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BRYZA'S 'OIL SOAKED' NEW JOB
by Ara Khachatourian
asbarez
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/08/azerbaijan-matthew-bryza-oil-industry-job_n_1580612.html
Monday, June 11th, 2012
Matthew Bryza
In another move that further reinforces that Matthew Bryza had a
conflict of interest, Turkey's Turcas Petrol Company announced that
it has appointed the former US Ambassador to Baku on its board of
directors. Turcas Petrol is an oil company affiliated with Azerbaijan's
state oil company, SOCAR.
Even before becoming ambassador, as a result of President Obama's
recess appointment, which went counter to serious objection by Senate
leaders and his own constituents, the alarm was raised about Bryza's
entrenched interests in Azerbaijan.
"It's regrettable that Mr. Bryza was allowed, for so long, to use
his senior U.S. government postings as a platform to advance his
agenda as an apologist for Ankara and Baku," said Aram Hamparian,
Executive Director of the ANCA.
"Mr. Bryza - with his own words, actions, and choice of employment -
confirmed the fears of his critics, vindicated those who opposed his
nomination, and, in my view, embarrassed many in the foreign policy
community whose knee-jerk reaction was to stand in his defense, but
who today, upon reflection, respect and likely even share the very
legitimate reasons for the ANCA's opposition to his confirmation."
Bryza's new position has also angered Azerbaijan's opposition.
"We are absolutely incensed by Matthew Bryza's appointment," Murad
Gassanly, an Azeri opposition activist based in London told The
Huffington Post late last week. The opposition contends that the US
and the West are only interested in Azerbaijan's oil and their often
soft admonition of Azerbaijan on its abysmal human right record is
merely a show.
"This shows that U.S.-Azerbaijan relations can only be described as
oil-soaked," Gassanly told The Huffington Post. "Forget human rights
and democracy."
During her visit to Baku last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
met with a member of the opposition. Yet, in a press conference
summing up her visit, she praised Azerbaijan as a crucial energy
partner and emphasized the important role Azerbaijan's energy plays
in US strategic interests.
Gassanly told The Huffington Post that Clinton's meeting with the
opposition was nothing but a stunt "to deflect attention from the
fact that [Clinton] refused to meet [more senior] opposition leaders
and activists."
by Ara Khachatourian
asbarez
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/08/azerbaijan-matthew-bryza-oil-industry-job_n_1580612.html
Monday, June 11th, 2012
Matthew Bryza
In another move that further reinforces that Matthew Bryza had a
conflict of interest, Turkey's Turcas Petrol Company announced that
it has appointed the former US Ambassador to Baku on its board of
directors. Turcas Petrol is an oil company affiliated with Azerbaijan's
state oil company, SOCAR.
Even before becoming ambassador, as a result of President Obama's
recess appointment, which went counter to serious objection by Senate
leaders and his own constituents, the alarm was raised about Bryza's
entrenched interests in Azerbaijan.
"It's regrettable that Mr. Bryza was allowed, for so long, to use
his senior U.S. government postings as a platform to advance his
agenda as an apologist for Ankara and Baku," said Aram Hamparian,
Executive Director of the ANCA.
"Mr. Bryza - with his own words, actions, and choice of employment -
confirmed the fears of his critics, vindicated those who opposed his
nomination, and, in my view, embarrassed many in the foreign policy
community whose knee-jerk reaction was to stand in his defense, but
who today, upon reflection, respect and likely even share the very
legitimate reasons for the ANCA's opposition to his confirmation."
Bryza's new position has also angered Azerbaijan's opposition.
"We are absolutely incensed by Matthew Bryza's appointment," Murad
Gassanly, an Azeri opposition activist based in London told The
Huffington Post late last week. The opposition contends that the US
and the West are only interested in Azerbaijan's oil and their often
soft admonition of Azerbaijan on its abysmal human right record is
merely a show.
"This shows that U.S.-Azerbaijan relations can only be described as
oil-soaked," Gassanly told The Huffington Post. "Forget human rights
and democracy."
During her visit to Baku last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
met with a member of the opposition. Yet, in a press conference
summing up her visit, she praised Azerbaijan as a crucial energy
partner and emphasized the important role Azerbaijan's energy plays
in US strategic interests.
Gassanly told The Huffington Post that Clinton's meeting with the
opposition was nothing but a stunt "to deflect attention from the
fact that [Clinton] refused to meet [more senior] opposition leaders
and activists."