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EXAMINING THE ECONOMIC SOURCES OF ISMAYILLI DISCONTENT
http://azerireport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3860&Ite mid=48
By Khadija Ismayilova, Eurasianet.org
BAKU. February 1, 2013: A week after prolonged rioting shook the
Azerbaijani provincial town of Ismayilli, one question lingers: why
there?
The violent clash between police and Ismayilli residents started after
an apparently mundane car fender-bender, allegedly involving Vugar
Alakbarov -- the son of Labor and Social Security Minister Fizuli
Alakbarov, and nephew of Nizami Alakbarov, the governor of the
Ismayilli region. The disturbance, which resulted in the torching of a
hotel allegedly owned by Vugar Alakbarov, was followed by a
demonstration calling for the governor~Rs resignation, an event stamped
out by police. Scores of arrests followed and the town remains in an
effective lockdown.
Set against the backdrop of a presidential election looming in
October, government officials have blamed the unrest on a political
provocation carried out by unnamed ~Sforeign powers.~T But some
observers argue there~Rs an economic explanation for the outburst.
Economist Kenan Aslanli contended that the anger of those, who, to
quote Karl Marx, had ~Snothing to lose but their chains,~T was the
primary cause of the riots.
~SEconomically, Ismayilli is one of the most underdeveloped regions of
the country,~T explained Aslanli, an expert for the National Budget
Group, a coalition of non-governmental organizations that monitor the
state budget.
Average monthly salaries stand at a 221 manats ($281.74), compared
with 517.2 manats ($659.38) in Baku. The number of registered
unemployed persons, while officially less than 3 percent of the
population between the ages of 15 and 65, is more than four times the
number in the neighboring region of Gabala, a popular tourist
destination. In 2011, for reasons that remain unclear, only nine of
the Ismayilli region~Rs 788 registered jobless residents received
unemployment compensation from the government.
For the unemployed, job prospects are bleak: in 2011, only 99 new jobs
were created in the town, the State Statistics Committee reported.
Capital investment in Ismayilli businesses fell by half from
2007-2011, Aslanli added, citing official statistics. The region~Rs
manufacture of carpets, food products and construction materials is
mostly in non-private hands.
Aslanli blamed the ~Smonopolization, bureaucratic impediments, [and]
corruption~T as the main reasons for Ismayilli~Rs economic woes.
Opposition politician Natig Jafarly, an economist, concurred with
Aslanli~Rs assessment. ~SThe regions are divided between the
oligarch-ministers,~T Jafarly asserted. ~STheir relatives or friends are
appointed as governors; they monopolize the local economy, enjoy all
the opportunities.~T
Regional officials dispute the economic argument. In a brief interview
with EurasiaNet.org, Rafael Ahmadov, Ismayilli~Rs first deputy
governor, angrily retorted that the unrest had nothing to do with
social welfare or economic problems. ~SWho said that? The region is
prospering. I disagree with whatever allegations that unemployment is
higher than in other regions,~T Ahmadov said, and hung up the phone.
Officials have tried to cast doubt on reports that Vugar Alakbarov was
a catalyst for the trouble in Ismayilli. In particular, they dispute
the notion that he, or any other member of the Alakbarov clan, has an
ownership role in the Chirag Hotel that burned. To back this claim,
authorities have circulated government registration documents that
identify an entity named VAFI Tourism, rather than a member of the
Alakbarov family, as the hotel~Rs license holder.
The hotel industry, however, does not seem to be unfamiliar to Vugar
Alakbarov. On January 28, Ilgar Mammadov, who heads a watchdog
organization called Real Citizens Union, published on his blog
screenshots of Alakbarov~Rs Facebook page. On the screenshots,
Alakbarov promotes the Chirag Hotel. The page was later deleted from
the user~Rs account.
Another company of which Vugar Alakbarov is a director, Improtex Real
Estate, LLC, has a contract with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide
to build a Sheraton hotel in Ismayilli, Radio Azadliq, the
Azeri-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reported on
January 28. [Editor~Rs Note: This reporter works for Radio Azadliq as a
freelancer].
An investigation into the ownership structure of VAFI Tourism appears
to show a connection to Vugar Alakbarov. According to the official
company registry, he is an official owner of two other companies with
similar names: VAFI Construction and VAFI REGION. On January 30, the
British Broadcasting Corp~Rs Azeri-language service reported that VAFI
REGION owns the domain name for VAFI Tourism.
Meanwhile, the governor~Rs assurances that his family has no connection
to the Chirag Hotel appear to be doing little to assuage frustrated
town residents. ~SThere is unemployment, injustice, people deprived of
the opportunity to earn their living because of this family~Rs rule in
the region,~T fumed Heybat Balayev, head of Ismayilli~Rs council of
elders, referring to the Alakbarovs. ~SAnd now they want to insult us
and want us to keep silent.~T
Many residents echo Balayev~Rs assessment, naming unemployment and
corruption as the main reasons for their anger, and saying that the
car accident was the last straw. They claim that Vugar Alakbarov is,
indeed, the owner of the Chirag Hotel, and that he was present at the
scene of the car accident.
So far, the government, which has opened criminal cases against
detained protesters, does not appear inclined to entertain citizen
grievances. Reports of arrests and the alleged abuse of imprisoned
protesters continue to flow out of Ismayilli.
In a January 29 statement, the New-York-City-based watchdog group
Human Rights Watch urged the Azerbaijani government ~Sto make sure that
no one held in relation to the riots and protests in Ismayilli is
ill-treated,~T and to respect their right to due process. The
government has not commented on the criticism of its handling of the
rioting. -0-
* Khadija Ismayilova is a freelance reporter in Baku and hosts a daily
program on current affairs broadcast by the Azeri Service of RFE/RL.
She was arrested on January 26 while participating in a Baku
demonstration against police violence against protesters in Ismayilli
and at Baku~Rs Bina shopping center, and fined and released.
http://azerireport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3860&Ite mid=48
By Khadija Ismayilova, Eurasianet.org
BAKU. February 1, 2013: A week after prolonged rioting shook the
Azerbaijani provincial town of Ismayilli, one question lingers: why
there?
The violent clash between police and Ismayilli residents started after
an apparently mundane car fender-bender, allegedly involving Vugar
Alakbarov -- the son of Labor and Social Security Minister Fizuli
Alakbarov, and nephew of Nizami Alakbarov, the governor of the
Ismayilli region. The disturbance, which resulted in the torching of a
hotel allegedly owned by Vugar Alakbarov, was followed by a
demonstration calling for the governor~Rs resignation, an event stamped
out by police. Scores of arrests followed and the town remains in an
effective lockdown.
Set against the backdrop of a presidential election looming in
October, government officials have blamed the unrest on a political
provocation carried out by unnamed ~Sforeign powers.~T But some
observers argue there~Rs an economic explanation for the outburst.
Economist Kenan Aslanli contended that the anger of those, who, to
quote Karl Marx, had ~Snothing to lose but their chains,~T was the
primary cause of the riots.
~SEconomically, Ismayilli is one of the most underdeveloped regions of
the country,~T explained Aslanli, an expert for the National Budget
Group, a coalition of non-governmental organizations that monitor the
state budget.
Average monthly salaries stand at a 221 manats ($281.74), compared
with 517.2 manats ($659.38) in Baku. The number of registered
unemployed persons, while officially less than 3 percent of the
population between the ages of 15 and 65, is more than four times the
number in the neighboring region of Gabala, a popular tourist
destination. In 2011, for reasons that remain unclear, only nine of
the Ismayilli region~Rs 788 registered jobless residents received
unemployment compensation from the government.
For the unemployed, job prospects are bleak: in 2011, only 99 new jobs
were created in the town, the State Statistics Committee reported.
