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Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
July 31 2014
Persecutions of pro-Western activists continue in Azerbaijan
31 July 2014 - 10:00pm
Persecutions of pro-Western activists continue in Azerbaijan Leyla
Yunus arrested
Mikhail Belyayev. Exclusively for VK
On July 30 the Azerbaijani authorities once again struck at the
pro-Western "civil society", which now does not feel at home in this
South Caucasian state. Civil activist Leyla Yunus was arrested as she
tried to flee the country together with foreign diplomats. Before her
unsuccessful escape she ignored four calls to attend interrogations by
the General Prosecutor's office. The law-enforcement agencies have
been keeping an eye on the activist for several years. She called for
the liberation of the terrorists from the Sadval group, convicted for
launching a terrorist attack on the Baku metro in 1994. She even
included the terrorists on a list of political prisoners submitted to
European lawmakers.
The activist also defended the people responsible for promoting
inter-ethnic hatred in the country, where people of different ethnic
origins have always been treated as equals. For instance, Azerbaijani
Jews have always been respected and cherished. Many of them now live
in the United States or Israel. Remembering their past in Azerbaijan,
these people contribute much to the development of the US-Azerbaijani
and Israeli-Azerbaijani relations. There has never been ethnic hatred
in Azerbaijan, however, there are those who would be happy to change
the situation for the worse. Leyla Yunus supported not only
terrorists from Sadval, but also Alikram Gumbatov.
The separatist Gumbatov, who has been sentenced to capital punishment,
Yunus believes to be "a victim of the Azerbaijani authorities." The
"victim" now lives in Holland and (not without help provided by the
Armenian special services) tries to incite a separatist movement in
southern part of the country. taking into consideration Leyla Yunus'
past, it's quite clear why the law-enforcement agencies have started
an investigation into her activities. The questions raised were quite
numerous. Whose interests does she represent? Who supports her
financially? Are her activities transparent? Is she an honest
tax-payer? The results were remarkable. Yunus has been charged with
high treason, tax evasion, fraud and illegal entrepreneurship. These
are the charges she was arrested on.
It would be unwise to decide whether she has actually committed all
these crimes before the lawsuit is over. However the very fact is
quite eloquent. Tax evasion and illegal entrepreneurship are serious
crimes. It seems like the law-enforcement agencies have been
investigating her activities for a long time before bringing the
charges. It seems probable that Yunus has embezzled foreign funds
allocated for promoting democracy and human rights. One more activist
and recipient of foreign financial aid, Rasul Dzhafarov, often pays
visits to European capitals. A couple of years ago he launched a
campaign named "Sing for Democracy", aimed at politicizing the
Eurovision song contest held in Baku. Dzhafarov recently tried to flee
the country as well. His bank accounts are now frozen.
It has been decided to turn to the harsh actions and inspections of
pro-Western activists when relations between Azerbaijan and the West
are far from being at their best. The Azerbaijani Ambassador to the
OSCE, Ghalib Israfilov, has even openly responded to criticism coming
from the United States by publicly reminding Americans about not
fulfilling their obligations to close Guantanamo Bay prison. Former
Ambassador of the U.S. to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar, after he
made veiled comments about the possibility of a "Euromaidan" in
Azerbaijan, has been highly criticized by the Azerbaijani government
and Azerbaijani media.
In general, starting from last year, Western institutions and
initiatives in Azerbaijan have had a hard time. The status of the OSCE
mission in Azerbaijan was downgraded to fulfilling the mission of a
Project Coordinator, the Office of American Democrats NDI was promptly
closed, while the University of Azad Fikir was temporarily closed. A
pro-Western revolutionary youth organization known as Nida was also
neutralized by the Azeri special services. Finally, the Eastern
Partnership with the EU, developed by Poland and Sweden, was
practically ignored by Baku, which did not express any desire to sign
the association agreement.
This is another reason for western politicians to reconsider their
approach to their partners. The Azerbaijani government has
consistently strengthened economic and political relations with the
Kremlin and their actions have caused irritation in Western capitals.
It is obvious that the foreign policy and the weakening of the
positions of the West in the South Caucasus region result in the
gradual loss of the positions of pro-Western agents of influence in
Azerbaijan, especially when their activities violate local laws.
