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FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
http://www.forum18.org/
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief
================================================
Wednesday 5 January 2005
COMMENTARY: AZERBAIJAN'S DEMOCRACY "IS BEING SOLD FOR OIL"
In this personal commentary for Forum 18 News Service
http://www.forum18.org , an Azerbaijani Protestant, anonymous to avoid
state persecution, pleads for the international community to promote
religious freedom for all, as "it seems to us that our democracy is
being sold for oil. Foreigners are afraid to call things by their real
name. They are afraid to tell our government bluntly that human rights
violations must end." He argues that "religious freedom cannot
exist without other freedoms, such as freedom of expression and
association, as well as press and literature freedom. Because of this,
religious freedom is a litmus test for freedom and democracy in any
society, including Azerbaijan." He concludes by proposing practical
steps for effective dialogue with Azerbaijan's leaders, leading to real
religious freedom, and how religious minorities can be involved in this
process.
COMMENTARY: AZERBAIJAN'S DEMOCRACY "IS BEING SOLD FOR OIL"
By an Azerbaijani Protestant
In the nearly fifteen years since my country, Azerbaijan, regained its
independence, we Christians have faced all kinds of obstacles and problems
functioning freely. Although Azerbaijan gained a new constitution that
unambiguously recognises the independence of religious communities from the
state, freedom of conscience for all and the equality of citizens
regardless of their religious adherence, gender or political views, in
practice the opposite is the case.
While religious communities in Azerbaijan theoretically largely have the
right to function freely (with some exceptions), in practice they do not
have freedom. Restrictions and obstacles abound.
When churches and other minority religious communities try to register with
the government and gain legal status it can be very difficult - at
times even impossible. Obstruction comes from the State Committee for Work
with Religious Organisations - the government agency with the duty of
registering religious communities that wish to do so. But not just from the
Committee. Local administration officials up and down the country -
who also have to approve registration applications - often
deliberately and arbitrarily obstruct them.
In principle a community collects the required documents and sends them in,
but what happens if the state notary refuses to certify the signatures? The
application stalls - and there is little redress. Communities can
wait for years as applications languish on this or that official's desk
- and believers do not know what they can do to gain the registration
they are entitled to.
The same difficulty faces Christian parents if they want to give their
children Christian names. That's no problem in most countries of the world,
but in some parts of Azerbaijan officials often refuse to register the
birth of a child with a Christian name - the child then cannot go to
kindergarten or school, get treatment in a hospital or travel to other
countries. (See eg. F18News 1 December 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=466.)
And when religious communities seek to meet for worship - with or
without registration, as is their right under the constitution and in
international law - the police or secret police can raid them. Those
without registration are told (wrongly) that registration is compulsory
before a community can meet for worship.
Worse still, believers are at times detained, intimidated and fined, simply
for practising their faith in the way they see fit. Religious literature
remains censored, a Soviet-era practice long overdue for abolition.
Even defending religious freedom for all is obstructed. Two years ago local
believers of a variety of faiths founded a local affiliate of the
International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA). Officials from the
United States, Russian and Turkish embassies were present at the official
launch at Baku's Irshad Hotel, along with parliamentarians from Kyrgyzstan
and other international representatives, among them Denton Lotz, general
secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. Local officials were led by Rafik
Aliev, head of the State Committee.
Yet two years on, the IRLA affiliate still cannot register. So many of us
are asking this simple question: why not?
Many representatives from international bodies - such as the Council
of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
and the United Nations (UN) - come to examine the human rights
situation here. So too do officials of foreign governments and parliaments,
as well as human rights organisations. But we see no practical changes.
Speaking frankly, it seems to us that our democracy is being sold for oil.
Foreigners are afraid to call things by their real name. They are afraid to
tell our government bluntly that human rights violations must end.
For its part our government is carefully playing a game to pretend that
religious freedom and respect for minority faiths exist. Each time a
religious delegation goes abroad or when foreigners interested in religion
wish to meet local believers the government brings together a
representative of the state-sanctioned Caucasian Muslim Board, the Russian
Orthodox Church and the community of Mountain Jews. Doesn't anyone ask
where are the Protestant Christians? We are now a sizable community and
have been here for more than a century. And what about independent Muslims
or representatives of other faiths?
It is right and proper for us Protestants to be included, but no-one hears
our voice. Of all the Christians, visitors hear only the voice of the
Orthodox. Independent Muslims are not heard - only Sheikh-ul-Islam
Allahshukur Pashazade, the head of the Muslim Board, is presented to
foreign visitors. The state deceives its visitors - who themselves
should also know better. This is a return to the Soviet system. The state
wants to control everything.
Instead of just meeting those the government wants them to meet, visitors
themselves should seek out and meet Protestants, independent Muslims and
others and hear their views. They should then pass on these views back to
our government. Given that the government in some way acknowledges that
foreigners have a role to play, they could be a bridge between us and the
state. We have tried to build this bridge ourselves, but we do not have the
power to do so: the state sends the police and secret police against us.
It would be good if visitors ask our country's leaders why religious
communities cannot freely register, meet for worship, publish or import
religious literature. They should ask why we cannot print or import as many
Bibles as we want - the Bible is not banned literature. How much
pornography is allowed here, yet we are not allowed to provide Christian
literature.
Our previous president, Heidar Aliev, was educated by the KGB secret police
and was a KGB man through and through, but since 2003 we have a new
president, Ilham Aliev (Heidar's son). He has been educated properly, not
by the KGB. He is young, knows several foreign languages, including
English, and looks to the future.
Azerbaijan is considered an Eastern country. In the Eastern mentality it is
the president who decides everything. Politicians, business leaders and
other visitors from the West could tell our president - whether in
public or in private - what needs to be changed and improved in the
area of religious freedom. Such visitors could also invite representatives
of all faiths to such discussions, including Protestants.
Sad though it is to say, I believe the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the
US and other Western governments are not telling our leaders the truth. If
they spoke about the violations of religious freedom in Azerbaijan to our
president in private over a cup of tea, such problems could be resolved.
Western claims of "quiet diplomacy" with unjust regimes can be a
cloak for inaction - a useful excuse for the West to avoid telling
the truth. But the diplomats usually know what they are doing. Our
obligation as members of Azerbaijan's religious minorities is to explain
our point of view clearly and allow the diplomats to do their job
effectively to make such diplomacy work. At the same time, we need to be
wise to make sure we are not being used in any "cup of tea"
diplomacy that is not effective.
If independent representatives of all faiths, including Protestants, were
ever invited to genuine discussions with visitors and the president, we
would say that we want our constitution to be obeyed. We are not calling
for laws to be changed but for our rights to be defended. The State
Committee for Work with Religious Organisations gets funds from our taxes
to be the liaison between the state and religious communities, but instead
is using taxpayers' money to obstruct religious communities' work. This
needs to change. Indeed, the State Committee should be abolished - we
do not need such a body.
We Protestants are Azerbaijani citizens, but no-one listens to us. An
unwritten law says that as Muslims represent 95 per cent of the population
all other faiths, including Protestants, should be ignored. The media, the
police and the secret police regard Christianity as an enemy of the people,
working for Russia, Armenia or some other "enemy". Fear abounds.
Although we are trying to fight for our rights, we cannot do so alone. We
need the West. Normally citizens of a country should resolve their problems
themselves, but we cannot. Let the state give us the rights we have in the
constitution. The constitution is good, but the practice is bad.
Why is the West not doing anything? We do not understand what they are
waiting for. We think oil and gas are closing their eyes to democracy
here.
Each year Western governments give several million dollars to promote
democracy, but where is this democracy? Are these funds being used to
promote democracy or the opposite? No-one asks why there is a need for so
many police and secret police. Why are there so many? What do we need them
for? How are they fed?
