Naked Bike Ride - Sat 8 June, London

Naked Bike Ride is an environmental movement (across many countries) to protest oil dependency and expose vulnerability of cyclists. For more background info to this movement - read here. Below is a photo story of London event, Sat 8 June.

Epic shame for Hungary as axe murderer Ramil Safarov extradited to Azerbaijan to be pardoned and turned into ‘national hero’

Utterly disgusted with the news that Ramil Safarov - axe murderer of Armenia officer at NATO training in Budapest, Hungary, was extradited to Azerbaijan and pardoned by their president.

This sends all the wrong messages to citizens of Azerbaijan and Armenia that violence is acceptable and encouraged on the highest state level, with the direct involvement of EU member state Hungary.

This will inevitably increase the level of suspicion during similar mutual trainings and initiatives elsewhere, and will turn into a big obstacle for Karabakh peace building process.

F*cked up leaders, corrupted governments and attempts at turning failed policies into populist nationalist triumphs... with the help of bloody oil money, of course.

Only few days ago, news surfaced re oil rich Azerbaijan dictatorship’s possible 2-3 bln money lending to Hungary.

BUDAPEST, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Oil exporter Azerbaijan could lend Hungary 2-3 billion euros [...] *source

No comments, indeed.

Expensive price Aliyev’s regime decided to pay for turning the murderer into a ‘national hero’.

Epic shame and fail to Hungary that should be investigated by EU on the highest possible level.

In the meantime, Armenia cuts diplomatic and official ties with Hungary.

"Fuck Oil": say it and get detained in Baku, Azerbaijan

Two words that say it all. “Fuck Oil”. Say it, and as per reports from Baku, you are guaranteed at least 10 days of administrative arrest.

His name is Rashadat Akhundov (pictured), and he was among youth group that took part in the protest today in Baku. There were about 300-350 protesters there, representatives of various opposition groups. Rashadat himself used to be a member of OL! Youth Movement, but left. He is no longer part of any youth/political organisation. Young activists decided to hold posters that read: "ILHAM - RESIGN" and "FUCK OIL". (you may see pictures of posters in making here) They were demanding "freedom of assembly and transparent parliamentary elections this fall".

80 people in total were detained: 61 of them were kept in Sabail District Police station; the rest were driven to Gobustan. [Most of the detained were later released. However, four people got 10 days, one person - 15 days of imprisonment. Six people were fined 20 AZN.]

During the protest youth activists managed to run away from the police, however Rashadat was among people waiting outside the Sabail District Police Station for news on the 61 detainees kept there. One of the policemen recognised Rashadat and detained him too. He then got sentenced to 10 days in prison.

*many thanks to my Azeri friends for the info provided.

**picture - via @ljmaximus, via azadliq.org

Armenia: Intrigue and Scandal of The Day

Intrigue No. 1: Armenia’s incumbent president Serj Sargsyan names his ‘opposition-friendly’ chief of staff

President Serzh Sarkisian appointed on Tuesday a leading member of his Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), Karen Karapetian, as the new chief of his staff. [...]

The appointment reflects Karapetian’s increased political clout and his close ties with the president. The veteran parliamentarian joined the HHK in 2006 and soon after became its deputy chairman as then Prime Minister Sarkisian completed his takeover of Armenia’s number one “party of power.” He has since been as seen one of Sarkisian’s most trusted allies. Karapetian, 47, is also known for his conciliatory approach to the Armenian opposition. That might explain why, unlike other key pro-government figures, he has rarely been the target of verbal attacks from opposition leaders.

Karapetian made a point of sitting next to two arrested opposition parliamentarians when they were brought to the parliament floor to have their immunity from prosecution lifted by fellow lawmakers last March. The deputies, Miasnik Malkhasian and Hakob Hakobian, remain under arrest on controversial coup charges stemming from the March 1 deadly clashes in Yerevan between opposition protesters and security forces.

