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THE PRICE OF TYRANNY WILL BE PAID IN BLOOD IN AZERBAIJAN
Azeri Report
Aug 5 2014
By Elmar Chakhtakhtinski
WASHINGTON. August 6, 2014: Rasul Jafarov, an Azerbaijani young rights
activist and founder of the Art for Democracy project was jailed last
Saturday on tax evasion charges. Three days earlier, the top human
rights defender, Leyla Yunus, was accused of treason and she and her
husband, a well known politcal analyst Arif Yunus, were thrown behind
bars. The Aliyev petro-dictatorship is wiping out the last vestiges
of pro-Western, secular, non-violent opposition. This is taking place
at a time when the reckless war posturing and hate-mongering on both
sides of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict had led to the deadliest
armed confrontation since the 1994 seize fire. At least 13 Azerbaijani
and 4 Armenian soldiers died within the past few days. No doubt, the
current hostilities on the frontline will be used by the official Baku
to divert attention from its unprecedented crackdown on civil society.
How shameful then that some oil-soaked, caviar-greased,
lobbyist-pedaled politicians, "experts", and pundits in the West lend
support and provide justifications for this repressive and utterly
corrupt regime. Some simply lie on its behalf, promoting its fake image
as a "tolerant, modernizing Western ally". And some bluntly rationalize
its despicable rights record and call to ignore its trespasses against
the Azerbaijani people for the sake of other, short-sighted interests.
There will be a heavy price to be paid for this.
Unfolding to come
It might come as an escalation of the current military hostilities in
Karabakh conflict into a full blown war between the two authoritarian
governments in Yerevan and Baku. They constantly play with fire and
stir hateful war propaganda for political benefits. Or it can stem
from the rise of violent extremist forces. Those tend to emerge as
a sole alternative to unjust and despotic governments that succeed
in eliminating all moderate pro-democracy opposition. It may also
be an Iranian or Russian sponsored ethnic or religiously-motivated
provocation in the border regions. Indeed, with so many infringements
on freedoms, rights and livelihoods of ordinary citizens of all
backgrounds, the Azerbaijani authorities made the country an easy
target for such incitement. Or it might simply start as a violent
uprising of the hungry population when a significant decline in
energy export revenues inevitably occurs. The corrupt and incompetent
regime's entire economy is mostly based on plunder of oil riches and
it is bound to eventually hit the wall.
Whatever it might be - it will come. And there will be blood, violence
and an irreparable blow to both Azerbaijan's own future as well as
to all those US and EU interests in whose name this despicable regime
is being supported, justified and tolerated by its Western allies.
We see similar scenarios unfolding in many other countries. There,
seemingly strong and stable dictatorships, some allies of the West
and some not, unfold quickly into the deadly chaos of uprisings and
civil wars. The question should not be whether such a tragic turn
of events is possible in Azerbaijan but, rather, whether it can even
be averted in Azerbaijan anymore. What is happening now portends the
things to come.
Civil society being destroyed
Recently arrested: Azerbaijan's top right defender Leyla Yunus and
her husband Arif Yunus (on the right) and young rights activist Rasul
Jafarov (on the left)
The channels for civilized discourse are quickly narrowing. The
remaining civil society institutions capable of leading and controlling
any possible popular discontent are being methodically destroyed. The
economic and social injustice, coupled with the routine trampling of
people's rights and freedoms, has turned Azerbaijan from an aspiring,
transitional post-Soviet society into one of the solidified corrupt
dictatorships typical of Middle East, Central Asia and African
continent. And the ever-tightening political conditions ensure the
closing of the very few avenues that remain for a peaceful transition
into a more open and liberal society. The only way out then would
be a violent explosion of the long-suppressed but slowly growing,
seething grievances.
The recent arrests of Leyla Yunus and Rasul Jafarov come as the
continuation of a long-running and intensifying onslaught on dissent
and free thought in Azerbaijan. All major international rights
organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International,
Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders, rate Azerbaijan's as
one of the worst in the world on democracy and human rights. So do
the foreign governments in their assessments, such as the US State
Department's annual human rights report. Ranked at the bottom of the
world's corruption index by the Transparency International, Azerbaijan
has its President Ilham Aliyev recognized as the world's most corrupt
person by the international watchdog OCCRP. His style of governing
was also compared in the US diplomatic correspondence cables leaked
by Wikileaks to the head of Corleone mafia family from the famous
"God Father" movie trilogy.
