Azerbaijan evictions tarnish Eurovision glitz

In the shadow of an enormous Azerbaijani flag, a landmark concert hall is rising from the Caspian Sea shoreline as the oil-rich ex-Soviet state prepares to host the Eurovision song contest in May.

But a human rights dispute has marred Azerbaijan's preparations for the pop extravaganza as homes are demolished as part of an urban regeneration project which includes the ultramodern 'Crystal Hall' where Eurovision will be staged.

Rights activists allege that several hundred families have been evicted from the area so far under pressure from the Baku city authorities to accept what they claim is inadequate compensation that will not buy similar apartments in the centre of the capital.

"The pressure comes from various sides," said Zohrab Ismailov of the Public Association for Assistance to Free Economy campaign group, claiming that the authorities sometimes cut off gas, electricity and water to intimidate people into leaving.

Emirates 24/7 – Also see Etiraz: Authorities preparing to attack the last residential building on the Eurovision Hall area and Barbarians Inside The Gates: Ten Centuries and Eurovision – Video of the projects here

Collective Punishment of 'Rioters' Families and the Geneva Convention

An interesting exchange on Facebook is reproduced below regarding some Councils' determination to evict persons convicted of involvement in the recent UK riots. Wandsworth Council want to evict an entire family whose son was found guilty of involvement in the Clapham Junction looting.

One wonders what long-term good such a local authority imagines will come from this. Will they make an underclass intimidated into passivity and obedience, however grudging?
Is satisfying the understandable cries for punitive action from shopkeepers and a rattled middle class wise if this action strays into the realms of collective punishment, a point Jim Murphy fairly raises below?
For myself, even if a convicted person is the only one evicted, this strategy makes no sense. Deprive the underclass of even a place to live? I can think of no better way of creating genuinely terrifying psychopaths.

Anyone paying attention to the crimes of the elite (and the cover-up of these crimes by parliament and the media) knows very well that the sickness at the bottom of society is a manifestation of a much greater sickness at the top.
Bearing in mind the unwillingness of our entire parliament, even the old icons of the left like Diane Abbott, who rose to prominence on the back of the Hackney riots, to see itself as part of (never mind the source of) the problem, might we not expect with absolute certainty that a similar sickness will manifest itself later....more than likely on a much larger scale. The middle classes, whose children cannot afford to get a mortgage on a place to live and who are being inducted into massive debt before they even start their working lives will become heavily involved.
When this time comes, and it will, more than sports and mobile phone shops will have cause to worry.

NO ONE TO VOTE FOR: Kev Boyle Blog

First riot-related eviction notice served – Yahoo news