Brother, no one is interfering with your laws. These criticisms do not constitute interference in your political system, either. People were simply voicing criticism. Not everyone in Türkiye is an Ikhwanist sympathizer or the like; thinking so is as foolish as claiming that all Azerbaijanis are *goyim*. In the past, there were far more intense protests against France, Germany, and Austria regarding freedom of religion, conscience, and the right to education. We did not interfere in the internal affairs of those states; while some addressed the issue within the framework of human rights and freedom of conscience, others—unfortunatly—instrumentalized it to serve their own agendas. Unfortunately, this is simply the nature of the business. What matters is patiently isolating and weeding out those with malicious intent; if you play into their hands, you only expand the audience they can manipulate.
A certain segment in Türkiye—specifically those who have long targeted the country and seek to turn this issue into a source of visceral hostility—is now attacking Azerbaijan using insolent language. Yet, I repeat: if you look at the main social media accounts driving this narrative, you will find a history of them criticizing Türkiye in even harsher terms—particularly during the Iran-Israel conflict. At the same time, there is a group within Azerbaijan that is just as dangerous and serves the same function as this destructive group; they began their activities simultaneously. If you analyze the "psyop" groups on X etc, you will understand what I mean. Those orchestrating the narrative merely set a snowball rolling from the top, and as nations—both Azerbaijan and Turkiye—we are so lacking in discernment regarding social manipulation that the effect has snowballed out of control.
The problem is that while these agents of influence press the buttons that trigger Azerbaijanis the most, the Azerbaijani branch of this operation simultaneously presses the buttons that trigger people in Turkiye the most. This situation could have been brought under control. Yet, while Aliyev’s words were being distorted and turned into rhetoric about "putting Türkiye in its place," a mere two-sentence official statement could have silenced the noise; at the very least, we could have managed the reaction on the Turkish side. This was the crux of the matter—the point people couldn't stomach and what swept them up in the backlash—not the headscarf issue or anything of the sort. But far from preventing this, so-called "special dossiers" were published in the Azerbaijani press promoting narratives of Turkish-Israeli trade and a "hypocritical Turkiye"; furthermore, some members of the press even attempted to lecture Türkiye.
And what was the fundamental argument? That Turkiye was interfering in Azerbaijan's internal affairs? For heaven's sake, can such a thing be said about a country that closed its border with Armenia due to the atrocities in Karabakh, subjected it to isolation, and never turned its back on its brother? A state that has borne the costs of the support it extended to Azerbaijan within EU commissions, and has even faced an embargo. Criticism is one thing, but the real question is: was there interference in your judiciary, media, or politics? Was there blackmail?
When the Zurich Protocols were signed between Turkiye and Armenia in Switzerland, Türkiye’s primary condition was Armenia’s withdrawal from Karabakh. Why didn't anyone say "one shouldn't interfere in internal affairs" back then? Or, when Aliyev claimed Turkiye had "stabbed us in the back," did we turn it into a social crisis, or did we stand by Azerbaijan? They lowered the Turkish flags at the Turkish Martyrs' Cemetery in Baku. You took down the flags at the martyrs' cemetery where 1130 Turkish Soldiers rest which all of died for Azerbaijan indipendence ! They used the threat of cutting off economic ties with Turkey as blackmail. Today, Türkiye is the biggest buyer of Azerbaijan's oil/gas, which opened it to the world also (including Israel) but did they not leverage natural gas pricing and delivery terms as bargaining chips during the price revision debates of the late 2000s?
Leaving that aside, the Aliyev administration in Baku has always closely monitored criticisms voiced by the media, intellectuals, or politicians within Turkiye and demanded that Ankara silence those voices. Azerbaijani state media, along with Aliyev-controlled media outlets and lobbies within Turkiye, have at times waged overt smear campaigns during Turkish general election periods against opposition figures perceived as likely to take a stance distant from Azerbaijan's interests.
In fact, Türkiye has interfered with Azerbaijan once; Moreover, the military coup attempt planned against the then President Heydar Aliyev in Azerbaijan in 1995 was prevented thanks to a critical intelligence warning made by Türkiye at the highest level. This issue is still a matter of debate today.
Look, if we were to delve into issues like interference in internal affairs or political blackmail, Aliyev would come off very poorly. However, the structure encasing Aliyev like a shell is so intolerant of criticism that it has not only reacted with extreme diplomatic harshness toward a fraternal country like Turkiye but has also deeply provoked us by treating Israel—which has openly threatened Türkiye with war—as a close ally. What is disheartening is that this is not the first time you have overreacted in this manner, and yet we will once again swallow it. You know that "big brother, little brother" dynamic often cited on Azerbaijani social media? That lies at the very heart of the matter. We will, sooner or later, silence the voices within the religious and devout segments of society. And we will forget the words that hurt us the most. For brotherhood.
