After the government of Azerbaijan accused the opposition of being funded by Armenian intelligence and NDI for a coup, the political progress in the country seems to be degrading quickly. In my analysis of what happened, I wrote that, “using Armenia is probably the best way for the Azeri government to discredit the opposition in one sure-fire nationalistic sweep.” Indeed, now pro-government and opposition groups are clashing in the streets over the allegations.

(AFP) – Some 300 pro- and anti-government demonstrators in Azerbaijan showered each other with stones and bottles Monday in a clash over an opposition leader’s alleged contacts with Armenian secret police, but there were no reports of serious injuries.

A pro-government rally faced off with the opposition across a traffic-packed street in central Baku just days after prosecutors announced the arrest of the leader of an anti-government youth group for his alleged contacts with agents from Azerbaijan’s rival Armenia. About 150 members of the opposition National Front of Azerbaijan party chanted “Freedom!” and whistled as an equal number of pro-government demonstrators shouted into loud speakers just meters away, an AFP reporter on the scene saw.

Protestors scattered and regrouped as rocks and bottles thrown by the opposing sides crashed onto the asphalt. Police pushed back the opposition supporters, many wearing orange shirts to echo the “Orange Revolution” that swept Ukraine last year, until demonstrators from both sides dispersed.
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One popular TV channel, Lider, has interspersed footage from Bashirli’s meeting with pictures of Azerbaijanis killed or mutilated during a bitter war between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the early 1990s. The opposition has denied Bashirli plotted to overthrow the government, calling the case a state-sponsored smear campaign aimed at pitting the public against anti-government forces.

“The authorities are creating a situation of civil confrontation, and they carry responsibility for this,” National Front leader Ali Kerimli said at a press conference following the demonstration. “Today the confrontation is small-scale, and we are doing everything to prevent it expanding any further.”

Exactly what I said would happen is happening. The public is treating the opposition like traitors, though it is completely unclear at this point if the allegations are true, who the men Bashirli met with really are, and how the government somehow made a video tape of the meeting. Perhaps this will be revealed at a later date somehow.

Personally, I’m not buying it. This is all happening at a time when the opposition has become more united than ever while hardliners and reformists within the government itself are breaking. Western pressure over crackdowns has led to the government allowing more opposition protests to take place, allowing them to gain even more publicity. More media avenues are also becoming available that are covering the opposition. Meanwhile, the government has temporarily detained dozens of opposition leaders quietly; many from Yeni Fikr, whose leader is charged with the coup plot.

The hardliners have basically seen that they are in a position of disadvantage with the upcoming parliamentary elections, and while indeed they may hold free and fair polls, they are trying to systematically discredit and disenfranchise the opposition through very dubious means so that they’ll be the victors.

MORE: Transitions Online has an article, published a few days ago, on Azerbaijan called “Democracy and evolutionary clashes.”