"The only country with closed borders" - Quarantine extended in Azerbaijan

Quarantine extended in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has extended quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic until May 1. The country’s land borders have been closed for three years. “Azerbaijan today is the only country in the world with officially closed borders,” opposition politician Natik Jafarli stated.

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Of all the quarantine measures in the country, only one is actually in effect — land borders are closed. Departure and entry into the country is possible only by air transport, the only exception being the land border with Turkey in Nakhichevan, which can be crossed only by Azerbaijani citizens who have a Nakhichevan residence permit.

All other measures, such as COVID passports when entering enclosed spaces and wearing masks, are not actually enforced anywhere.

Closed borders: why Azerbaijani authorities refuse to reopen land communication?

Why Azerbaijan refuses to reopen its land borders? In recent days, the issue of closed land borders with neighboring countries has become even more acute in Azerbaijan, although they were closed back in April 2020

“The only country with closed borders”

“The whole world has already renounced such absurd concepts as quarantine, coronavirus, restrictions, officially there is not a single country with closed land borders left in the world, even in Turkmenistan and North Korea the borders are not closed and it is possible to cross borders with special permits. Azerbaijan is the only country with closed borders,” Jafarli says.

“In March a criminal organization called WHO is going to cancel their stupid and absurd decision about the coronavirus pandemic, and only the Azerbaijani government is persistent in its decision that the pandemic is not over. I wonder what our government will say when the WHO cancels the pandemic on a global scale?” Jafarli asks.

According to the politician, a little over 100 people are currently sick with coronavirus across the country:

“If the goal is to increase the revenues of Azerbaijani Airlines, this is unlikely — it is already financed from the state budget.

If the goal is to make money on local tourist sites, again it is absurd. Hotels owned by large holdings enjoy the same state budget and their income from tourism (compared to corruption and income from the state budget) is so small that this is not even pocket change for oligarch officials. Moreover, if the borders open there will be even more tourists, hotels will again earn money.

So what’s the problem? If they are afraid because of security issues, I can’t understand that either. Our state is stronger than its neighbors and more resistant to external influences. We are not so weak!

The one who unravel the real reason for this should be awarded the Nobel Prize, as I can’t explain this phenomenon in any way. It seems the government just likes it that way, and that’s it.”