Azeri officials reportedly evacuate relatives over possible US-Iran war
Yeni Musavat, Baku
2 Mar 07
Excerpt from report by Arslan Aras and Sams in the Azerbaijani
newspaper Yeni Musavat on 2 March headlined "Officials are relocating
families from Baku"
According to information available to us, some high-ranking officials
have recently started sending their family members, especially
youngsters and children, abroad.
As is known, the Azerbaijani authorities consider that the start of
the US-Iran war is highly probable. They are concerned that missiles
may hit Baku and Azerbaijan’s other populated areas during the war. We
wrote in our previous publications that the authorities have already
instructed the appropriate bodies to draw up a plan of measures to
counteract consequences of possible missile strikes. In addition, it
emerged that a presidential instruction to improve the material and
technical infrastructure of the First Aid Service has to do with the
said assumptions about war.
On the other hand, the fact that the Emergencies Ministry has hastily
started a campaign for vacating basements in Baku and its statements
that the latter will be used as shelters are not in vain. Civil
defence exercises broadcast by TV channels are not
accidental. Azerbaijani officials have involved our country in [US
President] George Bush’s escapade and turned it into a secret member
of the anti-Iran coalition. They have given four military units to US
military [as published] and have therefore turned themselves and our
country into a target. They would not have relocated their families if
they didn’t know something.
[Passage omitted: real estate prices have stopped to rise after the
war assumptions]
Long time ago Tehran said that it will target the countries in the
sphere of US interest in case of military intervention. Azerbaijan is
named among these countries. According to some experts, the main
targets which Iran might hit are located in Baku. For this reason, it
is expected that prices for flats in the capital will speedily
reduce. Our interlocutor, who is a businessman working in the
construction sphere, has said that prices in the flat market will
really reduce if the US-Iran war starts. According to our
interlocutor, some businessmen are already going to stop the
construction of buildings.
"Half of the population will flee Baku if a missile hits
it. Especially rich people who are our main clients will not want to
live in a dangerous zone. Therefore, we are not in a hurry to launch
new projects. Personally, I am about to end the construction of two
buildings. I am going to start the construction of another two. I
simply do not start the new projects as I am concerned about the
US-Iran war," he said.
[Passage omitted: the subject to be covered again in the near future]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress