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AZERBAIJAN OPPOSITION OFFICIAL 'INCENSED' BY EX-AMBASSADOR'S NEW OIL INDUSTRY JOB
By Joshua Hersh
The Huffington Post
KABUL. June 9, 2012: A top Azerbaijan opposition official said his
group was "absolutely incensed" by the recent news that the latest
U.S. ambassador to the Central Asian nation had taken a lucrative
job at a state-controlled oil company.
Matthew Bryza, who until last December was President Barack Obama's
appointed ambassador to Azerbaijan, took the job on the board of Turcas
Petrol company, which is partly controlled by the State Oil Company
of Azerbaijan Republic, according to reports in regional newspapers.
Murad Gassanly, an Azeri opposition activist based in London, decried
the move as the latest hint of a craven American foreign policy
toward the oil-rich, but autocratic nation -- which also happens to
be a major strategic partner to American interests in the region.
"We are absolutely incensed by Matthew Bryza's appointment," he told
The Huffington Post by email.
Stanley Escudero, who was U.S. ambassador to the nation in the 1990s,
remained in the country after leaving his post to run businesses there,
Gassanly said. He now maintains Azeri citizenship.
And the currently nominated ambassador to the nation, which was
repeatedly described as a repressive and restrictive nation in the
latest State Department Country Report on Human Rights, is Richard
Morningstar, the former State Department special envoy for Eurasian
energy, and "one of the key promoters of energy projects in the
region," Gassanly said.
"This shows that U.S.-Azerbaijan relations can only be described as
oil-soaked," said Gassanly, who is the director of the Azerbaijan
Democratic Association in the U.K. "Forget human rights and democracy."
Matthew Bryza could not be immediately reached, nor did State
Department officials respond to a request for comment. Bryza was
never confirmed in the Senate to serve as ambassador, and instead
kept the post through a series of temporary assignments by the Obama
administration.
There is nothing inherently illegal or improper about a former diplomat
taking a job with the country in which he served, but opposition
groups said they found the move unseemly, and fitting with a general
sense that the administration does not take their concerns about
human rights violations seriously.
During a recent visit to Azerbaijan, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton did meet with a popular, young pro-democracy activist,
and encouraged him to continue advocating for democratic reform in
the nation. Gassanly called the meeting a stunt designed "to deflect
attention from the fact that [Clinton] refused to meet [more senior]
opposition leaders and activists."
Land routes through Azerbaijan are expected to play a key role in the
American exit from Afghanistan over the coming years, and the nation
has also emerged as a crucial ally to Israel and the U.S. in their
efforts to stymie a burgeoning nuclear program in Iran.
According to recent reports, Azerbaijan made some of its military
air bases available to the Israeli military in advance of possible
operations against Iran, a claim that Israeli officials later denied
(The Huffington Post).
By Joshua Hersh
The Huffington Post
KABUL. June 9, 2012: A top Azerbaijan opposition official said his
group was "absolutely incensed" by the recent news that the latest
U.S. ambassador to the Central Asian nation had taken a lucrative
job at a state-controlled oil company.
Matthew Bryza, who until last December was President Barack Obama's
appointed ambassador to Azerbaijan, took the job on the board of Turcas
Petrol company, which is partly controlled by the State Oil Company
of Azerbaijan Republic, according to reports in regional newspapers.
Murad Gassanly, an Azeri opposition activist based in London, decried
the move as the latest hint of a craven American foreign policy
toward the oil-rich, but autocratic nation -- which also happens to
be a major strategic partner to American interests in the region.
"We are absolutely incensed by Matthew Bryza's appointment," he told
The Huffington Post by email.
Stanley Escudero, who was U.S. ambassador to the nation in the 1990s,
remained in the country after leaving his post to run businesses there,
Gassanly said. He now maintains Azeri citizenship.
And the currently nominated ambassador to the nation, which was
repeatedly described as a repressive and restrictive nation in the
latest State Department Country Report on Human Rights, is Richard
Morningstar, the former State Department special envoy for Eurasian
energy, and "one of the key promoters of energy projects in the
region," Gassanly said.
"This shows that U.S.-Azerbaijan relations can only be described as
oil-soaked," said Gassanly, who is the director of the Azerbaijan
Democratic Association in the U.K. "Forget human rights and democracy."
Matthew Bryza could not be immediately reached, nor did State
Department officials respond to a request for comment. Bryza was
never confirmed in the Senate to serve as ambassador, and instead
kept the post through a series of temporary assignments by the Obama
administration.
There is nothing inherently illegal or improper about a former diplomat
taking a job with the country in which he served, but opposition
groups said they found the move unseemly, and fitting with a general
sense that the administration does not take their concerns about
human rights violations seriously.
During a recent visit to Azerbaijan, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton did meet with a popular, young pro-democracy activist,
and encouraged him to continue advocating for democratic reform in
the nation. Gassanly called the meeting a stunt designed "to deflect
attention from the fact that [Clinton] refused to meet [more senior]
opposition leaders and activists."
Land routes through Azerbaijan are expected to play a key role in the
American exit from Afghanistan over the coming years, and the nation
has also emerged as a crucial ally to Israel and the U.S. in their
efforts to stymie a burgeoning nuclear program in Iran.
According to recent reports, Azerbaijan made some of its military
air bases available to the Israeli military in advance of possible
operations against Iran, a claim that Israeli officials later denied
(The Huffington Post).