Azerbaijan

Opinion | On the apologists of Baku’s Military Trophy Park

by Javid Agha

•4 min read

The recently opened Military Trophy Park in Baku is a shameful display that will bring no benefit to ordinary Azerbaijanis. Even the Park’s defenders are forced to rely on false and disingenuous comparisons to justify its existence. On 12 April, about five months after the end of the 44-day war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Military Trophy Park in Baku was opened to official fanfare and a highly publicised visit by President Ilham Aliyev. While some Azerbaijanis denounced this Park

2020 Azerbaijani Parliamentary Election

Opinion | This election was our first ‘OK boomer’ to Azerbaijan’s political order

by Javid Agha

•7 min read

From boredom and camaraderie to confrontations with carousel voters, this was my experience as an observer in Azerbaijan’s recent election. This was a classic Azerbaijani election: ballot stuffing, voting carousels, dead people voting, and foreign observers parroting each other about how everything was transparent and democratic. Anyone interested in Caucasus politics is well-aware of this kind of stuff. But reading about it or watching videos of it on YouTube and Facebook is very different

Ali Karimli

Opinion | We cannot build democracy in a country of family dictatorships

by Javid Agha

•5 min read

The recent domestic violence scandal involving the Popular Front Party has revealed a dark side of Azerbaijan’s opposition. Those wishing to build a democracy in the country cannot hope to do so while supporting oppressive values. ‘Gizini doymayan dizini doyar’ (Those who don’t beat their daughter will end up beating their own knees) is a famous old piece of Azerbaijani wisdom. Although one could argue it has some deeper meaning behind it, the literal translation of the proverb gives some c

Armenia

Opinion | For all that divides us, music brings us together

by Javid Agha

•5 min read

Far from the animosity that defines our political reality, music has for centuries brought Armenians and Azerbaijanis together in a way that may once again offer us a way forward. Ludwig van Beethoven once said that music is an even higher revelation than wisdom and philosophy. This ideological aspect of music is something that is often overlooked in the context of Azerbaijani–Armenian relations. In fact, it can almost seem as if politicians do not listen to music at all. While that may

Armenia

Opinion | Accepting our past is the only way we can move forward

by Javid Agha

•5 min read

In Azerbaijan, as in Armenia, remembrance of the victims of past atrocities often takes on a one-sided nature. Despite attempts to twist and politicise such events to serve nationalist causes, a more compassionate approach is needed to move forward, and a remembrance that above all, innocent victims are always sacred. Last week, Azerbaijan mourned her martyrs who fell during the Soviet violence committed 29 years ago in the capital, Baku. TV channels aired patriotic movies (ironically

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