Baku. İlhama İsabalayeva - APA-Economics. Microsoft has launched Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008, and SQL Server 2008 at a presentation in Baku on May 30.

Teymur Akhundov, Microsoft’s Director for Azerbaijan, said these products were fist launched in the United States on February 27.
Microsoft’s new products include an upgraded version of the company’s Web server, Internet Information Services 7.0, as well as a litany of Web development technologies.
The new products improved in security, such as modular installation, failover additions, federated rights management, and encryption.

APR was declared on May 28, 1918 in Tiflis (Tbilisi) by the Azerbaijan National Council headed by Mahammad Amin Rasulzadeh. The Declaration of Independence adopted by the National Council stated to the world about the establishment of the first democratic parliamentary republic in the Turkic-Moslem world. The Declaration reads:
1. Azerbaijani People have a power and Azerbaijan located in the South-Eastern Caucasus is fully legitimate independent country from today.
2. Form of government in independent Azerbaijan is People’s Republic.
3. Azerbaijan People’s Republic intends to establish friendly relations with other nations, particularly with neighboring nations and states.
4. Azerbaijan People’s Republic gives equal political and civil rights to its citizens without distinction as to their national identities, faiths, classes and races.
5. Azerbaijan People’s Republic creates wide opportunities for the free development of all nations living in its territory.
In that time, the government of Azerbaijan temporarily located in Ganja City, because Baku was under the control of Bolshevik Baku Council led by Stepan Shaumian and dashnak armed units. On September 15, 1918 after the heavy battles Azerbaijani National Army and Caucasian Islamic Army led by Nuru Pasha liberated Baku from Bolshevik, dashnak and English military units and independent Azerbaijani Government moved to Baku.
Azerbaijan People’s Republic existed for 23 months only and issued a number of important laws and carried out political, military, legal and economic reforms. The Republic gave to Azerbaijani history such figures like Mahammad Amin Rasulzadeh, Fathali Khan Khoysky, Alimardan Bey Topchubashov and Nasib Bey Yusifbeyli. Azerbaijan People’s Republic fell as a result of occupation of Azerbaijan by the Soviet Russian XI Red Army. Founders of the APR were shot dead and others were sent to exile or immigrated to foreign countries. Mahammad Amin Rasulzadeh was also forced to spend his life in exile in the different countries, but he never lost his belief that Azerbaijan will achieve its independence again. Rasulzadeh died on March 6, 1955 in Turkey at the age of 71.

“When I first arrived in Baku in 2000, Icheri-Sheher was not listed among UNESCO’s world historical monuments. Therefore, I regard inserting of this historical part of Baku into this list as important,” said Kootiro Mazuura, UNESCO General Director, at a press conference in Baku when asked by TURAN to comment on intensive demolition and construction in Icheri-Sheher.

He said the problem of preservation of historical monuments in urgent in many world countries. Mazuura added that modernization must not be to the prejudice of historical value. In some cases it is advisable to make a long pause. “There is no need to protect the whole city, but separate monuments must be protected. Unfortunately, this problem is urgent in Baku’s historical centre. I have visited it. Everyone knows importance of Icheri-Sheher. Now the historical centre is in “the dangerous list” made up by UNESCO. Objects from this list must be restored according to the plan and I hope that Azerbaijani authorities and Baku’s residents will pay a serious attention to that and not destroy historical values while constructing new buildings. Baku’s historical center remains in this “dangerous list” and I hope it will be removed from it soon,” said Mazuura. He added that such problem is urgent for many UNESCO member-states. He said that UNESCO has been working on a list of recommendations on Icheri-Sheher and he hopes that the recommendations will be “applied.”

Iranian police arrested dozens of Azeris to prevent the planned protest actions on the anniversary of deadly May events in 2006.
The Congress of World Azerbaijanis told APA that 15 Azeris, namely Mahammad farhadi, Kerim Mahammadzade, Huseyn Mirzakhani, Firuz Abbasguluzade, Rza Abbasguluzade, Samed Mahammad Jafari, Ali Hakpur, Yasser Heydarnejat , Hojjet Tariverdiyan, Hojjat Mukhtarzade, Ibrahim Bay (no surname), Veli Abdullahpur, Mursal Bahshi, Mehdi Dehghani and Bahruz Bay (no surname) were taken into custody on May 22 alone.
Some of them have been released.A few days before the anniversary of the May events Ali Sadig, Jamshid Zarei, Mahammed Yerhun, Ahad Razavi, Hamid Rzai, Hassan Ark and Akber Huseynzade were detained.
There is no further information about these seven individuals.The Southern Azerbaijan Independence Party’s Investigation and Information (Center told APA that a resident of Tabriz Hassan Ahadi was arrested on May 24, being accused of links to the party.He was reportedly tortured in prison in Tabriz.