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AZERI STATUE TOUR COMES TO MONTENEGO
http://hetq.am/eng/news/24495/azeri-statue-tour-comes-to-montenego.html
19:47, March 15, 2013
By Eliza Ronalds-Hannon
Azerbaijan continued its tour of stone-carved diplomacy this week
with an announcement it will fund and build a statue in Montenegro
of Javid Huseyn, an Azeri poet who was killed during Stalin's purges.
The statue will sit in King's Park, which the Azeri government is
also paying to rebuild along with the street on which it sits. The
Montenegrin government declined to give specifics regarding the cost
of the project, but said it would be a multi-million dollar endeavor.
The Azeri government has installed statues in many other countries in
recent years, including Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. But all of
those statues were of the former president, Heydar Aliyev. "It seems
like a new policy of the government that whenever they get friendly
with some European nation, they immediately install Heydar Aliyev's
statue there," said Azeri blogger Ali Novruzov. "In Azerbaijan they
put his statue everywhere, and now they are exporting the tradition,"
he said. "It's a continuation of the domestic policy that created a
cult of personality around the late president."
One such statue made headlines last month, when Mexico City
authorities removed an Aliyev monument in response to widespread
criticism. Protesters said they were offended by the statue, which
honored a man known for his authoritarian rule and rampant human
rights abuses.
It was likely the fear of similar such protests that persuaded the
Azeri and Montenegrin governments to forego another Aliyev statue
this time, in favor of the more palatable poet Huseyn. "It would
be too much, even for Montenegro," said Milka Tadic, the editor of
Monenegro's The Monitor magazine. "The poet is easier to sell."
Both Heydar Aliyev and his son Ilham, the current president of
Azerbaijan, are known for their absolutist styles and dictatorial
regimes. Heydar was a KGB general, and rose to leadership while
Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union. From his seat of power,
he purged his opponents under the guise of anti-corruption programs.
His son Ilham, who inherited the presidency, has been compared to a
mafia crime boss in US diplomatic cables. Under his rule, Azerbaijan
has been criticized for human rights abuses, including the practice
of routinely imprisoning journalists and civic activists. .
But even more endemic to Aliyev's regime is the government's blatant
corruption. Recent OCCRP/Radio Free Europe investigations have shown
the President and his family amassing important assets through the
privatization of state-owned industries and holding secret stakes in
the country's largest businesses. The ruling family has also heavily
invested in foreign properties in places like the Czech Republic,
a favorite destination for elites looking to hide cash.
Despite all this, the Azeri government presses forward with efforts to
promote its image as a wealthy and generous neighbor. In Azerbaijan,
the cult of personality Ilham has built using his father's model
appears to be working, and now it has moved to the virtual world. .
"For many years, the online space was dominated by opposition," said
Katy Pearce, a professor at Washington University and an expert on
technology in former Soviet nations. "But two years ago there was a
initiative by the youth wing of the ruling party to start being more
active on social media."
A skilled group of young, internet-savvy party members lead up online
campaigns. Their strategy is not sophisticated, Pearce said, but it
doesn't have to be; plenty of Azerbaijanis will join the campaign
willingly. Increasingly, young Azerbaijanis "make a rationalized
decision to go pro-government" when they see the new young elite
flaunting their lavish lifestyles online, through pictures of glam
ski trips and parties. "The key to the good life is to get in with
the pro-government youth, and once they get inside the inner circle,
they have to demonstrate their loyalty to the leadership," Pearce said.
Read More
https://reportingproject.net/occrp/index.php/en/ccwatch/cc-watch-indepth/1885-azeri-statue-tour-comes-to-montenego
http://hetq.am/eng/news/24495/azeri-statue-tour-comes-to-montenego.html
19:47, March 15, 2013
By Eliza Ronalds-Hannon
Azerbaijan continued its tour of stone-carved diplomacy this week
with an announcement it will fund and build a statue in Montenegro
of Javid Huseyn, an Azeri poet who was killed during Stalin's purges.
The statue will sit in King's Park, which the Azeri government is
also paying to rebuild along with the street on which it sits. The
Montenegrin government declined to give specifics regarding the cost
of the project, but said it would be a multi-million dollar endeavor.
The Azeri government has installed statues in many other countries in
recent years, including Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. But all of
those statues were of the former president, Heydar Aliyev. "It seems
like a new policy of the government that whenever they get friendly
with some European nation, they immediately install Heydar Aliyev's
statue there," said Azeri blogger Ali Novruzov. "In Azerbaijan they
put his statue everywhere, and now they are exporting the tradition,"
he said. "It's a continuation of the domestic policy that created a
cult of personality around the late president."
One such statue made headlines last month, when Mexico City
authorities removed an Aliyev monument in response to widespread
criticism. Protesters said they were offended by the statue, which
honored a man known for his authoritarian rule and rampant human
rights abuses.
It was likely the fear of similar such protests that persuaded the
Azeri and Montenegrin governments to forego another Aliyev statue
this time, in favor of the more palatable poet Huseyn. "It would
be too much, even for Montenegro," said Milka Tadic, the editor of
Monenegro's The Monitor magazine. "The poet is easier to sell."
Both Heydar Aliyev and his son Ilham, the current president of
Azerbaijan, are known for their absolutist styles and dictatorial
regimes. Heydar was a KGB general, and rose to leadership while
Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union. From his seat of power,
he purged his opponents under the guise of anti-corruption programs.
His son Ilham, who inherited the presidency, has been compared to a
mafia crime boss in US diplomatic cables. Under his rule, Azerbaijan
has been criticized for human rights abuses, including the practice
of routinely imprisoning journalists and civic activists. .
But even more endemic to Aliyev's regime is the government's blatant
corruption. Recent OCCRP/Radio Free Europe investigations have shown
the President and his family amassing important assets through the
privatization of state-owned industries and holding secret stakes in
the country's largest businesses. The ruling family has also heavily
invested in foreign properties in places like the Czech Republic,
a favorite destination for elites looking to hide cash.
Despite all this, the Azeri government presses forward with efforts to
promote its image as a wealthy and generous neighbor. In Azerbaijan,
the cult of personality Ilham has built using his father's model
appears to be working, and now it has moved to the virtual world. .
"For many years, the online space was dominated by opposition," said
Katy Pearce, a professor at Washington University and an expert on
technology in former Soviet nations. "But two years ago there was a
initiative by the youth wing of the ruling party to start being more
active on social media."
A skilled group of young, internet-savvy party members lead up online
campaigns. Their strategy is not sophisticated, Pearce said, but it
doesn't have to be; plenty of Azerbaijanis will join the campaign
willingly. Increasingly, young Azerbaijanis "make a rationalized
decision to go pro-government" when they see the new young elite
flaunting their lavish lifestyles online, through pictures of glam
ski trips and parties. "The key to the good life is to get in with
the pro-government youth, and once they get inside the inner circle,
they have to demonstrate their loyalty to the leadership," Pearce said.
Read More
https://reportingproject.net/occrp/index.php/en/ccwatch/cc-watch-indepth/1885-azeri-statue-tour-comes-to-montenego