Misused carrots and no sticks
Yet, the growth of totalitarianism in Azerbaijani takes place under
the tacit support, silent neglect or merely symbolic criticism by
the US and Europe. Human rights seem sidelined by the energy and
security interests of great powers and Azerbaijan's own growing
lobbying efforts in Western capitals.
It reached a sad point when those in other countries use Azerbaijan
as a poster-boy for West's sell out of its democratic ideals. Thus, a
leading rights activist in Belarus, Ales Bialatski, recently said that
we must not allow "the situation in Belarus to get Azerbaijanized".
Pointing to Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the Council of Europe, he
emphasized that "a country full of political prisoners, in which
human rights are violated, presides over a European institution,
created specifically for protection of human rights".
The real problem is not in the lack of international criticism of
Azerbaijan's deteriorating democracy record. The issue lies in every
verbal rebuke being inevitably watered down by highlights of the
"positives" in energy and security cooperation and the pledges of
friendship "in hopes for improvement" on democracy. Those "hopes"
never materialize, of course. But regardless how much the official Baku
ignores the international concerns, no sanctions and no significant
dent in relations ever follows.
In other words, the US and EU policies in support for democratic
reforms in Azerbaijan carry no sticks and the carrots are all tied
to other areas. Even the critical talk alone is largely offset by
other statements and gestures designed to soften the tone. And that
is exactly what the Aliyev regime and its lobbyists abroad want to see.
It serves to them as an implicit green light for their continuing
persecution of dissidents within the country.
Lobbying money talks
For example, at the height of worsening attacks against the civil
society, the US officials had been gladly attending the Aliyev
regime's lavish "US-Azerbaijan" PR conventions in DC and Baku. The
ethnic non-profit networks listed as organizers of these events and
their financial sponsorship have already raised questions in the US
media. US Senator from New York, Charles Schumer, was quoted calling
the corrupt Aliyev dictatorship a "great democracy". US Congressman
from Texas, Ted Poe, who praised Azerbaijan as a "shining light of
democracy", was one of several whose participation in the convention
became a subject of the Houston Chronicle investigation of possible
ethics rules breaches.
US House Speaker Boehner posing with the corrupt Azerbaijani
minister-oligarch Ziya Mammadov's son, Anar Mammadov, at a party hosted
by his lobbyist outfit in DC Others, like the US House Speaker John
Boehner, became highlights of lavish galas hosted by the Azerbaijan
America Alliance (AAA) - an organization that, according to FARA
records, is bankrolled by the shadowy "ZQAN Holding" enterprise
of Azerbaijan's corrupt transport minister Ziya Mammadov. His dirty
business empire was subject of international journalistic investigation
reports and also cited in Wikileaks cables as the third largest corrupt
family business syndicate in Azerbaijan. His DC lobbying outfit is
led by his playboy son Anar Mammadov who, before posing on pictures
with the US Speaker Boehner, was known from Azerbaijani media stories
about him getting drunk and paying million dollars to grill and eat
a bear from the local zoo. Mammadov's fortunes and his multi-million
dollar excursion into the DC lobbying scene was covered in Foreign
Policy magazine's article on the Aliyev dynasty's mafia regime called
"Corleones of the Caucuses".
One can dismiss these incidents by saying that the US Congress members
are known for saying and doing stupid things, especially when they
are prompted by special interest lobbyists. However, the guest lists
of those events included not only US Senators and Representatives,
but also current and former officials from the Obama administration,
including the State Department and Pentagon.
Aliyev dictatorship's lobbying outreach, dubbed "Caviar Diplomacy",
also reached European parliamentarians. Some of them were implicated
in a bribery probe focusing on the favors they might have received
from Azerbaijani contacts. Europe's top human rights body, Council
of Europe (CE), could have kicked out Azerbaijan from its membership
for violating its most fundamental tenets. But instead, Azerbaijan is
currently holding the CE chairmanship which allows President Aliyev
to boldly lie from its podium that there are no political prisoners
in his country.