Religious freedom is an inseparable part of the other human rights which
need to be observed here - and these other rights must also be
raised. Freedom of conscience cannot exist without other freedoms, such as
freedom of expression and association, as well as press and literature
freedom. Because of this, religious freedom is a litmus test for freedom
and democracy in any society, including Azerbaijan. Democracy is power. If
people have no power, the regime presides over nothing other than a police
state.
One problem is that officials here are given no training on what democracy
means. The constitution is only a formal document. We find it difficult to
explain to officials our constitutional rights - they do not
understand them. Officials at the State Committee for Work with Religious
Organisations may be a little bit smarter. They know the rights that
believers should have but carry out different instructions - those
come from the KGB secret police.
It is also crucial that international pressure is exerted on the government
to stop regarding religious activity as criminal activity. In contrast to
the government's current attitude, criminal activity as understood by
international organisations is just that - not religious activity. Criminal
activity is just criminal activity - the religious faith of the
criminal does not matter.
Some media here are very quick to react to any religious events, working
hand in glove with the State Committee and the KGB in fulfilling their
commands. Pro-government television companies like Azerbaijan News Service
ANS, Space and Lider often work with officials to slander believers -
they are a weapon in the authorities' hands (eg. See F18News 22 November
2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=458). These media
outlets violate the rights of religious believers, manipulating interviews
and cutting segments together to make the believers look bad. They make
believers out to be enemies of the people. As a result, ordinary people are
afraid to visit places of worship.
We hear many promises from the international community, but these promises
are not followed through. If I send my son out with money to buy bread and
he does not get it, I no longer give him money. Western donors should
follow this principle. As Azerbaijan has signed international agreements
guaranteeing rights to religious freedom, such donors must demand that it
fulfils these agreements. Otherwise they should tell our government to stop
its violations and if it continues its abuses they should go further,
isolating the country's leaders. Officials and pro-government media workers
responsible for violating believers' rights should be blacklisted for entry
to Western democracies. This should include the police and secret police
leadership, as well as the top five or six leaders of the State Committee
for Work with Religious Organisations, an agency that depends on the
president.
International bodies of which Azerbaijan is a member must be tougher. The
Council of Europe and the OSCE should issue warnings over violations of
believers' rights then, if the situation does not improve, suspend
Azerbaijan's membership. This would give a positive signal for change.
Knowing our mentality, it is better for these organisations to start off
exerting pressure in a quiet, friendly way. But the pressure must be
followed through, with a series of steps which do not exclude harsher
measures.
When representatives of such international organisations meet our president
to press these demands, it is important that the heads of the KGB secret
police, the Interior Ministry and the State Committee are present also
- so that they hear the answers our president gives. Such demands are
best made first of all in private, the second time in the open, so that
everyone can see what the West is demanding.
It would be very helpful for international organisations to be guided by
local believers, who should be involved as partners in devising suitable
approaches. It is of course difficult for religious minorities to know
whether such approaches are sincere efforts to promote religious freedom or
merely excuses for inaction. This makes it all the more important for
religious minorities to watch the process carefully to ensure that their
views are listened to - and to be prepared to keep up the pressure
until the approaches bring success.
Religious believers in Azerbaijan are hoping that it is not true that our
democracy is being sold for oil. The test of whether or not this is true is
the West's concrete actions.
(END)
Commentaries are personal views and do not necessarily represent the views
of F18News or Forum 18.
The F18News report on Azerbaijan before this commentary was 17 December
2004 "We want freedom - freedom in society, freedom of faith and
freedom to worship" http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=479
.
For more background information see Forum 18's Azerbaijan religious freedom
survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id'
A printer-friendly map of Azerbaijan is available at
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=azerba
an Azerbaijani Protestant, contributed this comment to Forum 18 News
Service. Commentaries are personal views and do not necessarily represent
the views of F18News or Forum 18.
(END)
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved.
