Turkish flag returned to Baku monument after row
The flags of Turkey and
Azerbaijan removed from the area around a monument honoring Turkish
soldiers at a cemetery in Baku were hoisted anew on Tuesday night,
easing tension observed between the two countries in the past
weeks.
The row between Turkey and Azerbaijan emerged when Azerbaijani flags were banned at the Turkey-Armenia soccer match played in the Turkish town of Bursa on October 14. Flags were taken away from indignant fans and put in garbage cans. On the following day, the flags of Turkey and Azerbaijan were taken down around the monument at the Alley of Martyrs honoring Turkish servicemen who fell in battles with the troops of Armenian Dashnaks and Soviet Bolsheviks. Further, on October 21, the Turkish and Azerbaijani flags were taken down from the area around the building of the Turkish Embassy's Office for Religious Affairs in Baku. Azerbaijani officials said the measure was not linked to the Bursa incident and complied with Azerbaijan’s new law on the rules of using foreign flags in the country’s territory.
Azerbaijan’s legislation allows hoisting foreign flags only in the locations of diplomatic representations and international organizations’ offices.
Gultakin Hajibayli, deputy chair of the Azerbaijani parliamentary committee on international and inter-parliamentary relations, suggested introducing amendments to the current law on flags making an exception for the Turkish flag.
"The fact these flags wave again at the Alley of Martyrs is the toughest response to the subversive forces seeking a spoiling in the relations between the two countries," Hajibayli said.
Murat Mercan, chairman of the Turkish parliamentary commission on foreign affairs, who heads a delegation visiting Baku, has praised the return of his country’s flags to the monument.
"We take pride in the waving of the Turkish and Azerbaijani flags together," he said while speaking to reporters in front of the memorial. "Nothing makes us as happy as these flags waving together in the world."*
The row between Turkey and Azerbaijan emerged when Azerbaijani flags were banned at the Turkey-Armenia soccer match played in the Turkish town of Bursa on October 14. Flags were taken away from indignant fans and put in garbage cans. On the following day, the flags of Turkey and Azerbaijan were taken down around the monument at the Alley of Martyrs honoring Turkish servicemen who fell in battles with the troops of Armenian Dashnaks and Soviet Bolsheviks. Further, on October 21, the Turkish and Azerbaijani flags were taken down from the area around the building of the Turkish Embassy's Office for Religious Affairs in Baku. Azerbaijani officials said the measure was not linked to the Bursa incident and complied with Azerbaijan’s new law on the rules of using foreign flags in the country’s territory.
Azerbaijan’s legislation allows hoisting foreign flags only in the locations of diplomatic representations and international organizations’ offices.
Gultakin Hajibayli, deputy chair of the Azerbaijani parliamentary committee on international and inter-parliamentary relations, suggested introducing amendments to the current law on flags making an exception for the Turkish flag.
"The fact these flags wave again at the Alley of Martyrs is the toughest response to the subversive forces seeking a spoiling in the relations between the two countries," Hajibayli said.
Murat Mercan, chairman of the Turkish parliamentary commission on foreign affairs, who heads a delegation visiting Baku, has praised the return of his country’s flags to the monument.
"We take pride in the waving of the Turkish and Azerbaijani flags together," he said while speaking to reporters in front of the memorial. "Nothing makes us as happy as these flags waving together in the world."*
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