The same lie was told by Mr. Aliyev in his meeting with the EU
president Barroso - a meeting that should have never happened, in
the first place, with Azerbaijan being in severe breach of its basic
international obligations. To give due credit, President Obama has not
endorsed the corrupt Azerbaijani petro-dictator Aliyev's repressions
by inviting him to the White House. Let's hope it is kept that way and
that President Obama does not meet with Mr. Aliyev in DC or elsewhere.
If that happens - that would drive the last nail in the coffin of
any pretense for the US support for democracy in Azerbaijan.
Criticism wrapped in chocolate
Even when the intended focus is on human rights and democracy, often
an overly "diplomatic" caution not to offend the sensibilities of
Azerbaijani authorities ends up defeating the purpose.
For example, the US Helsinki Commission, the American government's
premier agency dealing with human rights around the world, has been
consistently vocal in its criticism of Azerbaijan. Its co-chair,
Senator Cardin, has been very unequivocal in raising concerns with
the actions of the Aliyev regime. However, for a briefing held before
the last year's presidential elections in Azerbaijan, the Commission
invited two representatives of the Azerbaijani government. That
allowed the head of Baku's Council Europe delegation, Samed Seidov,
to repeat from the halls of the US Congress the same lie his president
told during the meeting with the EU head Barosso: that there are no
political prisoners in Azerbaijan. And for its most recent hearing on
Azerbaijan, the US Helsinki Commission invited a US analyst Brenda
Shaffer, who is well-known as a long-time apologist for President
Ilham Aliyev.
It might be tempting to justify inviting these regime mouthpieces
by a desire to have a "balanced discussion". However, they are well
known for not particularly caring for democracy and human rights
in Azerbaijan, which happens to be the very subject topic of those
hearings and briefings. Thus, the only contribution they can be
expected to make at those forums would consist of misinformation,
omissions, and rationalization designed to whitewash the Azerbaijani
government's miserable record on the subject in focus. And so they have
done, diluting the basic purpose and strength of the public message
sent to the Aliyev regime about the unacceptability of its behavior.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, whose corrupt and repressive
style is often compared to mafia, enjoys friendly relations with the
US and EU.
Another unfortunate example of dampening the principled criticism
was observed after the October 2013 elections in Azerbaijan. The
OSCE observer mission, the US State Department and the US Helsinki
Commission - all rightfully condemned the unfair and unfree conduct
of President Aliyev's sham third-term "re-election". However, that
did not stop some members of the US Congress and Governors of some
States from sending letters congratulating Mr. Aliyev with successfully
defrauding his own people of their right to elect their government.
Again, one can attribute those statements from US Congress members
to their ignorance and infamous willingness to say any nonsense
in order to placate lobbyists. But President Obama too sent a
post-election letter to Ilham Aliyev. While he did not use the word
"congratulation" and included his concerns with the lack of democracy,
he still wished success to Mr. Aliyev on "assuming the third term"
and pledged friendship and cooperation.
Making it worse, the letter came after the series of heated exchanges
between the official Baku and Washington. After all the lobbying money
spent in DC and all the praises for being a "model American ally",
the Aliyev regime got visibly upset with the honest assessment of its
electoral fraud by the US. So, the chief of Presidential Administration
accused the US ambassador in Baku in advising the Azerbaijanis to fake
voting results to a "reasonable" number. That was backed by a dose of
usual anti-Western diatribe that gets spewed out from such regimes in
response to criticism. So, to the American diplomatic circles President
Obama's letter might have seemed like a carefully worded diplomatic
masterpiece aimed at cooling off the tensions. But the Azerbaijani
regime was quick to parade it as election victory congratulation and
a sign of the world's strongest democracy blinking first in a verbal
standoff with a small corrupt and authoritarian petro-state.
