Dissent Means Strength

When an Israeli exercises his right to free speech he risks an avalanche of criticism. Much of it questions his right to live and his nation’s right to exist.
Most of the world’s population looks upon dissent as subversion. They brand the members of the opposition as traitors to their own country. They say dissent gives aid and comfort to the enemy.
In their view, a wide range of public opinion shows weaknesses that can be exploited for propaganda purposes. It’s a matter of gaining a temporary advantage in a 61-year war that never ends.
Elongated conflicts can devastate liberty. One can consider the demise of free speech in the USA as an example. She is virtually a communist corporate state. It is amazing Israel has managed to survive as the only Middle East democracy. The lively resistance to the state incursions on the Internet bodes well for Israel in the long term.

Azerbaijan: Last Tweet Before Arrest

'Azerbaijan: Last tweet before arrest'
by Ali Novruzov

Emin Milli, one of two youth and civil society activists severly beaten and jailed for two months for hooliganism in Baku last week, sent a tweet back on 24th June. Not only was it the last before his arrest, but it was particularly poignant.
"Qurbansız azadlıq olmaz. Ona görə də bu gün mən və mənim kimi adamlar həbs olunmalıdır." Əbülfəz Elçibəy, 1974
'Without sacrifices there isn't any freedom. Therefore, I and people like me have to be arrested.' Abulfaz Elchibey, 1974.
Azerbaijan's ex-President Abulfaz Elchibey was arrested for his dissident activities during Soviet period. The day of Emin's tweet was Elchibey's 71th anniversary.

Elchibey was head of the Azerbaijani Popular Front when, in an almost forgotten episode, Mikhail Gorbachev launched what turned out to be the bloodiest action of his six years in the Kremlin. In January 1990, the Popular Front mounted a series of mass street protests against the ruling Azerbaijani Communist party. With barricades springing up all over Baku, the Kremlin sent in tanks to crush a rebellion, leaving more than 130 people dead.

Azerbaijan: Citizen media in defense of detained activists'
by Onnik Krikorian

Although most activity can be found on Facebook where users continue to update each other on the case of video blogger Adnan Hajizade and youth activist Emin Milli, detained last week and sentenced to two months pre-trial detention, less activity might be visible in the mainstream media, but the situation is changing. Nevertheless, citizen media remains the main source of information.

In a personal post from the heart, Fighting windmills? Take a pill. remembers her friends now sitting in prison in what most consider to be a politically-motivated case.

I have a new desktop picture - Emin waving Azerbaijani flag in front of the UN building in New York. The flag of the country he has been working and living for, the one he dreams to be liberated of corruption and dishonest politicians, the one he came back from New York for, the one, he and Adnan will spend at least two months of their lives in jail for..

[...]

"Being a dissident is an honor" said one of my Georgian friends, when I told him the whole story. That's pretty much what Emin would say, I thought. And then, imagined what he would do if one of us would get detained.

[...]

They say "You can imprison my body, but not my soul". Indeed, they can take away Emin and Adnan but the love we have for each other will never fade away, no matter what. The purest, unconditional, can't-buy-for-oil-money love, that makes my friends wait for me to become an aunt and make sure I get home safely, the one that made 50 people sing Azerbaijani anthem in front of the Sabail Court. The kind of love, that encourages people all around the world forget about the fear and fight for the freedom of our friends no matter what.

[...]

United we stand!

Meanwhile, Media Helping Media, a non-profit organization which assists journalists and activists in countries such as Azerbaijan, says that blogs and Twitter were crucial in getting word out of Hajizade and Milli's arrest long before the traditional media did.

It took the traditional news wires at least 24 hours to catch up with the coverage of the arrest of two youth movement leaders in Azerbaijan. By that time dozens of blogs had been updated and probably thousands of tweets sent. The news was everywhere; everywhere except on the mainstream media. When the news wires arrived they were reminders of yesterday's news. Probably not too late for the media that feeds off and reproduces the wires, but too late for those who want news as it happens.

[...]

That was all going on during Friday and Saturday. I couldn't find a word about the story on traditional mainstream media.

Almost 24 hours later the wires caught up. First AFP filed a piece 'Bloggers held on hooliganism charges in Azerbaijan: rights group' and then Reuters 'Azeri blogger detained, oil major presses case'.

Granted, Reuters added an interesting new angle; that BP, who employed one of the arrested men, was pushing for his release.

Both good pieces again re-tweeted and spread virally and quickly, but 24-hours behind.

Glad I didn't wait for the wires or traditional, mainstream media to catch up. If I had, 24 hours would have been lost and I would have been reading yesterday's news.

