When you’re talking about government, “strange” is a relative term. Still, voting for the wrong team in the Eurovision Song Contest hardly seems like a matter of national security. Azerbaijan’s National Security Ministry seems to disagree. Rovshan Nasirli, one of 43 Azeris to send a text message voting for Armenian duo Inga and Anush over the national team, was summoned last week to answer for his treasonous behavior.
The agents interrogated him and demanded he provide a written explanation for his vote. “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?’” he said.
The Azeri government is a little on edge about the Nagorno-Karabakh region. This disputed territory is within the imaginary lines of Azerbaijan, but most residents are ethnic Armenians. There seems to be a lot of hate flying between the two ethnic groups, and at least one of the governments appears ready to punish race traitors.
In case you’re interested, here’s the song Nasirli voted for, followed by the song he was supposed to vote for:
Personally, I’m not too fond of either, but I think I would have voted for the Armenians as well; ethic pride be damned.
Brad Taylor is a graduate student in Political Science at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He blogs at 
every aftr a day,
ths song contest going to fork of politics system
im so angry! :S
it has to be free, for equitable contest!