No wonder that with such schizophrenic, spineless support for
Azerbaijani democracy coming from the Western power centers, the
corrupt Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev feels emboldened to ignore
all international concerns and pleas and finish off the last remnants
of freedom and human rights in his country.
http://azerireport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4380&Ite mid=48
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Azeri Report
Aug 5 2014
By Elmar Chakhtakhtinski
WASHINGTON. August 6, 2014: Rasul Jafarov, an Azerbaijani young rights
activist and founder of the Art for Democracy project was jailed last
Saturday on tax evasion charges. Three days earlier, the top human
rights defender, Leyla Yunus, was accused of treason and she and her
husband, a well known politcal analyst Arif Yunus, were thrown behind
bars. The Aliyev petro-dictatorship is wiping out the last vestiges
of pro-Western, secular, non-violent opposition. This is taking place
at a time when the reckless war posturing and hate-mongering on both
sides of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict had led to the deadliest
armed confrontation since the 1994 seize fire. At least 13 Azerbaijani
and 4 Armenian soldiers died within the past few days. No doubt, the
current hostilities on the frontline will be used by the official Baku
to divert attention from its unprecedented crackdown on civil society.
How shameful then that some oil-soaked, caviar-greased,
lobbyist-pedaled politicians, "experts", and pundits in the West lend
support and provide justifications for this repressive and utterly
corrupt regime. Some simply lie on its behalf, promoting its fake image
as a "tolerant, modernizing Western ally". And some bluntly rationalize
its despicable rights record and call to ignore its trespasses against
the Azerbaijani people for the sake of other, short-sighted interests.
There will be a heavy price to be paid for this.
Unfolding to come
It might come as an escalation of the current military hostilities in
Karabakh conflict into a full blown war between the two authoritarian
governments in Yerevan and Baku. They constantly play with fire and
stir hateful war propaganda for political benefits. Or it can stem
from the rise of violent extremist forces. Those tend to emerge as
a sole alternative to unjust and despotic governments that succeed
in eliminating all moderate pro-democracy opposition. It may also
be an Iranian or Russian sponsored ethnic or religiously-motivated
provocation in the border regions. Indeed, with so many infringements
on freedoms, rights and livelihoods of ordinary citizens of all
backgrounds, the Azerbaijani authorities made the country an easy
target for such incitement. Or it might simply start as a violent
uprising of the hungry population when a significant decline in
energy export revenues inevitably occurs. The corrupt and incompetent
regime's entire economy is mostly based on plunder of oil riches and
it is bound to eventually hit the wall.
Whatever it might be - it will come. And there will be blood, violence
and an irreparable blow to both Azerbaijan's own future as well as
to all those US and EU interests in whose name this despicable regime
is being supported, justified and tolerated by its Western allies.
We see similar scenarios unfolding in many other countries. There,
seemingly strong and stable dictatorships, some allies of the West
and some not, unfold quickly into the deadly chaos of uprisings and
civil wars. The question should not be whether such a tragic turn
of events is possible in Azerbaijan but, rather, whether it can even
be averted in Azerbaijan anymore. What is happening now portends the
things to come.
Civil society being destroyed
Recently arrested: Azerbaijan's top right defender Leyla Yunus and
her husband Arif Yunus (on the right) and young rights activist Rasul
Jafarov (on the left)
The channels for civilized discourse are quickly narrowing. The
remaining civil society institutions capable of leading and controlling
any possible popular discontent are being methodically destroyed. The
economic and social injustice, coupled with the routine trampling of
people's rights and freedoms, has turned Azerbaijan from an aspiring,
transitional post-Soviet society into one of the solidified corrupt
dictatorships typical of Middle East, Central Asia and African
continent. And the ever-tightening political conditions ensure the
closing of the very few avenues that remain for a peaceful transition
into a more open and liberal society. The only way out then would
be a violent explosion of the long-suppressed but slowly growing,
seething grievances.
The recent arrests of Leyla Yunus and Rasul Jafarov come as the
continuation of a long-running and intensifying onslaught on dissent
and free thought in Azerbaijan. All major international rights
organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International,
Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders, rate Azerbaijan's as
one of the worst in the world on democracy and human rights. So do
the foreign governments in their assessments, such as the US State
Department's annual human rights report. Ranked at the bottom of the
world's corruption index by the Transparency International, Azerbaijan
has its President Ilham Aliyev recognized as the world's most corrupt
person by the international watchdog OCCRP. His style of governing
was also compared in the US diplomatic correspondence cables leaked
by Wikileaks to the head of Corleone mafia family from the famous
"God Father" movie trilogy.
