The right choiceSecurity forces in Azerbaijan have launched a campaign against the dozens of citizens who committed high treason by voting for the Armenian entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
To say that there is no love lost between the two nations is a little like saying Antarctica is a bit nippy. Folowing the 1990s war over Nagorno-Karabakh all borders between the two countries remain closed and tensions remain high.
According to the Independent Rovshan Nasirli, a resident of Azerbaijan's capital Baku, was one of 43 people in the country to vote for Armenia's entry "Jan-Jan", sung by the duo Inga and Anush. He told Radio Liberty that he had been summoned to the country's national security ministry last week to explain himself.
"They wanted an explanation for why I voted for Armenia. They said it was a matter of national security," said Mr Nasirli, who voted by text message. "They were trying to put psychological pressure on me, saying things like, 'You have no sense of ethnic pride. How come you voted for Armenia?' They made me write out an explanation, and then they let me go."
Boy have you made a mistakeLuckily for Mr Nasirli, he had a cast-iron excuse for voting for Inga and Anush. He didn't like the Azerbaijani entry, which featured an Iranian singer based in Sweden, and voted for Armenia because the song actually sounded "more Azeri"
Hmm now there’s surveillance technology put to good use I don’t think. As for getting irate over who votes for who in the Eurovision, if there is a grain of truth in this story, the Azerbaijan government should find some greater threat to national security like the evil bastards who step on the cracks on pavements.
This is an extreme example of what makes me loathe nationalism.