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News http://www.forum18.org/
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at
http://www.forum18.org/
http://www.forum18.org/
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief
================================================
Wednesday 5 January 2005
COMMENTARY: AZERBAIJAN'S DEMOCRACY "IS BEING SOLD FOR OIL"
In this personal commentary for Forum 18 News Service
http://www.forum18.org , an Azerbaijani Protestant, anonymous to avoid
state persecution, pleads for the international community to promote
religious freedom for all, as "it seems to us that our democracy is
being sold for oil. Foreigners are afraid to call things by their real
name. They are afraid to tell our government bluntly that human rights
violations must end." He argues that "religious freedom cannot
exist without other freedoms, such as freedom of expression and
association, as well as press and literature freedom. Because of this,
religious freedom is a litmus test for freedom and democracy in any
society, including Azerbaijan." He concludes by proposing practical
steps for effective dialogue with Azerbaijan's leaders, leading to real
religious freedom, and how religious minorities can be involved in this
process.
COMMENTARY: AZERBAIJAN'S DEMOCRACY "IS BEING SOLD FOR OIL"
By an Azerbaijani Protestant
In the nearly fifteen years since my country, Azerbaijan, regained its
independence, we Christians have faced all kinds of obstacles and problems
functioning freely. Although Azerbaijan gained a new constitution that
unambiguously recognises the independence of religious communities from the
state, freedom of conscience for all and the equality of citizens
regardless of their religious adherence, gender or political views, in
practice the opposite is the case.
While religious communities in Azerbaijan theoretically largely have the
right to function freely (with some exceptions), in practice they do not
have freedom. Restrictions and obstacles abound.
When churches and other minority religious communities try to register with
the government and gain legal status it can be very difficult - at
times even impossible. Obstruction comes from the State Committee for Work
with Religious Organisations - the government agency with the duty of
registering religious communities that wish to do so. But not just from the
Committee. Local administration officials up and down the country -
who also have to approve registration applications - often
deliberately and arbitrarily obstruct them.
In principle a community collects the required documents and sends them in,
but what happens if the state notary refuses to certify the signatures? The
application stalls - and there is little redress. Communities can
wait for years as applications languish on this or that official's desk
- and believers do not know what they can do to gain the registration
they are entitled to.
The same difficulty faces Christian parents if they want to give their
children Christian names. That's no problem in most countries of the world,
but in some parts of Azerbaijan officials often refuse to register the
birth of a child with a Christian name - the child then cannot go to
kindergarten or school, get treatment in a hospital or travel to other
countries. (See eg. F18News 1 December 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=466.)
And when religious communities seek to meet for worship - with or
without registration, as is their right under the constitution and in
international law - the police or secret police can raid them. Those
without registration are told (wrongly) that registration is compulsory
before a community can meet for worship.
Worse still, believers are at times detained, intimidated and fined, simply
for practising their faith in the way they see fit. Religious literature
remains censored, a Soviet-era practice long overdue for abolition.
Even defending religious freedom for all is obstructed. Two years ago local
believers of a variety of faiths founded a local affiliate of the
International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA). Officials from the
United States, Russian and Turkish embassies were present at the official
launch at Baku's Irshad Hotel, along with parliamentarians from Kyrgyzstan
and other international representatives, among them Denton Lotz, general
secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. Local officials were led by Rafik
Aliev, head of the State Committee.
Yet two years on, the IRLA affiliate still cannot register. So many of us
are asking this simple question: why not?
Many representatives from international bodies - such as the Council
of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
and the United Nations (UN) - come to examine the human rights
situation here. So too do officials of foreign governments and parliaments,
as well as human rights organisations. But we see no practical changes.
Speaking frankly, it seems to us that our democracy is being sold for oil.
Foreigners are afraid to call things by their real name. They are afraid to
tell our government bluntly that human rights violations must end.
