Azeri police foil protests against polls in breakaway Karabakh

ANS TV, Baku
8 Jun 05

[Presenter] Members of the Karabakh Liberation Organization [KLO] have
attempted to stage pickets outside the embassies of the countries
co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group in protest against the [19 June]
parliamentary polls in the self-styled Nagornyy Karabakh republic
[NKR].

[Correspondent over video of protesters and police officers] The KLO
started mass protests today. Its members attempted to stage
unsanctioned protests outside the embassies of Russia, France and the
USA – the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group and demanded that
the parliamentary polls in the self-styled NKR be prevented. Despite
police resistance, the protesters managed to approach the French
embassy and chant their slogans.

The police detained and held [in a police car] KLO deputy chairman
Firudin Mammadov until the end of the protest.

They also tried to prevent KLO members from marching to the Russian
embassy. Only one protester was allowed to submit a resolution to a
member of the embassy. The resolution also carried their protest
against the relocation of Russian bases from Georgia to Armenia.

The KLO members failed to chant their slogans outside the US
embassy. The police waiting for them near the Dostluq [Friendship]
cinema allowed the protesters to submit their resolution to the
embassy. Despite all this, KLO deputy chairman Mammadov said that they
had achieved their goals.

[Mammadov] We said in our resolution that if the issues raised by the
KLO, that is the parliamentary polls [in Karabakh] and the removal of
Russia’s military units from Georgia to Armenia, are not taken
seriously in the near future, the KLO will stage more protests outside
these countries.

[Correspondent] Mammadov said that next actions would be more radical.

Vamiq Nasirov, Natavan Babayeva and Sadiq Mammadov, ANS.

[Video showed protesters chanting “Karabakh! Karabakh!”; Firudin
Mammadov in a police car, policemen etc]