Misused carrots and no sticks
Yet, the growth of totalitarianism in Azerbaijani takes place under
the tacit support, silent neglect or merely symbolic criticism by
the US and Europe. Human rights seem sidelined by the energy and
security interests of great powers and Azerbaijan's own growing
lobbying efforts in Western capitals.
It reached a sad point when those in other countries use Azerbaijan
as a poster-boy for West's sell out of its democratic ideals. Thus, a
leading rights activist in Belarus, Ales Bialatski, recently said that
we must not allow "the situation in Belarus to get Azerbaijanized".
Pointing to Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the Council of Europe, he
emphasized that "a country full of political prisoners, in which
human rights are violated, presides over a European institution,
created specifically for protection of human rights".
The real problem is not in the lack of international criticism of
Azerbaijan's deteriorating democracy record. The issue lies in every
verbal rebuke being inevitably watered down by highlights of the
"positives" in energy and security cooperation and the pledges of
friendship "in hopes for improvement" on democracy. Those "hopes"
never materialize, of course. But regardless how much the official Baku
ignores the international concerns, no sanctions and no significant
dent in relations ever follows.
In other words, the US and EU policies in support for democratic
reforms in Azerbaijan carry no sticks and the carrots are all tied
to other areas. Even the critical talk alone is largely offset by
other statements and gestures designed to soften the tone. And that
is exactly what the Aliyev regime and its lobbyists abroad want to see.
It serves to them as an implicit green light for their continuing
persecution of dissidents within the country.
Lobbying money talks
For example, at the height of worsening attacks against the civil
society, the US officials had been gladly attending the Aliyev
regime's lavish "US-Azerbaijan" PR conventions in DC and Baku. The
ethnic non-profit networks listed as organizers of these events and
their financial sponsorship have already raised questions in the US
media. US Senator from New York, Charles Schumer, was quoted calling
the corrupt Aliyev dictatorship a "great democracy". US Congressman
from Texas, Ted Poe, who praised Azerbaijan as a "shining light of
democracy", was one of several whose participation in the convention
became a subject of the Houston Chronicle investigation of possible
ethics rules breaches.
US House Speaker Boehner posing with the corrupt Azerbaijani
minister-oligarch Ziya Mammadov's son, Anar Mammadov, at a party hosted
by his lobbyist outfit in DC Others, like the US House Speaker John
Boehner, became highlights of lavish galas hosted by the Azerbaijan
America Alliance (AAA) - an organization that, according to FARA
records, is bankrolled by the shadowy "ZQAN Holding" enterprise
of Azerbaijan's corrupt transport minister Ziya Mammadov. His dirty
business empire was subject of international journalistic investigation
reports and also cited in Wikileaks cables as the third largest corrupt
family business syndicate in Azerbaijan. His DC lobbying outfit is
led by his playboy son Anar Mammadov who, before posing on pictures
with the US Speaker Boehner, was known from Azerbaijani media stories
about him getting drunk and paying million dollars to grill and eat
a bear from the local zoo. Mammadov's fortunes and his multi-million
dollar excursion into the DC lobbying scene was covered in Foreign
Policy magazine's article on the Aliyev dynasty's mafia regime called
"Corleones of the Caucuses".
One can dismiss these incidents by saying that the US Congress members
are known for saying and doing stupid things, especially when they
are prompted by special interest lobbyists. However, the guest lists
of those events included not only US Senators and Representatives,
but also current and former officials from the Obama administration,
including the State Department and Pentagon.
Aliyev dictatorship's lobbying outreach, dubbed "Caviar Diplomacy",
also reached European parliamentarians. Some of them were implicated
in a bribery probe focusing on the favors they might have received
from Azerbaijani contacts. Europe's top human rights body, Council
of Europe (CE), could have kicked out Azerbaijan from its membership
for violating its most fundamental tenets. But instead, Azerbaijan is
currently holding the CE chairmanship which allows President Aliyev
to boldly lie from its podium that there are no political prisoners
in his country.
