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AZERBAIJAN: NON-COMBAT DEATHS PUT MILITARY REFORMS IN SPOTLIGHT
By Shahin Abbasov
EurasiaNet
http://www.eurasiareview.com/15112011-azerbaijan-non-combat-deaths-put-military-reforms-in-spotlight/
November 15, 2011
Azerbaijan may boast a billion-dollar-plus annual defense budget
and a professed commitment to military reforms, but the deaths of
soldiers in non-combat-related incidents are raising questions about
the government's commitment to remaking the country's armed forces.
The issue of non-combat deaths gained notoriety over the course
of recent, three-day span. On November 1, 19-year-old Private Azer
Abbaszade, died at a base in Barda, close to the Nagorno-Karabakh
frontline, with pneumonia listed as the official cause of death.
Abbaszade's death was preceded by the deaths of 18-year-old Private
Ruslan Kerimov, also allegedly from pneumonia, and 19-year-old
Private Raul Agayev, "from a disease," in Ganja on October 30 and 31,
respectively. Privately, observers don't fully trust the official
explanations, and suspect other factors, specifically bullying,
may have been a factor in the tragedies.
The Ministry of Defense seems less than eager to discuss
non-combat-related deaths. Ministry spokesperson Eldar Sabiroglu
told EurasiaNet.org that an investigation is ongoing. The Office of
the Military Prosecutor announced on November 10 that four officers
working in Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry have been dismissed in
connection with the three deaths and four officers demoted; another
11 officers were given reprimands. Prosecutors did not release the
names of those punished.
Amid heightened tensions with Armenia over the ongoing struggle to
control Karabakh, any issue in Azerbaijan that touches the military
is sensitive. In April, Sabiroglu called on Azerbaijani media "to
be attentive with publications concerning the army," adding that
"[i]t is wrong to make generalizations . . . based on some incidents."
"Indeed, even one loss is hard for us," Sabiroglu claimed. "We fully
understand the responsibility" for the soldiers' deaths falls on the
Ministry of Defense, he continued.
A coalition of several Azerbaijani human rights groups has been
tracking non-combat deaths and notes a disturbing upward trend. Based
on Defense Ministry information not released to the public, the Group
of Monitoring Compliance with Human Rights in the Army (GMCHRA) has
recorded the deaths of 76 soldiers to date in non-combat incidents for
2011, and the injury of 91 others. That compares with 62 non-combat
deaths and 71 cases of injury in 2010. Possible reasons for the
increase were not identified.
"Civil society cannot stand aside from these problems," commented Arzu
Abdullayeva, one of GMCHRA's founders and the head of Azerbaijan's
National Committee of Helsinki Citizens' Assembly.
In general, the Azerbaijani public has remained passive on this issue.
In 2009, several anonymously posted videos on social networking
websites depicted soldiers beating, as well as the humiliation of fresh
draftees - a practice known as dedovshchina during the Soviet era. The
videos prompted prosecutions and prison terms for the accused. But
this case has proven the exception, rather than the rule.
Politicians have proven similarly cautious about tackling the problem
head-on. MP Zahid Oruc, a member of the parliamentary Committee for
Defense and Security for the Motherland Party, expressed concern
about the deaths, but noted that "such things happen in all armies."
Non-combat-related deaths constitute an even more contentious issue
in Armenia. A string of non-combat deaths there produced a public
outcry - particularly via social networks - against Armenia's military
leadership, one of the country's most respected institutions. Some
critics have gone so far as to call for the resignations of Defense
Minister Seyhran Ohanyan and President Serzh Sargsyan.
Officials in Baku have no desire to travel down a similar road;
hence, authorities have warned Azerbaijani media outlets about
"exaggerations." President Ilham Aliyev's administration prefers to
emphasize Azerbaijan's slotted $1.76-billion (over 1.38 billion manats)
2012 military budget and its interest in reform.
For at least one military analyst, the spate of non-combat deaths
raises questions about reform progress. While Baku since 2007
has claimed that it has made the switchover to NATO standards,
the assertion "is not logical," said Jasur Sumarinly, who heads a
non-governmental group called the Doktrina Military Correspondent
Investigative Center. "Harassment among servicemen was typical for
the Soviet military, but not NATO armies."
Based on Defense Ministry information not released to the public,
Sumarinly notes that between 2007 and 2010, the frequency of army
deaths from harassment and suicide actually increased (68 deaths
from abuse, 35 suicides), compared with the preceding four years
(2003-2006: 33 deaths from abuse, 23 suicides). That suggests, he
argues, that no real attempt has been made to correct hazing-related
abuse in the ranks.
Yashar Jafarly, an army colonel-in-reserve and director of the Public
Union of Officers in Reserve, adds that, since the 1994 cease-fire with
Armenia covering Karabakh, only about 15 to 20 percent of Azerbaijan's
3,500 army deaths have been related to combat causes.
Jafarly blames the lack of civil society oversight for such abuses.
"Civil society activists and human rights defenders do not have access
to the armed forces and it creates problems," he said. Even troops
stationed on the front lines do not appear to be better disciplined,
he added.
Widespread problems with corruption complicate the matter further,
he continued. Officers routinely demand bribes from soldiers and their
parents for army leave, better accommodation or other amenities. Those
who do not pay may be subject to physical abuse or other forms of
harassment.
Recently discharged soldiers interviewed by EurasiaNet.org appear to
have varying recollections of their experiences at the frontline.
While one former serviceman, stationed in Barda, reported that
both soldiers and officers had renovated housing and adequate food,
supposedly in keeping with NATO standards, another ex-serviceman, who
served in Geranboy, reported a lack of drinking water and inadequate
housing and sanitation.
As with non-combat-related deaths, the government admits a problem
exists, but has been less than enthusiastic about making the
Azerbaijani public part of the discussion about any solution. Some
58 criminal cases related to corruption were launched in the army in
2011, according to the latest information available.
Shain Abbasov is a freelance reporter based in Baku. He is also a
board member of the Open Society Foundation - Azerbaijan.
By Shahin Abbasov
EurasiaNet
http://www.eurasiareview.com/15112011-azerbaijan-non-combat-deaths-put-military-reforms-in-spotlight/
November 15, 2011
Azerbaijan may boast a billion-dollar-plus annual defense budget
and a professed commitment to military reforms, but the deaths of
soldiers in non-combat-related incidents are raising questions about
the government's commitment to remaking the country's armed forces.
The issue of non-combat deaths gained notoriety over the course
of recent, three-day span. On November 1, 19-year-old Private Azer
Abbaszade, died at a base in Barda, close to the Nagorno-Karabakh
frontline, with pneumonia listed as the official cause of death.
Abbaszade's death was preceded by the deaths of 18-year-old Private
Ruslan Kerimov, also allegedly from pneumonia, and 19-year-old
Private Raul Agayev, "from a disease," in Ganja on October 30 and 31,
respectively. Privately, observers don't fully trust the official
explanations, and suspect other factors, specifically bullying,
may have been a factor in the tragedies.
The Ministry of Defense seems less than eager to discuss
non-combat-related deaths. Ministry spokesperson Eldar Sabiroglu
told EurasiaNet.org that an investigation is ongoing. The Office of
the Military Prosecutor announced on November 10 that four officers
working in Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry have been dismissed in
connection with the three deaths and four officers demoted; another
11 officers were given reprimands. Prosecutors did not release the
names of those punished.
Amid heightened tensions with Armenia over the ongoing struggle to
control Karabakh, any issue in Azerbaijan that touches the military
is sensitive. In April, Sabiroglu called on Azerbaijani media "to
be attentive with publications concerning the army," adding that
"[i]t is wrong to make generalizations . . . based on some incidents."
"Indeed, even one loss is hard for us," Sabiroglu claimed. "We fully
understand the responsibility" for the soldiers' deaths falls on the
Ministry of Defense, he continued.