For its part our government is carefully playing a game to pretend that
religious freedom and respect for minority faiths exist. Each time a
religious delegation goes abroad or when foreigners interested in religion
wish to meet local believers the government brings together a
representative of the state-sanctioned Caucasian Muslim Board, the Russian
Orthodox Church and the community of Mountain Jews. Doesn't anyone ask
where are the Protestant Christians? We are now a sizable community and
have been here for more than a century. And what about independent Muslims
or representatives of other faiths?
It is right and proper for us Protestants to be included, but no-one hears
our voice. Of all the Christians, visitors hear only the voice of the
Orthodox. Independent Muslims are not heard - only Sheikh-ul-Islam
Allahshukur Pashazade, the head of the Muslim Board, is presented to
foreign visitors. The state deceives its visitors - who themselves
should also know better. This is a return to the Soviet system. The state
wants to control everything.
Instead of just meeting those the government wants them to meet, visitors
themselves should seek out and meet Protestants, independent Muslims and
others and hear their views. They should then pass on these views back to
our government. Given that the government in some way acknowledges that
foreigners have a role to play, they could be a bridge between us and the
state. We have tried to build this bridge ourselves, but we do not have the
power to do so: the state sends the police and secret police against us.
It would be good if visitors ask our country's leaders why religious
communities cannot freely register, meet for worship, publish or import
religious literature. They should ask why we cannot print or import as many
Bibles as we want - the Bible is not banned literature. How much
pornography is allowed here, yet we are not allowed to provide Christian
literature.
Our previous president, Heidar Aliev, was educated by the KGB secret police
and was a KGB man through and through, but since 2003 we have a new
president, Ilham Aliev (Heidar's son). He has been educated properly, not
by the KGB. He is young, knows several foreign languages, including
English, and looks to the future.
Azerbaijan is considered an Eastern country. In the Eastern mentality it is
the president who decides everything. Politicians, business leaders and
other visitors from the West could tell our president - whether in
public or in private - what needs to be changed and improved in the
area of religious freedom. Such visitors could also invite representatives
of all faiths to such discussions, including Protestants.
Sad though it is to say, I believe the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the
US and other Western governments are not telling our leaders the truth. If
they spoke about the violations of religious freedom in Azerbaijan to our
president in private over a cup of tea, such problems could be resolved.
Western claims of "quiet diplomacy" with unjust regimes can be a
cloak for inaction - a useful excuse for the West to avoid telling
the truth. But the diplomats usually know what they are doing. Our
obligation as members of Azerbaijan's religious minorities is to explain
our point of view clearly and allow the diplomats to do their job
effectively to make such diplomacy work. At the same time, we need to be
wise to make sure we are not being used in any "cup of tea"
diplomacy that is not effective.
If independent representatives of all faiths, including Protestants, were
ever invited to genuine discussions with visitors and the president, we
would say that we want our constitution to be obeyed. We are not calling
for laws to be changed but for our rights to be defended. The State
Committee for Work with Religious Organisations gets funds from our taxes
to be the liaison between the state and religious communities, but instead
is using taxpayers' money to obstruct religious communities' work. This
needs to change. Indeed, the State Committee should be abolished - we
do not need such a body.
We Protestants are Azerbaijani citizens, but no-one listens to us. An
unwritten law says that as Muslims represent 95 per cent of the population
all other faiths, including Protestants, should be ignored. The media, the
police and the secret police regard Christianity as an enemy of the people,
working for Russia, Armenia or some other "enemy". Fear abounds.
Although we are trying to fight for our rights, we cannot do so alone. We
need the West. Normally citizens of a country should resolve their problems
themselves, but we cannot. Let the state give us the rights we have in the
constitution. The constitution is good, but the practice is bad.
Why is the West not doing anything? We do not understand what they are
waiting for. We think oil and gas are closing their eyes to democracy
here.
Each year Western governments give several million dollars to promote
democracy, but where is this democracy? Are these funds being used to
promote democracy or the opposite? No-one asks why there is a need for so
many police and secret police. Why are there so many? What do we need them
for? How are they fed?