The same lie was told by Mr. Aliyev in his meeting with the EU
president Barroso - a meeting that should have never happened, in
the first place, with Azerbaijan being in severe breach of its basic
international obligations. To give due credit, President Obama has not
endorsed the corrupt Azerbaijani petro-dictator Aliyev's repressions
by inviting him to the White House. Let's hope it is kept that way and
that President Obama does not meet with Mr. Aliyev in DC or elsewhere.
If that happens - that would drive the last nail in the coffin of
any pretense for the US support for democracy in Azerbaijan.
Criticism wrapped in chocolate
Even when the intended focus is on human rights and democracy, often
an overly "diplomatic" caution not to offend the sensibilities of
Azerbaijani authorities ends up defeating the purpose.
For example, the US Helsinki Commission, the American government's
premier agency dealing with human rights around the world, has been
consistently vocal in its criticism of Azerbaijan. Its co-chair,
Senator Cardin, has been very unequivocal in raising concerns with
the actions of the Aliyev regime. However, for a briefing held before
the last year's presidential elections in Azerbaijan, the Commission
invited two representatives of the Azerbaijani government. That
allowed the head of Baku's Council Europe delegation, Samed Seidov,
to repeat from the halls of the US Congress the same lie his president
told during the meeting with the EU head Barosso: that there are no
political prisoners in Azerbaijan. And for its most recent hearing on
Azerbaijan, the US Helsinki Commission invited a US analyst Brenda
Shaffer, who is well-known as a long-time apologist for President
Ilham Aliyev.
It might be tempting to justify inviting these regime mouthpieces
by a desire to have a "balanced discussion". However, they are well
known for not particularly caring for democracy and human rights
in Azerbaijan, which happens to be the very subject topic of those
hearings and briefings. Thus, the only contribution they can be
expected to make at those forums would consist of misinformation,
omissions, and rationalization designed to whitewash the Azerbaijani
government's miserable record on the subject in focus. And so they have
done, diluting the basic purpose and strength of the public message
sent to the Aliyev regime about the unacceptability of its behavior.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, whose corrupt and repressive
style is often compared to mafia, enjoys friendly relations with the
US and EU.
Another unfortunate example of dampening the principled criticism
was observed after the October 2013 elections in Azerbaijan. The
OSCE observer mission, the US State Department and the US Helsinki
Commission - all rightfully condemned the unfair and unfree conduct
of President Aliyev's sham third-term "re-election". However, that
did not stop some members of the US Congress and Governors of some
States from sending letters congratulating Mr. Aliyev with successfully
defrauding his own people of their right to elect their government.
Again, one can attribute those statements from US Congress members
to their ignorance and infamous willingness to say any nonsense
in order to placate lobbyists. But President Obama too sent a
post-election letter to Ilham Aliyev. While he did not use the word
"congratulation" and included his concerns with the lack of democracy,
he still wished success to Mr. Aliyev on "assuming the third term"
and pledged friendship and cooperation.
Making it worse, the letter came after the series of heated exchanges
between the official Baku and Washington. After all the lobbying money
spent in DC and all the praises for being a "model American ally",
the Aliyev regime got visibly upset with the honest assessment of its
electoral fraud by the US. So, the chief of Presidential Administration
accused the US ambassador in Baku in advising the Azerbaijanis to fake
voting results to a "reasonable" number. That was backed by a dose of
usual anti-Western diatribe that gets spewed out from such regimes in
response to criticism. So, to the American diplomatic circles President
Obama's letter might have seemed like a carefully worded diplomatic
masterpiece aimed at cooling off the tensions. But the Azerbaijani
regime was quick to parade it as election victory congratulation and
a sign of the world's strongest democracy blinking first in a verbal
standoff with a small corrupt and authoritarian petro-state.
No wonder that with such schizophrenic, spineless support for
Azerbaijani democracy coming from the Western power centers, the
corrupt Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev feels emboldened to ignore
all international concerns and pleas and finish off the last remnants
of freedom and human rights in his country.
http://azerireport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4380&Ite mid=48
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress