The state TV Broadcast – AzTV, which is the main propaganda machine of the Azerbaijani government, recently justified the four-year closure of the country’s land borders by citing a threat from France.
What happened:
In the weekly summary program aired on September 29, Azerbaijan’s state television commented on the continued closure of the country’s land borders. This commentary followed Ilham Aliyev’s speech during the first session of the Milli Majlis on September 23 where he talked about it.
Ilham Aliyev justified the closure of the land borders by citing the geopolitical situation and potential threats to the country from abroad.
“I can say with absolute certainty that the closure of our land borders over the past few years has saved us from many major disasters. Even today, with the borders closed, dangerous developments unfold and are being prevented. While there are no internal risks in Azerbaijan, protecting our borders will safeguard us from external risks.” – the president emphasized.
How AZTV developed this narrative:
Azerbaijan’s state television attributed the continued border closure to a network of agents allegedly coming from Western countries, particularly from France.
“The facts lead us to say that one of the methods, and perhaps the primary one, that Europe is using to attack Azerbaijan today is the attempt to form a network of agents within our country.” – the author says.
It was not only France, and Western countries that were targeted by AzTV, besides, the channel’s head, Rovshan Mammadli, also addressed internal protests, framing these protests as an attempt to disrupt internal stability in Azerbaijan.
“They failed to achieve their goals in the war. All their diplomatic attacks were repelled. Information and ideological assaults are being stopped. What remains? What remains is to damage internal security and tarnish Azerbaijan’s image as a strong state. To create fear, panic, and conflict within the country. And for this purpose, they are applying a familiar scenario.” – Rovshan Mammadli said.
Following Mammadli’s note, the footage from war-torn countries was shown, trying to convey the message that Azerbaijan currently enjoys stability and that if the borders were to open, the country could find itself in situations similar to those in Ukraine, Syria, or Gaza.
When were land borders closed?
The land borders of Azerbaijan closed in 2020, March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the pandemic is over in the entire world, the land borders of the country remain closed. Besides Ilham Aliyev, several pro-governmental politicians claimed that it is vital for the security of the country.
However, closed borders cause several difficulties for ordinary citizens, since flight tickets are expensive at least 3-4 times more than the bus tickets that people used to buy to visit abroad then.
For instance, people who live close to the border of Georgia with Azerbaijan, have to visit Baku, which is approximately 400 km far away from that region and take a flight to be able to visit Tbilisi. Flight ticket to Tbilisi is for at least 100 manats (52 US dollars) which is expensive for Azerbaijani people.