A coalition of several Azerbaijani human rights groups has been
tracking non-combat deaths and notes a disturbing upward trend. Based
on Defense Ministry information not released to the public, the Group
of Monitoring Compliance with Human Rights in the Army (GMCHRA) has
recorded the deaths of 76 soldiers to date in non-combat incidents for
2011, and the injury of 91 others. That compares with 62 non-combat
deaths and 71 cases of injury in 2010. Possible reasons for the
increase were not identified.
"Civil society cannot stand aside from these problems," commented Arzu
Abdullayeva, one of GMCHRA's founders and the head of Azerbaijan's
National Committee of Helsinki Citizens' Assembly.
In general, the Azerbaijani public has remained passive on this issue.
In 2009, several anonymously posted videos on social networking
websites depicted soldiers beating, as well as the humiliation of fresh
draftees - a practice known as dedovshchina during the Soviet era. The
videos prompted prosecutions and prison terms for the accused. But
this case has proven the exception, rather than the rule.
Politicians have proven similarly cautious about tackling the problem
head-on. MP Zahid Oruc, a member of the parliamentary Committee for
Defense and Security for the Motherland Party, expressed concern
about the deaths, but noted that "such things happen in all armies."
Non-combat-related deaths constitute an even more contentious issue
in Armenia. A string of non-combat deaths there produced a public
outcry - particularly via social networks - against Armenia's military
leadership, one of the country's most respected institutions. Some
critics have gone so far as to call for the resignations of Defense
Minister Seyhran Ohanyan and President Serzh Sargsyan.
Officials in Baku have no desire to travel down a similar road;
hence, authorities have warned Azerbaijani media outlets about
"exaggerations." President Ilham Aliyev's administration prefers to
emphasize Azerbaijan's slotted $1.76-billion (over 1.38 billion manats)
2012 military budget and its interest in reform.
For at least one military analyst, the spate of non-combat deaths
raises questions about reform progress. While Baku since 2007
has claimed that it has made the switchover to NATO standards,
the assertion "is not logical," said Jasur Sumarinly, who heads a
non-governmental group called the Doktrina Military Correspondent
Investigative Center. "Harassment among servicemen was typical for
the Soviet military, but not NATO armies."
Based on Defense Ministry information not released to the public,
Sumarinly notes that between 2007 and 2010, the frequency of army
deaths from harassment and suicide actually increased (68 deaths
from abuse, 35 suicides), compared with the preceding four years
(2003-2006: 33 deaths from abuse, 23 suicides). That suggests, he
argues, that no real attempt has been made to correct hazing-related
abuse in the ranks.
Yashar Jafarly, an army colonel-in-reserve and director of the Public
Union of Officers in Reserve, adds that, since the 1994 cease-fire with
Armenia covering Karabakh, only about 15 to 20 percent of Azerbaijan's
3,500 army deaths have been related to combat causes.
Jafarly blames the lack of civil society oversight for such abuses.
"Civil society activists and human rights defenders do not have access
to the armed forces and it creates problems," he said. Even troops
stationed on the front lines do not appear to be better disciplined,
he added.
Widespread problems with corruption complicate the matter further,
he continued. Officers routinely demand bribes from soldiers and their
parents for army leave, better accommodation or other amenities. Those
who do not pay may be subject to physical abuse or other forms of
harassment.
Recently discharged soldiers interviewed by EurasiaNet.org appear to
have varying recollections of their experiences at the frontline.
While one former serviceman, stationed in Barda, reported that
both soldiers and officers had renovated housing and adequate food,
supposedly in keeping with NATO standards, another ex-serviceman, who
served in Geranboy, reported a lack of drinking water and inadequate
housing and sanitation.
As with non-combat-related deaths, the government admits a problem
exists, but has been less than enthusiastic about making the
Azerbaijani public part of the discussion about any solution. Some
58 criminal cases related to corruption were launched in the army in
2011, according to the latest information available.
Shain Abbasov is a freelance reporter based in Baku. He is also a
board member of the Open Society Foundation - Azerbaijan.