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AZERI PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TARGET WEST IN TV DEBATE
ITV, Baku, Azerbaijan
Sept 21 2013
At their third TV debate, which took place on 21 September, Azerbaijani
presidential candidates targeted foreign countries, Western media
and international organizations for their "negative" role in ongoing
political processes in Azerbaijan. Public TV aired the debate live.
USA, CNN, BBC
The candidate of the opposition alliance National Council of Democratic
Forces, Camil Hasanli, repeated his earlier remarks that President
Ilham Aliyev should explain his reported purchase of foreign properties
for his family.
Self-nominated candidate Zahid Oruc said that an anti-Azerbaijani
campaign was launched after US President Barack Obama's visit to
Turkey in 2011. He added that certain steps were required at the time
for the ratification of Turkish-Armenian protocols on the opening of
borders between these two countries, which had been signed in Sweden.
"Mr Aliyev was invited to that event, [former US Secretary of State]
Mrs Clinton made four phone calls, the head of the country [Aliyev]
did not join the event thinking about the country's national
interests. After they saw that the project failed to work, a war
involving compromising materials against Azerbaijan started,"
Oruc said.
He also said that media outlets, such as CNN and BBC, are the main
tools of fight in the modern world.
"What he [Hasanli] has said [at election debates] is not specifically
against the Azerbaijani president. His remarks are mostly part of
a plan to weaken the Azerbaijani state... At present, generally in
the world the fight to seize states and capture countries is not
conducted using tanks or artillery. The main weapon used in the fight
today is information. Today, the main tanks and artillery are CNN,
BBC and other major, giant information systems," Oruc said.
The deputy executive secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party,
Siyavus Novruzov, who represented President Aliyev, described Hasanli's
accusations as unfounded. He accused the opposition of passing
"materials" to the OSCE, the US Department of State and forming
"wrong" opinions about Azerbaijan.
Mais Gulaliyev, proxy of presidential candidate Ilyas Ismayilov, said
that the US policy on the South Caucasus, especially on Azerbaijan,
stands behind "negative" things in the economy, finance, health and
education in his country.
"Super powers, particularly US special organizations, control
Azerbaijan's economy, health and education today, even developments
on our TV channels, events related to our morality, and the state of
our non-governmental organizations and political parties," he said.
Russia, Turkey, OSCE
Farac Quliyev, leader of the National Awakening Movement Party,
said that Azerbaijan should make some changes to its foreign policy.
"Armenia has occupied Azerbaijani lands and Russia stands behind this.
They cooperate within the Collective Security Treaty Organization
[of which Azerbaijan is not a member]. Every day, we hear this
organization's threats when Azerbaijan expresses some opinion against
Armenia... Azerbaijan is an associate member of NATO and we do not
think that it needs to maintain simply symbolic ties with NATO, but
[should] make use of its opportunities," Quliyev said.
He urged closer military ties with Turkic states and also called for
the establishment of a new military bloc "on the axis of Azerbaijan
and Turkey, including Moldova and Georgia".
He added that Russia and France should be replaced with Turkey and
Georgia as two of the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group which
mediates a peaceful solution to the Karabakh territorial dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"If this is not the case, no result will be achieved," he said.
In turn, Chairman of the Social Democratic Party Araz Alizada said
that the Karabakh problem should be solved using a strong army,
not through using the OSCE Minsk Group.
"The OSCE Minsk Group should be rejected. We need to form a
professional army. This army should be an army of men over 25.
Azerbaijan should win this war [referring to Karabakh conflict],"
he added.
Alizada said that not only Azerbaijani oligarchs, but also Russian
oligarchs finance the National Council to "cause chaos in Azerbaijan
and to ensure that Azerbaijan fails to conduct an independent foreign
policy and solve its social problems".
Presidential candidates Qudrat Hasanquliyev, Sardar Calaloglu and
Iqbal Agazada pledged to fight corruption and to develop the country's
agrarian, health and education sectors.
