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EurasiaNet.org: Unlike Armenia Karabakh war veterans are not respected
in Azerbaijan
00:27 14/07/2013 » SOCIETY
Some veterans of Karabakh war receive financial support, free medical
treatment, cars, apartments and government praise in Azerbaijan.
That's because president Aliyev himself did not serve in the war.
Apart from Defense Minister Safar Abiyev, no veteran sits in
Azerbaijan's cabinet of ministers, the EurasiaNet says in an article.
As the article reads, the cash-rich Azerbaijan appears policy-poor
when it comes to the thousands of veterans who fought in its 1988-1994
conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorno Karabakh. Some veterans
receive financial support, free medical treatment, cars, apartments
and government praise. Other veterans, though, claim that they receive
nothing. The government, for its part, remains mostly silent. The
Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, which handles veteran policy,
declined to speak with EurasiaNet.org about provisions for Karabakh
veterans.
That silence, in part, reflects Azerbaijani society's own ambivalence
toward the 11,500 registered veterans of the Karabakh war, a conflict
that ended disastrously for Azerbaijan.
`Unlike veterans in Armenia, Azerbaijani veterans do not command
political influence or hold a particularly revered status,' charged
Karabakh veteran Azad Isazade, director of the Institute for
Military-Strategic Research said.
`Some people, of course, show respect,' said Isazade. `But there are
also those who say `Did you need [to go to war] ? Didn't you know that
the politicians had sold Karabakh [to Armenia]?'' he says.
Reserve Army Colonel Uzeir Jafarov agreed, `The treatment is more
indifferent than respectful.'
The authors of the article note that for unclear reasons, the
government last May scrapped monthly pension payments to all but
disabled veterans. Those veterans still receive a monthly pension of
between 140 to 273 manats (roughly $178.48 to $348.
`That lack of a systematic policy means that benefits are distributed
selectively, which creates inequality, favoritism and, likely, an
element of corruption,' Isazade said.
The Union's deputy chairperson, Reserve Col. Jafarov, charged that the
overall approach to veteran benefits is `wrong' and entirely
`politicized.' While `veteran organizations which praise the
government' receive benefits ranging from free houses to free cars,
`those who are critical of the government, including myself, receive
nothing,' he claimed.
One 38-eight-year-old veteran, who gave his name as Yusif, claims that
a designated medical facility in Baku has denied him free medical
treatment. Problems with the affirmative-action program for government
jobs also persist. Disabled veteran Fakhraddin Safarov, a teacher by
background and a board member of the hard-line Karabakh Liberation
Organization, alleged that the Ministry of Education had accepted none
of his job applications since his army discharge in 1994.
According to the article not all veterans of the Karabakh war carry
identity cards. Some, citing alleged bureaucratic hassles or demands
for bribes, say that they never registered.
According to Isazade high-ranking officials do not understand
veterans' problems because they don't know what it is to be a veteran
`President Aliyev himself did not serve in the war. Apart from Defense
Minister Safar Abiyev, no veteran sits in Azerbaijan's cabinet of
ministers, and few exist among deputy ministers and other senior
officials. The 125-member parliament contains only one veteran,' the
article said.
Source: Panorama.am
in Azerbaijan
00:27 14/07/2013 » SOCIETY
Some veterans of Karabakh war receive financial support, free medical
treatment, cars, apartments and government praise in Azerbaijan.
That's because president Aliyev himself did not serve in the war.
Apart from Defense Minister Safar Abiyev, no veteran sits in
Azerbaijan's cabinet of ministers, the EurasiaNet says in an article.
As the article reads, the cash-rich Azerbaijan appears policy-poor
when it comes to the thousands of veterans who fought in its 1988-1994
conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorno Karabakh. Some veterans
receive financial support, free medical treatment, cars, apartments
and government praise. Other veterans, though, claim that they receive
nothing. The government, for its part, remains mostly silent. The
Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, which handles veteran policy,
declined to speak with EurasiaNet.org about provisions for Karabakh
veterans.
That silence, in part, reflects Azerbaijani society's own ambivalence
toward the 11,500 registered veterans of the Karabakh war, a conflict
that ended disastrously for Azerbaijan.
`Unlike veterans in Armenia, Azerbaijani veterans do not command
political influence or hold a particularly revered status,' charged
Karabakh veteran Azad Isazade, director of the Institute for
Military-Strategic Research said.
`Some people, of course, show respect,' said Isazade. `But there are
also those who say `Did you need [to go to war] ? Didn't you know that
the politicians had sold Karabakh [to Armenia]?'' he says.
Reserve Army Colonel Uzeir Jafarov agreed, `The treatment is more
indifferent than respectful.'
The authors of the article note that for unclear reasons, the
government last May scrapped monthly pension payments to all but
disabled veterans. Those veterans still receive a monthly pension of
between 140 to 273 manats (roughly $178.48 to $348.
`That lack of a systematic policy means that benefits are distributed
selectively, which creates inequality, favoritism and, likely, an
element of corruption,' Isazade said.
The Union's deputy chairperson, Reserve Col. Jafarov, charged that the
overall approach to veteran benefits is `wrong' and entirely
`politicized.' While `veteran organizations which praise the
government' receive benefits ranging from free houses to free cars,
`those who are critical of the government, including myself, receive
nothing,' he claimed.
One 38-eight-year-old veteran, who gave his name as Yusif, claims that
a designated medical facility in Baku has denied him free medical
treatment. Problems with the affirmative-action program for government
jobs also persist. Disabled veteran Fakhraddin Safarov, a teacher by
background and a board member of the hard-line Karabakh Liberation
Organization, alleged that the Ministry of Education had accepted none
of his job applications since his army discharge in 1994.
According to the article not all veterans of the Karabakh war carry
identity cards. Some, citing alleged bureaucratic hassles or demands
for bribes, say that they never registered.
According to Isazade high-ranking officials do not understand
veterans' problems because they don't know what it is to be a veteran
`President Aliyev himself did not serve in the war. Apart from Defense
Minister Safar Abiyev, no veteran sits in Azerbaijan's cabinet of
ministers, and few exist among deputy ministers and other senior
officials. The 125-member parliament contains only one veteran,' the
article said.
Source: Panorama.am