From Liz Fuller in today’s Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty newsline:

AZERBAIJANI EXPERTS ASSESS POSSIBLE INTERNET SECURITY THREAT. The website day.az has asked two experts to assess the possible threat to Azerbaijan’s national security posed by the posting on maps.google.com of photographs of strategic buildings in Baku and other Azerbaijani cities, including the presidential palace and the Defense Ministry, and of fortifications close to the Line of Contact that separates Azerbaijani and Armenian forces. Independent military expert Uzeir Djafarov said those photos indubitably undermine national security and constitute “gross interference in Azerbaijan’s internal affairs.” He expressed concern that the Foreign, Defense, and National Security ministries have not responded to that perceived interference and demanded the removal of the photos in question. Alimamed Nuriyev, a former member of the parliamentary Committee on Security and Defense, pointed out that as Azerbaijan has not yet formally adopted a national-security concept (see “RFE/RL Caucasus Report,” February 3, 2006), it is difficult to define precisely what constitutes a threat. At the same time, he noted that Azerbaijan is “at war,” and that the publication of photographs of strategic facilities plays into the hands of the enemy, according to day.az on October 28.