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

29 January 2019 by Javid Agha

Javid Agha is an Ankara-based writer and social media observer focusing on Armenia and Azer­bai­jan, whose writing has been featured across the web including on the BBC. He is editor of Azer­bai­jani art and culture platform, VarYox.

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.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Opinion & Analysis Tagged With: Armenia, Azerbaijan, baku, black january, commemoration, history, nagorno-karabakh, nationalism, peace, pogrom, propaganda, sumgait, sumgayit, whataboutism, yerevan

Imagining a life without bribery in Azerbaijan

25 October 2018 by Kamran Mahmudov

(report.az)

Recent progress in e-gov­er­nance in Azer­bai­jan has dra­mat­i­cal­ly reduced petty cor­rup­tion in many sectors. But for those visiting public hospitals, sending their children to kinder­garten, or dealing with the traffic police — the problem of bribery can still be a part of daily life. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Society, Top Tagged With: Azerbaijan, baku, bribery, corruption

Angela Merkel concludes visits to Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan

28 August 2018 by OC Media

Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze and German Chan­cel­lor Angela Merkel (Facebook)

German Chan­cel­lor Angela Merkel has concluded a three-day long tour to the South Caucasus. During her trip Merkel faced questions about Georgia’s Western ambitions, her position on the region’s conflicts, and human rights abuses in Azer­bai­jan, and also suggested Georgians may soon be able to work in Germany. [Read more…]

Filed Under: News Stories Tagged With: angela merkel, Armenia, Azerbaijan, baku, conflict, georgia, germany, human rights, ilham aliyev, nagorno-karabakh, nikol pashinyan, tbilisi, yerevan

The end of Shanghai — Baku’s district on the railway tracks

21 August 2018 by Vafa Zeynalova

Shanghai, Baku (Vafa Zeynalova /OC Media)

Shanghai, the nickname of a small district running alongside Baku’s main railway line, is set to be demol­ished, and the tracks fenced off in the houses’ place. While locals tell of the tragic deaths of children hit by trains in Shanghai, some say the com­pen­sa­tion offered by the gov­ern­ment for demol­ish­ing their homes is not enough to move elsewhere in the city.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Society, Top Tagged With: baku, keshla, keşlə, railroad, shanghai, talysh, urbanisation

The puzzles and problems of the most populated city in the South Caucasus

23 June 2018 by Vafa Zeynalova

Archi­tects say town planning reg­u­la­tions forbid the con­struc­tion of high-rise buildings on the coast. (Vafa Zeynalova /OC Media)

The lack of job oppor­tu­ni­ties and devel­op­ment prospects in the rural regions of Azer­bai­jan has provoked a pop­u­la­tion influx to the capital, and the rapid growth of Baku’s pop­u­la­tion has increased the load on the city’s infra­struc­ture. Problems faced by the metrop­o­lis and its inhab­i­tants include gas cutoffs, waste man­age­ment issues, water shortages, and traffic jams. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Feature Stories, Society, Top Tagged With: architecture, Azerbaijan, baku, city development, city planning, construction, development, infrastructure, urban development, urban planning

The working elderly — why in Azerbaijan ‘nobody wants to retire’

24 May 2018 by Kamran Mahmudov

Screen­grab from a video by jailed rights activist and video-blogger Mehman Huseynov (Mehman Huseynov)

Elderly people in Azer­bai­jan are often seen working well beyond the age of retire­ment, often in hard physical jobs. The gov­ern­ment has tried to celebrate this, claiming that no one wants to retire in Azer­bai­jan, but others point out that low state pensions give many no other choice. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Labour Tagged With: Azerbaijan, baku, labour rights, pensions

Azerbaijan opposition parties protest snap presidential elections

12 March 2018 by OC Media

The rally in Baku (Caucasian Knot)

Several thousand people protested in Baku on 10 March, in a rally organised by Azerbaijan’s two largest oppo­si­tion groups against President Ilham Aliyev. The groups have announced they plan to boycott the pres­i­den­tial elections scheduled for 11 April. [Read more…]

Filed Under: News Stories Tagged With: Azerbaijan, baku, election, freedom of expression, freedom of media, freedom of speech, georgia, Gozal Bayramli, human rights, ilham aliyev, mukhtarli, snap presidential elections

Drowning in rubbish: Baku’s waste management headache

3 March 2018 by Vafa Zeynalova

(Vafa Zeynalova /OC Media)

Baku is the largest and one of the most polluted cities in the South Caucasus. Seven percent of the city’s territory is occupied by dumps. One of the largest rubbish pro­cess­ing plants in Europe has operated in the city for five years, but this has not solved the problem. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Azerbaijan, baku, environment, garbage, pollution, waste management

Fire in Baku rehab centre kills at least 24

2 March 2018 by OC Media

(contact.az)

A fire at a drug reha­bil­i­ta­tion centre in Baku has left at least 24 people dead and several more injured. Local media quoted Health Ministry officials as saying that three people have been hos­pi­talised, and more than 30 rescued. [Read more…]

Filed Under: News Stories Tagged With: Azerbaijan, baku, fire, rehabilitation centre

Azerbaijan sentences opposition activist to 3 years for ‘smuggling money’

24 January 2018 by OC Media

Gozal Bayramli (RFE/Rl)

Azer­bai­jani oppo­si­tion politi­cian Gozal Bayramli was sentenced to 3 years in prison by an Azer­bai­jani court on 23 January. Bayramli was detained at the border last May while crossing from Georgia, and charged with attempt­ing to smuggle €12,000 ($13,400) in cash. [Read more…]

Filed Under: News Stories Tagged With: Azerbaijan, baku, freedom of expression, freedom of media, freedom of speech, georgia, Gozal Bayramli, human rights, mukhtarli

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In Azer­bai­jan, as in Armenia, remem­brance of the victims of past atroc­i­ties often takes on a one-sided nature.

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