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  • BAKU: Azeri Daily Urges Closer Ties With Israel

    AZERI DAILY URGES CLOSER TIES WITH ISRAEL

    Zerkalo, Baku
    17 Apr 04

    Azerbaijani daily Zerkalo has praised several deputies for their calls
    for closer cooperation with Israel at a recent parliament
    session. Zerkalo said the government should not be afraid of
    establishing closer ties with Israel for fear of Iran's "wrath"
    because the benefits would be much higher. The following is an excerpt
    from Emin Mahmudov report by Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo on 17 April
    headlined "I love you, even if you do not love me"; subheadings have
    been inserted editorially:

    It is good when our MPs remember political issues of state importance
    not only when the presidential administration or the ruling party
    gives a hint or "concessions" have to be made for the Council of
    Europe or the shapeless mass, usually described as the Azerbaijani
    opposition, has to be "lynched". It appears that people in our
    parliament can sometimes "raise their nose" above the papers which
    come "from above" and which have to be endorsed even without
    deliberation.

    Several quite balanced statements were made in parliament yesterday
    (16 April). The Milli Maclis (parliament) decided to open Azerbaijani
    embassies in Canada, Hungary, Greece, Latvia, India, Belarus, Bulgaria
    and Indonesia and a permanent representative office at the UNESCO in
    Paris.

    During the debates, MPs from the People's Front Party Asim Mollazada
    and Alimammad Nuriyev, the head of the Compatriot Party, Mais Safarli,
    and the head of the United People's Front Party, Qudrat Hasanquliyev,
    said that it was necessary to open an Azerbaijani embassy in
    Israel. They explained their proposal by the fact that Azerbaijan is
    in the "same coalition" as this country in the antiterrorist fight. In
    addition, Israel supports Azerbaijan's positions on the international
    arena. It was also noted that Israel was one of the first countries to
    recognize Azerbaijan's independence.

    The opinion that the opening of the embassy could cause Iran's
    negative reaction was dismissed as "groundless". The MPs recalled that
    Iran was strengthening diplomatic relations with Armenia by the day.

    (Passage omitted: former President Heydar Aliyev never paid visit to
    Israel)

    Islamic factor

    But it is clear that the authorities, to put it mildly, are afraid of
    the "Islamic wrath". To put it even simpler, of the Iranian
    government. Tehran has always been sensitive on the issue of
    Azerbaijani-Israeli relations. It is no secret that Tehran does not
    like the people of lands of promise. Anti-Semitism is the cornerstone
    of the Iranian policy. What does Azerbaijan have to do with this?

    While speaking loud about eternal friendship between the peoples of
    Iran and Azerbaijan, the mullahs are still pursuing an openly
    anti-Azerbaijan policy. The country, where 60 per cent of the
    population are ethnic Azerbaijanis, has always been putting a spoke in
    its northern neighbour's wheel. It is no secret that Armenia would
    have long "kicked the bucket" if not for Iran's considerable
    assistance and support. The Tehran government's attitude to its own
    citizens, ethnic Azerbaijanis, is also well-known. Reports are coming
    in almost every day about Azerbaijanis in Iran being subjected to
    total pressure. Moreover, everyone might still remember that Tehran
    twice "attempted to facilitate the settlement" of the Karabakh
    conflict as a mediator. During the first attempt the Xocali massacre
    was committed, during the second we lost Susa.

    Iran's pressure

    We are well aware of the kind of pressure Tehran puts on Azerbaijan
    during the signing of oil contracts. There was a wide "range" of them
    - from not recognizing contracts to not recognizing Azerbaijan's right
    to the fields and to the sector of Caspian which Tehran had made no
    attempts to claim in Soviet times. This almost grew into an armed
    conflict, when an Iranian boat almost grappled with an Azerbaijani
    research vessel. Not to mention Iranian Air Force planes boldly flying
    over Azerbaijani territory after that.

    Things got more complicated as it went on. The construction of a major
    gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia, the allocation of significant
    Iranian grants for Yerevan and so on are on the agenda. The list is
    infinite.

    We wonder how sincere Islamists are when they speak about Muslim
    solidarity and friendship against the background of supporting the
    occupying regime of a country which invaded the territory of their
    alleged ally.

    Naturally, Azerbaijan does not have friendship with someone for
    "nothing". Iran is our access to Naxcivan and a route for exporting
    and importing of some goods today. We also receive humanitarian aid on
    a regular basis. That is it. Of course taking into account the fact
    that Naxcivan is under blockade, this is quite a lot. But Baku has
    always offered its "thanks". Not verbal, but concrete "financial
    thanks".

    What is Israel for Azerbaijan?

    Naturally, as a small country Azerbaijan has to take into account
    Iran's opinion, as well as the opinion of Russia, the USA, Britain and
    so on. A paradoxical situation arises. For some reason, the
    Azerbaijani government can afford to ignore the opinion of its western
    "beacons", not to mention Russia. But the authorities "surrender" to
    Iran whenever it comes to deepening cooperation with Israel. We can
    add here that no-one blames Tehran (at least at the government level)
    for rendering its comprehensive support of Yerevan. An independent
    country has the right to determine its policies independently, but
    Azerbaijan is not independent enough to boost ties with Tel Aviv (or
    if you wish, Jerusalem which Israel believes is its capital).

    If we compare the benefit that Azerbaijan gets from "surrendering" to
    Iran with the benefit it gets from cooperating with Israel, we will be
    "overwhelmed" by the difference. The author says the basis for that
    was not what he heard, but what he saw in Israel.

    What is Israel for Azerbaijan? First, it is the "headquarters" of the
    most powerful lobby in the USA, which, incidentally, has always
    supported Azerbaijan and promoted the abolishment of Section 907 (of
    the Freedom Support Act banning direct US assistance to the Baku
    government) by the Congress.

    In addition, Israel is a country of high technologies, developed
    medicine, electronics, advanced agriculture technologies, defence, so
    on and so forth. This country is genuinely strives for friendship and
    cooperation and is ready for that, which has more than once been
    declared by its envoys in Baku. We think we should pay attention to
    these benefits.
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