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BUSH'S LEGACY: AUTOCRACY IN AZERBAIJAN
Sinead Walsh
Trinity News
http://www.trinitynews.ie/index.php/opinion/w orld-review/350-bushs-legacy-autocracy-in-azerbaij an
Nov 10 2008
Ireland
The US presidential race is run and the question on most people's
lips is whether or not George W. Bush intends to go out with a bang;
with the recent raid on Syria having fuelled much speculation on
the subject. Well, here's one of his plans, revealed in a letter
written to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev which was published
on the Today.az website on October 28: "In the coming few months
we will strive for deepening the bilateral partnership and friendly
relations between our countries. In particular, we hope for further
advancement towards our goals in the sphere of global energy security
and attainment of agreements on basic principles of the resolution
of Nagorno Karabakh conflict."
Given that Russian President Dmitri Medvedev beat Mr. Bush in the
race to host Mr. Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart in talks aimed
at preventing the frozen Karabakh conflict from escalating into a
South Ossetia-style crisis, Bush is left with one priority - draining
Azerbaijan of all the oil he can get and shoring up NATO influence
in the region, while turning a blind eye to political realities in
the Caucasian country sandwiched between Russia, Turkey and Iran;
and faced with a staggering refugee and IDP (internally displaced
persons) problem.
The occasion of Bush's foray into the sophisticated world of
letter-writing was Mr. Aliyev's re-inauguration as president following
elections on October 15. According to official statistics, 3,232,259
people - that is to say, over 87% of the 75% of the electorate who
showed up at polling stations - voted for Mr. Aliyev. Not one of
his six rivals received even three percent of the vote. The main
opposition parties all boycotted the elections in protest against what
the the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe(OSCE)
called a "lack of robust competition and vibrant political discourse
facilitated by the media". All in all, a pretty poor return on attempts
to democratize the post-Communist country. But nonetheless, Mr. Bush
saw fit to congratulate Mr. Aliyev on the results and even express
his support for efforts at "strengthening democratic institutions".
It's hard to imagine any of Mr. Bush's Cold War predecessors
sending a similar letter to Mr. Aliyev's father, Heydar, a man
who ruled Azerbaijan for over thirty years in both its Soviet and
post-Soviet form. In 2003, the dying Mr. Heydar transferred power to
his son in an election which was characterized by violence and other
violations of democratic norms. Since then, Mr. Ilham has cashed in
on his father's legacy, sponsoring a cult known to its critics as
Heydarism. Everywhere one goes in Azerbaijan - after one's arrival at
the Heydar Aliyev airport - one finds Heydar Aliyev streets, Heydar
Aliyev squares, Heydar Aliyev monuments, Heydar Aliyev schools,
libraries and cultural centres. Along the roadsides, Heydar smiles
down from enormous billboards, occasionally accompanied by his son in
pictures of the two of them gazing out over building sites in Baku
and oil rigs in the Caspian, or enjoying a talk in an impressive
looking office. I was lucky enough to be in Baku to celebrate what
would have been Heydar's 85th birthday - had he lived. The cult of
personality surrounding Mr. Heydar - and, by extension, his son -
reminded me irresistibly of the traces of the cult to Lenin that
remain indelibly marked on Russian towns. The difference being that
the Lenin cult is so old it has become a quaint sort of novelty,
whereas Heydarism is terrifyingly current.
A few stories from the past twelve months serve to demonstrate the
limited reach of efforts to democratize the Azerbaijani media. This
time last year, members of the Azadliq (Freedom) opposition block and
independent media representatives were on hunger strike, protesting
their lack of a free press. At the time, journalist Eynulla Fatullayev
had just been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison on
charges of threatening terrorism, inciting racial hatred, and tax
evasion. This followed an article he had written suggesting that
Azerbaijan would be at risk in the event of U.S. military strikes
in Iran, and implying that the authorities were obstructing the
investigation into the murder of Elmar Husseynov, the editor of the
Russian language newspaper Monitor who was assassinated in 2005. Part
of the evidence against Fatullayev was an article posted online in
his name, but which he denies having written, accusing Azerbaijani
troops of participating in the 1992 killings of inhabitants of the
Nagorno-Karabakh town of Khojali.
In December 2007 Mr. Aliyev pardoned five out of the eight journalists
then facing jail (Mr. Fatullayev wasn't one of them). However, the
following March, courts went on to sentence Ganimat Zahidov, editor
of the Azadliq newspaper, to four years in prison for "deliberately
causing light injuries" and "hooliganism". Key witnesses were
prevented from testifying at his trial. In his final speech, he made
the following statement: "The mind of the 21st century calls on the
state to be the locomotive of progress and direct the community
towards the most progressive ideas. We live in Azerbaijan and we
are engaged in media activities. We do our best to establish the
traditions of media in our country in a way which will correspond to
international standards. But we have to do that taking the risk of
death, being beaten half-dead, or arrested because of the articles
we wrote. Why? Why does the logic of the 17th century shows up to
this degree in the present governance of Azerbaijan?"
The run-up to October's election was notable for Ilham Aliyev's -
and the late Heydar's - dominance of the media, and a general sense of
fatigue amongst the opposition. Following the election, the opposition
also cancelled protest rallies after being denied permission to
assemble by authorities in Baku, no doubt remembering the widespread
arrests and beatings that followed the fraudulent 2003 election. Then
on November 1st it was announced that the State Council for Television
and Radio Broadcasting intended to put a stop to local broadcasts by
Radio Liberty, Voice of America and the BBC. The body's chairman said
that it was now policy to broadcast only programs of national origin,
adding that these stations would remain accessible by satellite,
cable and Internet. Bearing in mind that in their 2007 report,
which classified Azerbaijan as not free, Freedom House estimated that
only 10% of the population has Internet access, this will be another
significant strike against the media in Azerbaijan if it comes to pass.
Through all of this, Elmar Husseynov's murder has remained unsolved.
Along with the bigger headaches inherited from the Bush administration,
Mr. Obama will also have to deal with the problems posed by states such
as the overlooked, oil-rich, illiberal and uncompromisingly nationalist
Azerbaijan. It may be that Azerbaijan will remain an overlooked ally
of the oil-hungry superpower, just as it was in Clinton's day. Or
it may be that Mr. Obama will push Mr. Aliyev closer to Moscow,
sacrificing a strategic foothold in the Caucasus to criticize the
increasingly repressive Aliyev dynasty.
It should prove interesting. After all, they say you should judge a
man by how he treats his servants, not his equals.
Sinead Walsh
Trinity News
http://www.trinitynews.ie/index.php/opinion/w orld-review/350-bushs-legacy-autocracy-in-azerbaij an
Nov 10 2008
Ireland
The US presidential race is run and the question on most people's
lips is whether or not George W. Bush intends to go out with a bang;
with the recent raid on Syria having fuelled much speculation on
the subject. Well, here's one of his plans, revealed in a letter
written to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev which was published
on the Today.az website on October 28: "In the coming few months
we will strive for deepening the bilateral partnership and friendly
relations between our countries. In particular, we hope for further
advancement towards our goals in the sphere of global energy security
and attainment of agreements on basic principles of the resolution
of Nagorno Karabakh conflict."
Given that Russian President Dmitri Medvedev beat Mr. Bush in the
race to host Mr. Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart in talks aimed
at preventing the frozen Karabakh conflict from escalating into a
South Ossetia-style crisis, Bush is left with one priority - draining
Azerbaijan of all the oil he can get and shoring up NATO influence
in the region, while turning a blind eye to political realities in
the Caucasian country sandwiched between Russia, Turkey and Iran;
and faced with a staggering refugee and IDP (internally displaced
persons) problem.
The occasion of Bush's foray into the sophisticated world of
letter-writing was Mr. Aliyev's re-inauguration as president following
elections on October 15. According to official statistics, 3,232,259
people - that is to say, over 87% of the 75% of the electorate who
showed up at polling stations - voted for Mr. Aliyev. Not one of
his six rivals received even three percent of the vote. The main
opposition parties all boycotted the elections in protest against what
the the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe(OSCE)
called a "lack of robust competition and vibrant political discourse
facilitated by the media". All in all, a pretty poor return on attempts
to democratize the post-Communist country. But nonetheless, Mr. Bush
saw fit to congratulate Mr. Aliyev on the results and even express
his support for efforts at "strengthening democratic institutions".