Religious freedom is an inseparable part of the other human rights which
need to be observed here - and these other rights must also be
raised. Freedom of conscience cannot exist without other freedoms, such as
freedom of expression and association, as well as press and literature
freedom. Because of this, religious freedom is a litmus test for freedom
and democracy in any society, including Azerbaijan. Democracy is power. If
people have no power, the regime presides over nothing other than a police
state.
One problem is that officials here are given no training on what democracy
means. The constitution is only a formal document. We find it difficult to
explain to officials our constitutional rights - they do not
understand them. Officials at the State Committee for Work with Religious
Organisations may be a little bit smarter. They know the rights that
believers should have but carry out different instructions - those
come from the KGB secret police.
It is also crucial that international pressure is exerted on the government
to stop regarding religious activity as criminal activity. In contrast to
the government's current attitude, criminal activity as understood by
international organisations is just that - not religious activity. Criminal
activity is just criminal activity - the religious faith of the
criminal does not matter.
Some media here are very quick to react to any religious events, working
hand in glove with the State Committee and the KGB in fulfilling their
commands. Pro-government television companies like Azerbaijan News Service
ANS, Space and Lider often work with officials to slander believers -
they are a weapon in the authorities' hands (eg. See F18News 22 November
2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=458). These media
outlets violate the rights of religious believers, manipulating interviews
and cutting segments together to make the believers look bad. They make
believers out to be enemies of the people. As a result, ordinary people are
afraid to visit places of worship.
We hear many promises from the international community, but these promises
are not followed through. If I send my son out with money to buy bread and
he does not get it, I no longer give him money. Western donors should
follow this principle. As Azerbaijan has signed international agreements
guaranteeing rights to religious freedom, such donors must demand that it
fulfils these agreements. Otherwise they should tell our government to stop
its violations and if it continues its abuses they should go further,
isolating the country's leaders. Officials and pro-government media workers
responsible for violating believers' rights should be blacklisted for entry
to Western democracies. This should include the police and secret police
leadership, as well as the top five or six leaders of the State Committee
for Work with Religious Organisations, an agency that depends on the
president.
International bodies of which Azerbaijan is a member must be tougher. The
Council of Europe and the OSCE should issue warnings over violations of
believers' rights then, if the situation does not improve, suspend
Azerbaijan's membership. This would give a positive signal for change.
Knowing our mentality, it is better for these organisations to start off
exerting pressure in a quiet, friendly way. But the pressure must be
followed through, with a series of steps which do not exclude harsher
measures.
When representatives of such international organisations meet our president
to press these demands, it is important that the heads of the KGB secret
police, the Interior Ministry and the State Committee are present also
- so that they hear the answers our president gives. Such demands are
best made first of all in private, the second time in the open, so that
everyone can see what the West is demanding.
It would be very helpful for international organisations to be guided by
local believers, who should be involved as partners in devising suitable
approaches. It is of course difficult for religious minorities to know
whether such approaches are sincere efforts to promote religious freedom or
merely excuses for inaction. This makes it all the more important for
religious minorities to watch the process carefully to ensure that their
views are listened to - and to be prepared to keep up the pressure
until the approaches bring success.
Religious believers in Azerbaijan are hoping that it is not true that our
democracy is being sold for oil. The test of whether or not this is true is
the West's concrete actions.
(END)
Commentaries are personal views and do not necessarily represent the views
of F18News or Forum 18.
The F18News report on Azerbaijan before this commentary was 17 December
2004 "We want freedom - freedom in society, freedom of faith and
freedom to worship" http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=479
.
For more background information see Forum 18's Azerbaijan religious freedom
survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id'
A printer-friendly map of Azerbaijan is available at
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=azerba
an Azerbaijani Protestant, contributed this comment to Forum 18 News
Service. Commentaries are personal views and do not necessarily represent
the views of F18News or Forum 18.
(END)
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved.
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News http://www.forum18.org/
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at
http://www.forum18.org/