May 3, 2011 - 18:58 AMT
OPINION
Baku decides not to confine itself to young snipers

The ban on providing secondary schools with weapons prevents holding “high-quality lessons on basic military training” in Azerbaijan, Deputy Education Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Gasimov said at a public debate on development of the State Program on Azerbaijani Youth in 2011-2015.

"It is banned to provide schools with weapons for practice in accordance with the Defense Ministry's special order. The ban must be lifted. Schools must be provided with weapons," he said.

Earlier Baku took certain actions to train school students as snipers. Specifically, snipers’ courses were established under Azerbaijan’s Voluntary Military Patriotism Technical Sport Society.

During these courses, the Azerbaijani youth will study technical indicators of snipers, hand-to-hand fighting. Sniper rifles and fitness machines have already been purchased from Russia for use in the courses.

Similar programs are in accordance with the continuous threats of the Azerbaijani leadership on war resumption in Karabakh and huge volume of arms purchased by that country. Probably, having conceived the fact that weapons themselves will bring no use, Baku decided to bring up a generation of young soldiers, exploiting the hatred towards Armenians instilled in these young people. The Azerbaijani children are destined to become cannon fodder, which can be used for a “great idea,” unless the young kamikazes annihilate each other in schools, in which weapons will be distributed.