Azeri officials rap "foreign sponsors" for rally against abuse in army

BBC Monitoring International Reports - Sunday, March 10, 2013 APA Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry Eldar Sabiroglu has said that the rally staged today against non-combat deaths in the army was organized by forces with wrong intentions, Bakubased APA news agency reported on 10 March.

"What did those, who attempted to stage this protest, achieve? I believe that those who led the young people to the streets have other intentions," APA quoted Eldar Sabiroglu as saying. The ministry spokesman also dismissed the reports that the government did not care about the army.

"We are not indifferent to our soldiers. Our state and president care deeply about the army. This is not the same government that existed 15 or 20 years ago. Our army has been in trenches for 20 years now. We must be proud of this army. However, some forces are seeking to drive a wedge between society and the army using misinformation. We condemn this," Eldar Sabiroglu said.

The deputy head of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party, MP Siyavus Novruzov, also criticized the rally, saying that it had been organized "upon the instructions of foreign sponsors" in order to disturb public order in Azerbaijan , APA said in a separate report.

"I deeply regret that there are forces that seek to take advantage of some people's tragedy for their political and personal ends," APA quoted Novruzov as saying.