Government behind country’s deprivation of US aid programme – Azeri opposition
Azadliq, Baku
26 May 04
The statement says: “The US Congress has decided to allocate 5bn
dollars to developing countries within the framework of the Millennium
Challenges programme.”
[Passage omitted: reported details of the programme]
As has already been reported, Azerbaijan is one of the countries which
will not receive the financial aid allocated within the framework of
the Millennium Challenges programme. Unlike Azerbaijan, the other two
South Caucasus countries – Georgia and Armenia will receive 500m and
330m dollars respectively.
This shows that the suppression of democratic values in the country
by the incumbent government and the employment of corruption as a
state policy caused Azerbaijan, the overwhelming majority of whose
population live in poverty, the loss of 100m dollars.
The rule of the corrupt regime over 10 years led to the gradual
deterioration of the Azerbaijani people’s living conditions and to
misappropriation of funds in the sum of a billion dollars by a group
of people in the authorities. At the same time, this fact objectively
expresses the negative opinion of the international public about
Azerbaijan. Traditionally, Azerbaijan is described in reports by
international organizations as a country flagrantly violating human
rights, suppressing democratic values and as highly corrupt. That means
that this government’s presence does not enable our country to get the
support of the international public for the resolution of its problems.
The People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party [PFAP] states this huge
material damage on our country, just because of this fact, is another
unforgivable step harming the Azerbaijani people’s living conditions
and the state.
The PFAP thinks the incumbent government, which has turned corruption
and legal nihilism into a state policy and is trying to suppress the
democratic processes, is responsible for Azerbaijan’s deprivation of
[US] financial aid when Armenia, fighting a war with Azerbaijan,
received 300m dollars [as published].
The PFAP states that Azerbaijan’s deprivation of major financial
assistance to support the formation of democratic and open society
and economic reforms, is a heavy blow to our country’s national
development and the interests of the state and the government should
answer to the Azerbaijani people for this.