Capital investment in Ismayilli businesses fell by half from
2007-2011, Aslanli added, citing official statistics. The region~Rs
manufacture of carpets, food products and construction materials is
mostly in non-private hands.
Aslanli blamed the ~Smonopolization, bureaucratic impediments, [and]
corruption~T as the main reasons for Ismayilli~Rs economic woes.
Opposition politician Natig Jafarly, an economist, concurred with
Aslanli~Rs assessment. ~SThe regions are divided between the
oligarch-ministers,~T Jafarly asserted. ~STheir relatives or friends are
appointed as governors; they monopolize the local economy, enjoy all
the opportunities.~T
Regional officials dispute the economic argument. In a brief interview
with EurasiaNet.org, Rafael Ahmadov, Ismayilli~Rs first deputy
governor, angrily retorted that the unrest had nothing to do with
social welfare or economic problems. ~SWho said that? The region is
prospering. I disagree with whatever allegations that unemployment is
higher than in other regions,~T Ahmadov said, and hung up the phone.
Officials have tried to cast doubt on reports that Vugar Alakbarov was
a catalyst for the trouble in Ismayilli. In particular, they dispute
the notion that he, or any other member of the Alakbarov clan, has an
ownership role in the Chirag Hotel that burned. To back this claim,
authorities have circulated government registration documents that
identify an entity named VAFI Tourism, rather than a member of the
Alakbarov family, as the hotel~Rs license holder.
The hotel industry, however, does not seem to be unfamiliar to Vugar
Alakbarov. On January 28, Ilgar Mammadov, who heads a watchdog
organization called Real Citizens Union, published on his blog
screenshots of Alakbarov~Rs Facebook page. On the screenshots,
Alakbarov promotes the Chirag Hotel. The page was later deleted from
the user~Rs account.
Another company of which Vugar Alakbarov is a director, Improtex Real
Estate, LLC, has a contract with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide
to build a Sheraton hotel in Ismayilli, Radio Azadliq, the
Azeri-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reported on
January 28. [Editor~Rs Note: This reporter works for Radio Azadliq as a
freelancer].
An investigation into the ownership structure of VAFI Tourism appears
to show a connection to Vugar Alakbarov. According to the official
company registry, he is an official owner of two other companies with
similar names: VAFI Construction and VAFI REGION. On January 30, the
British Broadcasting Corp~Rs Azeri-language service reported that VAFI
REGION owns the domain name for VAFI Tourism.
Meanwhile, the governor~Rs assurances that his family has no connection
to the Chirag Hotel appear to be doing little to assuage frustrated
town residents. ~SThere is unemployment, injustice, people deprived of
the opportunity to earn their living because of this family~Rs rule in
the region,~T fumed Heybat Balayev, head of Ismayilli~Rs council of
elders, referring to the Alakbarovs. ~SAnd now they want to insult us
and want us to keep silent.~T
Many residents echo Balayev~Rs assessment, naming unemployment and
corruption as the main reasons for their anger, and saying that the
car accident was the last straw. They claim that Vugar Alakbarov is,
indeed, the owner of the Chirag Hotel, and that he was present at the
scene of the car accident.
So far, the government, which has opened criminal cases against
detained protesters, does not appear inclined to entertain citizen
grievances. Reports of arrests and the alleged abuse of imprisoned
protesters continue to flow out of Ismayilli.
In a January 29 statement, the New-York-City-based watchdog group
Human Rights Watch urged the Azerbaijani government ~Sto make sure that
no one held in relation to the riots and protests in Ismayilli is
ill-treated,~T and to respect their right to due process. The
government has not commented on the criticism of its handling of the
rioting. -0-
* Khadija Ismayilova is a freelance reporter in Baku and hosts a daily
program on current affairs broadcast by the Azeri Service of RFE/RL.
She was arrested on January 26 while participating in a Baku
demonstration against police violence against protesters in Ismayilli
and at Baku~Rs Bina shopping center, and fined and released.