[Translated from Azeri]
ITV, Baku, Azerbaijan
Sept 21 2013
At their third TV debate, which took place on 21 September, Azerbaijani
presidential candidates targeted foreign countries, Western media
and international organizations for their "negative" role in ongoing
political processes in Azerbaijan. Public TV aired the debate live.
USA, CNN, BBC
The candidate of the opposition alliance National Council of Democratic
Forces, Camil Hasanli, repeated his earlier remarks that President
Ilham Aliyev should explain his reported purchase of foreign properties
for his family.
Self-nominated candidate Zahid Oruc said that an anti-Azerbaijani
campaign was launched after US President Barack Obama's visit to
Turkey in 2011. He added that certain steps were required at the time
for the ratification of Turkish-Armenian protocols on the opening of
borders between these two countries, which had been signed in Sweden.
"Mr Aliyev was invited to that event, [former US Secretary of State]
Mrs Clinton made four phone calls, the head of the country [Aliyev]
did not join the event thinking about the country's national
interests. After they saw that the project failed to work, a war
involving compromising materials against Azerbaijan started,"
Oruc said.
He also said that media outlets, such as CNN and BBC, are the main
tools of fight in the modern world.
"What he [Hasanli] has said [at election debates] is not specifically
against the Azerbaijani president. His remarks are mostly part of
a plan to weaken the Azerbaijani state... At present, generally in
the world the fight to seize states and capture countries is not
conducted using tanks or artillery. The main weapon used in the fight
today is information. Today, the main tanks and artillery are CNN,
BBC and other major, giant information systems," Oruc said.
The deputy executive secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party,
Siyavus Novruzov, who represented President Aliyev, described Hasanli's
accusations as unfounded. He accused the opposition of passing
"materials" to the OSCE, the US Department of State and forming
"wrong" opinions about Azerbaijan.
Mais Gulaliyev, proxy of presidential candidate Ilyas Ismayilov, said
that the US policy on the South Caucasus, especially on Azerbaijan,
stands behind "negative" things in the economy, finance, health and
education in his country.
"Super powers, particularly US special organizations, control
Azerbaijan's economy, health and education today, even developments
on our TV channels, events related to our morality, and the state of
our non-governmental organizations and political parties," he said.
Russia, Turkey, OSCE
Farac Quliyev, leader of the National Awakening Movement Party,
said that Azerbaijan should make some changes to its foreign policy.
"Armenia has occupied Azerbaijani lands and Russia stands behind this.
They cooperate within the Collective Security Treaty Organization
[of which Azerbaijan is not a member]. Every day, we hear this
organization's threats when Azerbaijan expresses some opinion against
Armenia... Azerbaijan is an associate member of NATO and we do not
think that it needs to maintain simply symbolic ties with NATO, but
[should] make use of its opportunities," Quliyev said.
He urged closer military ties with Turkic states and also called for
the establishment of a new military bloc "on the axis of Azerbaijan
and Turkey, including Moldova and Georgia".
He added that Russia and France should be replaced with Turkey and
Georgia as two of the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group which
mediates a peaceful solution to the Karabakh territorial dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"If this is not the case, no result will be achieved," he said.
In turn, Chairman of the Social Democratic Party Araz Alizada said
that the Karabakh problem should be solved using a strong army,
not through using the OSCE Minsk Group.
"The OSCE Minsk Group should be rejected. We need to form a
professional army. This army should be an army of men over 25.
Azerbaijan should win this war [referring to Karabakh conflict],"
he added.
Alizada said that not only Azerbaijani oligarchs, but also Russian
oligarchs finance the National Council to "cause chaos in Azerbaijan
and to ensure that Azerbaijan fails to conduct an independent foreign
policy and solve its social problems".
Presidential candidates Qudrat Hasanquliyev, Sardar Calaloglu and
Iqbal Agazada pledged to fight corruption and to develop the country's
agrarian, health and education sectors.
[Translated from Azeri]