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Is Bowing to Dictator Respect For Azerbaijani People?
By Gorkhmaz Asgarov
BAKU. September 6, 2012. It was bad enough to see the photo of the
newly appointed US Ambassador to Azerbaijan bowing down to a stone
monument of the late Azerbaijani dictator. But the handling of this
incident by the US State Department and the US Embassy in Baku only
makes matters worse.
`Ambassador Richard Morningstar put flowers to Heydar Aliyev's
monument and bowed his head as a gesture of respect for the
Azerbaijani people,' said Jonas Stewart, the press secretary of the US
Embassy to Azerbaijan to the Voice of America. In his recent press
statement, Jonas Stewart also told that Ambassador Morningstar's
gesture was a part of the diplomatic protocol for all the ambassadors
whose credentials were received by the Azerbaijani president,
including the previous US ambassadors.
Earlier, the US State Department denied that Ambassador Morningstar
bowed to the Azerbaijani dictator's monument, but admitted that the US
Ambassador put flowers to that monument as a part of the diplomatic
protocol. The State Department and the US Embassy in Baku are wrong on
all these points.
First of all, the media uproar over the Ambassador's gesture shows
that he is the first one to do so and his predecessors cannot boast
about having such a photo of them bowing to the late KGB general,
communist party first secretary, Azerbaijani dictator Aliyev.
Secondly, even if the Azerbaijani government wanted to institute such
a diplomatic protocol, there was nothing in the diplomatic etiquette
forcing a US diplomat to bow in front of any statue. Since when have
the US ambassadors become required to join personality cults of
foreign dictators?
Ambassador Richard Morningstar's photo of putting flowers at Heydar
Aliyev's monument and then bowing to that monument is the first such
photo of an ambassador from a Western country. If this is a part of a
diplomatic protocol, it must be fairly new and started by the
Azerbaijani government just before Mr. Morningstar's arrival to
Azerbaijan. Mr. Morningstar's predecessors, Ambassador Matthew Bryza
and Ambassador Anne Derse, were not seen on any photos participating
in such ceremony.
Finally, this gesture has nothing to do with respecting Azerbaijani
people. Heydar Aliyev is the former KGB general, Communist party boss,
who came to power in a Russian backed coup d'etat ousting the
democratically elected government of Abulfaz Elchibey in 1992. Heydar
Aliyev maintained his power through deeply fraudulent elections well
documented by the election observation missions of the OSCE, Council
of Europe, and the European Union. In 2003, he was succeeded by his
son Ilham Aliyev, who has maintained the chain of autocratic rule in
Azerbaijan effectively establishing the first dynastical transfer of
power on the territory of former Soviet Union.
During Ilham Aliyev's reign, bowing to Heydar Aliyev's monument has
turned into a ritual of displaying to the Azerbaijani public the
loyalty to the existing regime. Every now and then, the Azerbaijani
State TV shows that a former opposition activist or a civic activist
with (formerly) independent views visits Heydar Aliyev's monument and
bows to it. The symbolic meaning of that gesture in the Azerbaijani
state propaganda is that the Azerbaijani government scored a victory
over yet another dissident, public figure, opposition politician, or
civic activist etc.
This is the context in which the Azerbaijani state media proudly
disseminated the photos and video of the new US Ambassador bowing to
Heydar Aliyev's monument. The US envoy bowing down to the founder of
the corrupt, repressive regime that falsifies elections and violates
basic rights and liberties of citizens is not a sign of respect to the
Azerbaijani people. Rather it is an insult towards those Azerbaijanis
and Americans who share the values of freedom and democracy upon which
the United States is built.
And yes, Ambassador Morningstar is the first US Ambassador to have
been participating in this propaganda ritual of the Azerbaijani
regime, no matter what the Embassy or State Department say about the
diplomatic protocol and his predecessors doing the same thing
(Azerireport).
By Gorkhmaz Asgarov
BAKU. September 6, 2012. It was bad enough to see the photo of the
newly appointed US Ambassador to Azerbaijan bowing down to a stone
monument of the late Azerbaijani dictator. But the handling of this
incident by the US State Department and the US Embassy in Baku only
makes matters worse.
`Ambassador Richard Morningstar put flowers to Heydar Aliyev's
monument and bowed his head as a gesture of respect for the
Azerbaijani people,' said Jonas Stewart, the press secretary of the US
Embassy to Azerbaijan to the Voice of America. In his recent press
statement, Jonas Stewart also told that Ambassador Morningstar's
gesture was a part of the diplomatic protocol for all the ambassadors
whose credentials were received by the Azerbaijani president,
including the previous US ambassadors.
Earlier, the US State Department denied that Ambassador Morningstar
bowed to the Azerbaijani dictator's monument, but admitted that the US
Ambassador put flowers to that monument as a part of the diplomatic
protocol. The State Department and the US Embassy in Baku are wrong on
all these points.
First of all, the media uproar over the Ambassador's gesture shows
that he is the first one to do so and his predecessors cannot boast
about having such a photo of them bowing to the late KGB general,
communist party first secretary, Azerbaijani dictator Aliyev.
Secondly, even if the Azerbaijani government wanted to institute such
a diplomatic protocol, there was nothing in the diplomatic etiquette
forcing a US diplomat to bow in front of any statue. Since when have
the US ambassadors become required to join personality cults of
foreign dictators?
Ambassador Richard Morningstar's photo of putting flowers at Heydar
Aliyev's monument and then bowing to that monument is the first such
photo of an ambassador from a Western country. If this is a part of a
diplomatic protocol, it must be fairly new and started by the
Azerbaijani government just before Mr. Morningstar's arrival to
Azerbaijan. Mr. Morningstar's predecessors, Ambassador Matthew Bryza
and Ambassador Anne Derse, were not seen on any photos participating
in such ceremony.
Finally, this gesture has nothing to do with respecting Azerbaijani
people. Heydar Aliyev is the former KGB general, Communist party boss,
who came to power in a Russian backed coup d'etat ousting the
democratically elected government of Abulfaz Elchibey in 1992. Heydar
Aliyev maintained his power through deeply fraudulent elections well
documented by the election observation missions of the OSCE, Council
of Europe, and the European Union. In 2003, he was succeeded by his
son Ilham Aliyev, who has maintained the chain of autocratic rule in
Azerbaijan effectively establishing the first dynastical transfer of
power on the territory of former Soviet Union.
During Ilham Aliyev's reign, bowing to Heydar Aliyev's monument has
turned into a ritual of displaying to the Azerbaijani public the
loyalty to the existing regime. Every now and then, the Azerbaijani
State TV shows that a former opposition activist or a civic activist
with (formerly) independent views visits Heydar Aliyev's monument and
bows to it. The symbolic meaning of that gesture in the Azerbaijani
state propaganda is that the Azerbaijani government scored a victory
over yet another dissident, public figure, opposition politician, or
civic activist etc.
This is the context in which the Azerbaijani state media proudly
disseminated the photos and video of the new US Ambassador bowing to
Heydar Aliyev's monument. The US envoy bowing down to the founder of
the corrupt, repressive regime that falsifies elections and violates
basic rights and liberties of citizens is not a sign of respect to the
Azerbaijani people. Rather it is an insult towards those Azerbaijanis
and Americans who share the values of freedom and democracy upon which
the United States is built.
And yes, Ambassador Morningstar is the first US Ambassador to have
been participating in this propaganda ritual of the Azerbaijani
regime, no matter what the Embassy or State Department say about the
diplomatic protocol and his predecessors doing the same thing
(Azerireport).