The arrest of Leyla Yunus, regardless of its legal framework, is just
one of many manifestations of a greater political process ongoing in
the region. However, it is another reason for Western politicians to
reconsider their approaches to their partners in the post-Soviet
space. One-sided criticism and attempts to bring "orange" revolutions
there, as well as the sanctions and double standards applied by the EU
and the United States with respect to post-Soviet republics, will not
work in countries where the ruling elite have access to significant
financial reserves and where there is a clear understanding of the
national interests.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/society/58336.html
July 31 2014
Persecutions of pro-Western activists continue in Azerbaijan
31 July 2014 - 10:00pm
Persecutions of pro-Western activists continue in Azerbaijan Leyla
Yunus arrested
Mikhail Belyayev. Exclusively for VK
On July 30 the Azerbaijani authorities once again struck at the
pro-Western "civil society", which now does not feel at home in this
South Caucasian state. Civil activist Leyla Yunus was arrested as she
tried to flee the country together with foreign diplomats. Before her
unsuccessful escape she ignored four calls to attend interrogations by
the General Prosecutor's office. The law-enforcement agencies have
been keeping an eye on the activist for several years. She called for
the liberation of the terrorists from the Sadval group, convicted for
launching a terrorist attack on the Baku metro in 1994. She even
included the terrorists on a list of political prisoners submitted to
European lawmakers.
The activist also defended the people responsible for promoting
inter-ethnic hatred in the country, where people of different ethnic
origins have always been treated as equals. For instance, Azerbaijani
Jews have always been respected and cherished. Many of them now live
in the United States or Israel. Remembering their past in Azerbaijan,
these people contribute much to the development of the US-Azerbaijani
and Israeli-Azerbaijani relations. There has never been ethnic hatred
in Azerbaijan, however, there are those who would be happy to change
the situation for the worse. Leyla Yunus supported not only
terrorists from Sadval, but also Alikram Gumbatov.
The separatist Gumbatov, who has been sentenced to capital punishment,
Yunus believes to be "a victim of the Azerbaijani authorities." The
"victim" now lives in Holland and (not without help provided by the
Armenian special services) tries to incite a separatist movement in
southern part of the country. taking into consideration Leyla Yunus'
past, it's quite clear why the law-enforcement agencies have started
an investigation into her activities. The questions raised were quite
numerous. Whose interests does she represent? Who supports her
financially? Are her activities transparent? Is she an honest
tax-payer? The results were remarkable. Yunus has been charged with
high treason, tax evasion, fraud and illegal entrepreneurship. These
are the charges she was arrested on.
It would be unwise to decide whether she has actually committed all
these crimes before the lawsuit is over. However the very fact is
quite eloquent. Tax evasion and illegal entrepreneurship are serious
crimes. It seems like the law-enforcement agencies have been
investigating her activities for a long time before bringing the
charges. It seems probable that Yunus has embezzled foreign funds
allocated for promoting democracy and human rights. One more activist
and recipient of foreign financial aid, Rasul Dzhafarov, often pays
visits to European capitals. A couple of years ago he launched a
campaign named "Sing for Democracy", aimed at politicizing the
Eurovision song contest held in Baku. Dzhafarov recently tried to flee
the country as well. His bank accounts are now frozen.
It has been decided to turn to the harsh actions and inspections of
pro-Western activists when relations between Azerbaijan and the West
are far from being at their best. The Azerbaijani Ambassador to the
OSCE, Ghalib Israfilov, has even openly responded to criticism coming
from the United States by publicly reminding Americans about not
fulfilling their obligations to close Guantanamo Bay prison. Former
Ambassador of the U.S. to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar, after he
made veiled comments about the possibility of a "Euromaidan" in
Azerbaijan, has been highly criticized by the Azerbaijani government
and Azerbaijani media.
In general, starting from last year, Western institutions and
initiatives in Azerbaijan have had a hard time. The status of the OSCE
mission in Azerbaijan was downgraded to fulfilling the mission of a
Project Coordinator, the Office of American Democrats NDI was promptly
closed, while the University of Azad Fikir was temporarily closed. A
pro-Western revolutionary youth organization known as Nida was also
neutralized by the Azeri special services. Finally, the Eastern
Partnership with the EU, developed by Poland and Sweden, was
practically ignored by Baku, which did not express any desire to sign
the association agreement.
This is another reason for western politicians to reconsider their
approach to their partners. The Azerbaijani government has
consistently strengthened economic and political relations with the
Kremlin and their actions have caused irritation in Western capitals.
It is obvious that the foreign policy and the weakening of the
positions of the West in the South Caucasus region result in the
gradual loss of the positions of pro-Western agents of influence in
Azerbaijan, especially when their activities violate local laws.
The arrest of Leyla Yunus, regardless of its legal framework, is just
one of many manifestations of a greater political process ongoing in
the region. However, it is another reason for Western politicians to
reconsider their approaches to their partners in the post-Soviet
space. One-sided criticism and attempts to bring "orange" revolutions
there, as well as the sanctions and double standards applied by the EU
and the United States with respect to post-Soviet republics, will not
work in countries where the ruling elite have access to significant
financial reserves and where there is a clear understanding of the
national interests.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/society/58336.html