Incidentally, today is Adnan Hajizade's birthday. Global Voices Online readers can leave any messages on either the OL! blog, or one now online to support the detained activists. A Facebook page has been set up in support of Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizada. There is also a petition which can be signed online here.

Human Rights Rare in Middle East

Human Rights Laws Not Enforced for Anybody in Israel
Israel ratified the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights, but implementation of it is rare for Jew or Gentile. Over 60 years of warfare Israel became a Police State, and the authorities work with judges to discourage dissent. After three devastating attacks on our homeless shelter, a sweet young Judge advised me to go to European Courts to press for human rights. She lost her job for saying that.
We may agree that Palestinians have a right to eat and to heat their homes. The Israeli authorities maintain the Palestinian loses these rights when he lobs mortar rounds over the wall. Indeed, most Jews do not wish any contact with Arabs and the wall is emblematic of that.
Both peoples could stay at home and tend to their own business.

Armenia: Paykar Hunger Strike

DECLARATION - 4.1.08
We, the representatives of political opposition forces in the recent elections, imprisoned on false charges regarding our beliefs and political activities, declare ourselves political prisoners, and announce, in protest, a hunger strike with an undefined endpoint and with the following demands:

--the declaring illegitimate the results of the presidential elections of February 19th, 2008.
--the commencement of an independent international investigation to expose and punish the criminals responsible for the bloody crimes of March 1st.
--the release all political prisoners.
--the cessation of the pursuit of a single-party system.
--the safeguarding of access to information, assembly, freedom of speech, and other human rights.

These demands are directed to the present government, their international accomplices, and independent governments who through their efforts, or lack of efforts, aid the criminal takeover of the government that is taking place in Armenia, today.

Vladimir Arakelian
Marzpetuni Aivazian
Sayad Hovanessian
Armen Grikorian
Shmavon Galstian
Yura Simonian

Posted by Armen Filadelfiatsi

Shrpaev's Last Post: Creating Dissenters for Sport

Shurpaev’s Last Post

'Russia: Two Dagestani Journalists Killed'

by Veronica Khokhlova

Shurpaev's last blog entry (RUS) has received much attention both in the Russian blogosphere and in the media. In it, he wrote that he'd been "blacklisted" by a Dagestani newspaper critical of the republic's president:

Here we go! I'm a [dissident] now! Not sure if I should laugh or cry. I already wrote here that there's a battle going on at one Dagestani paper between its journalists and founders. The latter, according to the journalists, wanted to use them as informational killers. The potential killers [the journalists] rebelled. But all this business is way too serious and I don't understand it. But here's what blew me away. The founders came up with a list of people who it's forbidden to publish in this paper, mention them or [...] even interact with them in the newspaper's building. And there I am, in the front row! Heading the list! The funniest thing is that I've never written anything subversive for this paper - only notes on my travels, in which I did not touch upon the political situation in Zimbabwe, but just describe where I'd been, what I'd eaten and who I'd seen. I haven't taken part in the political life of the republic [Dagestan] or even of my region, because I'm lazy and,
in general, I had to go to the gym and take my daughter to the movies and to the playground. And then boom! Such a turn of events... Perhaps the [newspaper's] founders know something about me that I do not know myself? Maybe I should do the "suitcase-train station-Israel" thing, so as not to become a second [Khodorkovsky]? Anyways. Matilda [a frequent anonymous addressee of Shurpaev's blog postings]! Knit me some woolen socks. Just in case. The size is 43 1/2. [...]

Among other individuals on the newspaper's "black list" was Gadzhi Abashilov, head of Dagestan's state TV. Around 8 PM on Friday, Abashilov was shot dead in the republic's capital, Makhachkala.

Timur Aliev posted some thoughts (RUS) on this murder as well:

The second murder of a Dagestani journalist in two days - now, following Ilyas Shurpaev (in Moscow), Gadzhi Abashilov has been killed in Makhachkala.

I don't know whether these two murders are connected. But here's one version (I do not possess any insider information whatsoever). Abashilov was a pro-government journalist, a media bureaucrat - head of the "Dagestan" [State TV and Radio Company]. Ilyas [Shurpaev] could have also been perceived to have ties with the government - because he worked for [state-owned Channel One] - the main federal channel. Both were on some list of journalists who had been banned from being published and mentioned in an independent (and, lately, more of an oppositional) Dagestani newspaper. Thus, they were both identified more like pro-government people.

This leads to two conclusions (of course, only in case these two murders originate from the same source) - either the opposition is retaliating, or someone wants to compromise the opposition - namely, [Suleiman Kerimov] (who has been mentioned as the newspaper's sponsor). [...]

According to media reports on the ongoing investigation, the killings of Shurpaev and Abashilov are not connected.

You may view the latest post at

http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2008/03/23/russia-two-dagestani-journalists-killed/
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