It's hard to imagine any of Mr. Bush's Cold War predecessors
sending a similar letter to Mr. Aliyev's father, Heydar, a man
who ruled Azerbaijan for over thirty years in both its Soviet and
post-Soviet form. In 2003, the dying Mr. Heydar transferred power to
his son in an election which was characterized by violence and other
violations of democratic norms. Since then, Mr. Ilham has cashed in
on his father's legacy, sponsoring a cult known to its critics as
Heydarism. Everywhere one goes in Azerbaijan - after one's arrival at
the Heydar Aliyev airport - one finds Heydar Aliyev streets, Heydar
Aliyev squares, Heydar Aliyev monuments, Heydar Aliyev schools,
libraries and cultural centres. Along the roadsides, Heydar smiles
down from enormous billboards, occasionally accompanied by his son in
pictures of the two of them gazing out over building sites in Baku
and oil rigs in the Caspian, or enjoying a talk in an impressive
looking office. I was lucky enough to be in Baku to celebrate what
would have been Heydar's 85th birthday - had he lived. The cult of
personality surrounding Mr. Heydar - and, by extension, his son -
reminded me irresistibly of the traces of the cult to Lenin that
remain indelibly marked on Russian towns. The difference being that
the Lenin cult is so old it has become a quaint sort of novelty,
whereas Heydarism is terrifyingly current.
A few stories from the past twelve months serve to demonstrate the
limited reach of efforts to democratize the Azerbaijani media. This
time last year, members of the Azadliq (Freedom) opposition block and
independent media representatives were on hunger strike, protesting
their lack of a free press. At the time, journalist Eynulla Fatullayev
had just been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison on
charges of threatening terrorism, inciting racial hatred, and tax
evasion. This followed an article he had written suggesting that
Azerbaijan would be at risk in the event of U.S. military strikes
in Iran, and implying that the authorities were obstructing the
investigation into the murder of Elmar Husseynov, the editor of the
Russian language newspaper Monitor who was assassinated in 2005. Part
of the evidence against Fatullayev was an article posted online in
his name, but which he denies having written, accusing Azerbaijani
troops of participating in the 1992 killings of inhabitants of the
Nagorno-Karabakh town of Khojali.
In December 2007 Mr. Aliyev pardoned five out of the eight journalists
then facing jail (Mr. Fatullayev wasn't one of them). However, the
following March, courts went on to sentence Ganimat Zahidov, editor
of the Azadliq newspaper, to four years in prison for "deliberately
causing light injuries" and "hooliganism". Key witnesses were
prevented from testifying at his trial. In his final speech, he made
the following statement: "The mind of the 21st century calls on the
state to be the locomotive of progress and direct the community
towards the most progressive ideas. We live in Azerbaijan and we
are engaged in media activities. We do our best to establish the
traditions of media in our country in a way which will correspond to
international standards. But we have to do that taking the risk of
death, being beaten half-dead, or arrested because of the articles
we wrote. Why? Why does the logic of the 17th century shows up to
this degree in the present governance of Azerbaijan?"
The run-up to October's election was notable for Ilham Aliyev's -
and the late Heydar's - dominance of the media, and a general sense of
fatigue amongst the opposition. Following the election, the opposition
also cancelled protest rallies after being denied permission to
assemble by authorities in Baku, no doubt remembering the widespread
arrests and beatings that followed the fraudulent 2003 election. Then
on November 1st it was announced that the State Council for Television
and Radio Broadcasting intended to put a stop to local broadcasts by
Radio Liberty, Voice of America and the BBC. The body's chairman said
that it was now policy to broadcast only programs of national origin,
adding that these stations would remain accessible by satellite,
cable and Internet. Bearing in mind that in their 2007 report,
which classified Azerbaijan as not free, Freedom House estimated that
only 10% of the population has Internet access, this will be another
significant strike against the media in Azerbaijan if it comes to pass.
Through all of this, Elmar Husseynov's murder has remained unsolved.
Along with the bigger headaches inherited from the Bush administration,
Mr. Obama will also have to deal with the problems posed by states such
as the overlooked, oil-rich, illiberal and uncompromisingly nationalist
Azerbaijan. It may be that Azerbaijan will remain an overlooked ally
of the oil-hungry superpower, just as it was in Clinton's day. Or
it may be that Mr. Obama will push Mr. Aliyev closer to Moscow,
sacrificing a strategic foothold in the Caucasus to criticize the
increasingly repressive Aliyev dynasty.
It should prove interesting. After all, they say you should judge a
man by how he treats his servants, not his equals.