More than a war of words. President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, announced using Twitter that his country is at war with Armenia. Source: Twitter / @presidentaz
SOME people use Twitter to complain about their commute or what they’re having for lunch but for the President of Azerbaijan he took to social media to declare war.
President Ilham Aliyev said that Armenia’s destruction of Azerbaijan’s formerly occupied territories is beyond Baku’s worst expectations. He also said that this destruction was aimed at erasing Azerbaijan’s legacy in those territories. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has attended the inauguration of DOST Center No.4 of the Sustainable and Operative Social Security Agency under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population in Baku's Binagadi district, Azertag reported on March 30.
President Ilham Aliyev posted a torrent of messages on his Twitter account @presidentaz stating Azerbaijan is in a “state of war” with Armenia, the first time a country has declared war using the medium.
There has been tension between the two countries since 1988 over the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh — a territory both have been tussling over since the independence of the Soviet Union. The conflict, which claimed an estimated 30,000 lives, halted in 1994 with a ceasefire but recent events has seen military action resume.
The first tweets kicked off following an attack launched by Armenian forces which took the lives of several members of the Azerbaijani army. President Aliyev claimed how “their blood has been avenged” and continued with a series of militant tweets describing how “the war is not over”, “the Azerbaijani army is strong” and “the occupied territories are our native lands”.
May Allah rest their souls in peace! However, their blood has been avenged. The Azerbaijani army has dealt a very severe blow to the enemy.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014We are not living in peace, we are living in a state of war. Everyone must know this.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014The war is not over. Only the first stage of it is. But the second stage may start too.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014Our territorial integrity will be restored. There are several factors that enable this conclusion. Azerbaijan is getting stronger.
Twitter Ilham Aliyev
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014If the Azerbaijani army starts an offensive, the enemy will find itself in a very difficult situation.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014President Aliyev posted nearly 60 tweets over a short period of time with each strongly on the offensive. One tweet did state how Azerbaijan wants war rather than peace, but while they see the disputed territory as theirs there will be a conflict. The signs of a peaceful settlement seems to be fading.
The weaponry and ammunition we have acquired in recent years suggest that we can accomplish any task.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014We will restore our territorial integrity either by peaceful or military means. We are ready for both options.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014Government Of Azerbaijan
The use of Twitter to announce such a politically important situation shows how important a tool the social media platform has become. We only hope countries could use social media to soothe relations instead but we can’t see President Aliyev using any kiss-blowing emojis any time soon.