Intrigue No. 2: Armenia’s participation in Nabucco pipeline project as part of a “comprehensive Karabakh peace pact”? – But what will be the price, I wonder?!

Economics may hold the key to breaking the stalemate in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. Turkish and Azerbaijani officials reportedly are seriously mulling the possibility of Armenian participation in the long-planned Nabucco pipeline project as part of a comprehensive Karabakh peace pact. [...]

Although details of the recent discussions have been scarce, some experts believe that the three sides have probed a possible bargain under which Armenia would become part of the Nabucco pipeline plans, in return for a greater degree of flexibility concerning Yerevan’s position on Karabakh. [...]

Turkish analyst Sinan Ogan, the chair of the Ankara-based TURKSAM think tank, said that the topic of Armenia’s participation in the Nabucco project came up during US Vice President Dick Cheney’s recent, controversial visit to Baku. "There are serious plans to involve Armenia in this project. Turkey and Azerbaijan were against this idea at first, but now Armenia’s participation seems realistic," Ogan said in comments broadcast September 19 on Voice of America radio.

Scandal: Pro-Government MP Blamed For Deadly Beating I wonder - why the incident has been officially acknowledged by the police only after around 10 days; only after the detention of a scapegoat? Can’t agree more with the Ombudsman (see below).

A senior employee of Armenia’s state television and radio on Tuesday blamed a pro-government parliamentarian notorious for reportedly violent conduct for an attack on a Yerevan café that left one of his friends dead. Artur Sahakian, who runs the news service of the Armenian Public Radio and anchors a talk show on Public TV, also alleged a high-level police cover-up of the mysterious incident that occurred on September 21. […]

Armen Harutiunian, Armenia’ human rights ombudsman, appeared skeptical about such assurances [Unzipped – that the police will do everything to solve the case]. “We know very well that in such cases someone goes to the police, confesses to the crime, spends one or two years in prison, and then walks free after the dust settles,” he told RFE/RL. “This case must be very seriously and thoroughly investigated. We must put an end to lawlessness.”

Reuters: Azerbaijan halts oil exports from 2 Georgian ports

BAKU, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Shipments of oil and oil products from two of Georgia's ports have been suspended because of fighting in the ex-Soviet state's breakaway South Ossetia region, Azeri state energy firm SOCAR said on Saturday.

"There have been no shipments coming to or from the Batumi and Kulevi ports since last night," SOCAR head Rovnag Abdullayev said on Azeri television.

SOCAR uses the ports to export crude and refined products. [...]

"These circumstances amount to force majeure and tomorrow, together with BP, we will examine the situation," Abdullayev said.

British oil company BP and SOCAR have a production-sharing deal in the Caspian Sea.

SOCAR would consider using the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline which exports oil via Russia to Europe, he said, although its relatively small capacity of between 10,000 and 12,000 tonnes per day could pose a problem.

"All 47 people we have working in Kulevi left the area today due to the problem," Abdullayev added.

All Azerbaijan's ports are on the landlocked Caspian Sea, which means it has to use Georgian or Russian ports on the Black Sea or Turkey's Mediterranean outlet at Ceyhan.

SOCAR opened the Kulevi oil terminal in May after buying it two years ago. It planned to ship 5 million tonnes of oil and oil products annually through the facility.
***

Earlier citing Georgian sources AFP reported that Russian jets targeted major oil pipeline.

TBILISI (AFP) — Russian warplanes on Saturday staged a raid near a major international oil pipeline that runs through Georgia but did not damage it, Georgia's prime minister said.

The 1,774-kilometre (1,109-mile) Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline is the world's second longest and takes oil from Azerbaijan to Western markets.

Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze told Georgian television: "The area of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline was bombed by Russian planes. Miraculously, the pipeline was not damaged."

The BTC has a capacity of 1.2 million barrels of oil a day but is currently shut down after an explosion in a Turkish section which has been claimed by Kurdish rebels.

*map - by AFP; /emphasis mine/