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Azeri NGOs appeal to Georgian president over crackdown on ethnic Azeris
ANS TV, Baku
7 Dec 04
[Presenter] Azerbaijani NGOs are braced to make an appeal to
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to prevent a crackdown on
ethic Azerbaijanis living in that country.
[Correspondent, over video of scenes of protest by ethnic Azerbaijanis
and scenes in Georgia] The [Azerbaijani] National NGO Forum has
prepared an appeal to Georgian President Saakashvili in protest at the
crackdown on ethnic Azerbaijanis in Georgia. The appeal, which says
ethnic Azerbaijanis have been subjected to a crackdown for dozens
of years, reminds Saakashvili of the promise he made ahead of his
election to help ethnic Azerbaijanis resolve their land problem. The
appeal also demands an end to the massive violation of the economic,
political and social rights of more than 650,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis
living in Georgia. Generally, concerned with the plight of ethnic
Azerbaijanis in Georgia, the NGOs believe that the purpose there is to
drive them out of their lands, as was the case in Armenia. The passive
attitude of Georgian NGOs also causes concern. It was decided to hold
negotiations with those NGOs and at the same time set up a monitoring
group to study the situation of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Georgia so
that this group can prepare reports based on its observations and
submit it to international organizations.
[National NGO Forum President Azay Quliyev, captioned] Azerbaijan is an
independent state and should be able to protect its people. Therefore,
I think the fact that the government and authorities of Georgia,
which is a member of the Council of Europe, are making these blunders
and grossly violating human rights like this is at least against
international legal norms, let alone brotherhood and friendship.
[Correspondent] Saying that the neighbouring country's attitude is
wrong in return for the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan [main
export] oil pipeline through Georgia and Baku's tariff concessions, the
NGOs accused Saakashvili of not being frank. Saying that Saakashvili
is a skilled [former Georgian president Zviad] Gamsakhurdia, the
president of the Centre for Political Innovations and Technologies,
Mubariz Ahmadoglu, spoke of the similarity in the ruling principles
of the two. The president of the centre, which studies the situation
in the Caucasus, believes that the existing problem is not a product
of relations between [late Azerbaijani President] Heydar Aliyev and
[former Georgian President Eduard] Shevardnadze or [Azerbaijani
President] Ilham Aliyev and Saakashvili. It has always been in
place. And Georgian-born Azerbaijanis living in Azerbaijan have a
hand in the existence of the problem.
[Mubariz Ahmadoglu, captioned] There are the lobbies of two states in
Azerbaijan, the US lobby and that of the Georgian government. This
lobby was organized under Shevardnadze and the incumbent [Georgian]
authorities are using it very successfully. The root of the problem
resides in ethnic Azerbaijanis who moved here from Georgia. I don't
mean all of them. If we can settle [the issue of] Georgian-born
Azerbaijanis here, conduct reasonable work with them and manage to
cut off the contacts of certain Georgian bodies with them, we will
make a serious success in settling the situation in Georgia.
[Correspondent] The appeal that will be sent to Saakashvili will
be in English and Russian, the languages Saakashvili speaks very
well when necessary. To be exact, when the situation is Russian,
he speaks English and when it is English he speaks his native
tongue. For example, Tbilisi, which is pursuing an explicit pro-US
policy, is offering Russia more than 600 enterprises and Armenia
372 enterprises. The Armenians are collecting money to buy the ports
of Poti and Batumi, while we are collecting it to send a monitoring
group into Georgia.
Eldaniz Valiyev, Hikmat Asgarov for ANS.
ANS TV, Baku
7 Dec 04
[Presenter] Azerbaijani NGOs are braced to make an appeal to
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to prevent a crackdown on
ethic Azerbaijanis living in that country.
[Correspondent, over video of scenes of protest by ethnic Azerbaijanis
and scenes in Georgia] The [Azerbaijani] National NGO Forum has
prepared an appeal to Georgian President Saakashvili in protest at the
crackdown on ethnic Azerbaijanis in Georgia. The appeal, which says
ethnic Azerbaijanis have been subjected to a crackdown for dozens
of years, reminds Saakashvili of the promise he made ahead of his
election to help ethnic Azerbaijanis resolve their land problem. The
appeal also demands an end to the massive violation of the economic,
political and social rights of more than 650,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis
living in Georgia. Generally, concerned with the plight of ethnic
Azerbaijanis in Georgia, the NGOs believe that the purpose there is to
drive them out of their lands, as was the case in Armenia. The passive
attitude of Georgian NGOs also causes concern. It was decided to hold
negotiations with those NGOs and at the same time set up a monitoring
group to study the situation of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Georgia so
that this group can prepare reports based on its observations and
submit it to international organizations.
[National NGO Forum President Azay Quliyev, captioned] Azerbaijan is an
independent state and should be able to protect its people. Therefore,
I think the fact that the government and authorities of Georgia,
which is a member of the Council of Europe, are making these blunders
and grossly violating human rights like this is at least against
international legal norms, let alone brotherhood and friendship.
[Correspondent] Saying that the neighbouring country's attitude is
wrong in return for the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan [main
export] oil pipeline through Georgia and Baku's tariff concessions, the
NGOs accused Saakashvili of not being frank. Saying that Saakashvili
is a skilled [former Georgian president Zviad] Gamsakhurdia, the
president of the Centre for Political Innovations and Technologies,
Mubariz Ahmadoglu, spoke of the similarity in the ruling principles
of the two. The president of the centre, which studies the situation
in the Caucasus, believes that the existing problem is not a product
of relations between [late Azerbaijani President] Heydar Aliyev and
[former Georgian President Eduard] Shevardnadze or [Azerbaijani
President] Ilham Aliyev and Saakashvili. It has always been in
place. And Georgian-born Azerbaijanis living in Azerbaijan have a
hand in the existence of the problem.
[Mubariz Ahmadoglu, captioned] There are the lobbies of two states in
Azerbaijan, the US lobby and that of the Georgian government. This
lobby was organized under Shevardnadze and the incumbent [Georgian]
authorities are using it very successfully. The root of the problem
resides in ethnic Azerbaijanis who moved here from Georgia. I don't
mean all of them. If we can settle [the issue of] Georgian-born
Azerbaijanis here, conduct reasonable work with them and manage to
cut off the contacts of certain Georgian bodies with them, we will
make a serious success in settling the situation in Georgia.
[Correspondent] The appeal that will be sent to Saakashvili will
be in English and Russian, the languages Saakashvili speaks very
well when necessary. To be exact, when the situation is Russian,
he speaks English and when it is English he speaks his native
tongue. For example, Tbilisi, which is pursuing an explicit pro-US
policy, is offering Russia more than 600 enterprises and Armenia
372 enterprises. The Armenians are collecting money to buy the ports
of Poti and Batumi, while we are collecting it to send a monitoring
group into Georgia.
Eldaniz Valiyev, Hikmat Asgarov for ANS.