Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijan
February 13, 2015 Friday
U.S. Congressmen, analysts urge Aliyev government to release political
prisoners, reopen RFE/RL office
Top members of a key U.S. Congressional committee on Thursday
condemned Azerbaijan’s crackdown onmedia and civil society
members,urging for immediate steps “in the right direction” as a sign
of Baku’s positive intentions, TURAN’s Washington correspondent
reports.
Azerbaijan’s location in a difficult neighborhood and being sandwiched
by Russia and Iran “shouldn’t be an excuse for ignoring right
volitions,” said Dana Rohrabacher, Chairman of House Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, during a
hearing about U.S. interests in Azerbaijan.
“The recent closure of RFE/RL in Baku is unacceptable,” he said,
adding that an official raid to the RadioAzadliq office, as well as
arrests of local journalists are among a series of steps by the
Azerbaijani government to limit free media and public discourse.
“I’m deeply troubled by recent efforts by the government to crack down
on civil society groups and independent media…Democracy does not exist
without the citizens who freely exercise their voices,”added New
Jersey Congressmen Albio Sires.
Gregory W. Meeks, a Democrat from New York, said, President
IlhamAliyev and his team “should know that we’re concerned about their
attitude towards some members of the civil society.”
The Azeri government officials, including ambassador to the U.S.,
weren’t part of the hearing, however, the embassy employees and
pro-government media were observing the event from the audience.
In his speech Massachusetts Congressmen William Keating also
highlighted the arrest of journalists in Baku, as well as ongoing
anti-US campaign, saying that these all “raise serious questions and
concerns over the intentions of Azerbaijani leadership and desire to
partner with U.S.”
The [Obama] Administration, he said, “should prioritize those concerns
while their communication with the Aliyev government.”
Congressmen Rohrabacher also criticized U.S. diplomats in Baku for
allegedly declining to assist to activist EminHuseynov, who is married
to a U.S. citizen, who is currently being sheltered by Swiss diplomats
in Azerbaijan’s capital. Huseynov’s wife Sarah Paulsworth, was present
at the hearing.
Crackdown is counterproductive and dangerous
In her testimony Dr. Audrey Altstadt from Kennan Institute, said that
Azerbaijan today “is not a democracy” thus the government has been
moving away from, not closer to, pluralism and democratic elections.
And the US and its representatives, she said, “must be unapologetic
about our commitment to human rights and democracy.””The US owes this
much to the pro – democracy movements and groups in Azerbaijan. ”
Critics of the Aliyevregime are “harassed or go to jail,”she said. The
trend accelerated in 2014. There are about 100 political prisoners in
Azerbaijani jails including human rights defenders, journalists and
lawyers. Altstadt called the crackdown “counterproductive and
dangerous.”
“The pressure on opposition groups and critics, especially youth, both
in and outside political parties, and on NGOs, has gradually increased
since the 2003 accession to the presidency of IlhamAliyev, son of the
previous president and former KGB general HeydarAliyev. Since early
2013 the instances of such repressions have increased in number and
intensity reaching unprecedented levels since the spring of 2014.”
Altstadt also draw attention to Azeri government officials’ recently
increased anti – American rhetoric.”The president’s chief of staff
RamizMehtiyev accused the U.S. of trying to “destabilize” the Aliyev
government under the guise of protecting human rights. U.S. – funded
NGOs are under attack and Radio Liberty was closed in late December.”
End of the HeydarAliyev era…
In his speech Richard Kauzlarich, former U.S. Ambassador to
Azerbaijan, said the Mehdiyev attack on the U.S.”represents the end of
the HeydarAliyevera – an almost two decade long effort by both the
U.S. and Azerbaijan to improve relations despite differences,”
During that period, he said, there was a public profession from the
Azerbaijani s ide of cooperation with the US and support for
internationally recognized standards for democracy and observance of
human rights.
“Many observers have noticed deterioration in the tone and, in some
respects, the substance of US – Azerbaijan relations, especially since
the flawed Azerbaijani presidential elections in the fall of 2013.
Part of this reflects fundamental shifts in the global and regional
political and economic environment,” he said.
For the Ambassador, today U.S. and Azerbaijan are in a different place
than just five years ago. There are new global and regional
geopolitical realities. The global energy picture in particular has
changed making Azerbaijan and the Caspian region less critical to U.S.
energy security needs.
Rather than trying to construct an abstract “strategic partnership,”
Washington, he said, needs to establish a limited set of attainable
goals: “Progress on these goals would determine whether a strategic
partnership between the US and Azerbaijan is realistic.”
These could be:
– Serious engagement between Armenia and Azerbaijan by a specific date
leading to a peaceful settlement of the dispute regarding
Nagorno-Karabakh, and resumed Track – II unofficial contacts;
– Support for stability in Azerbaijan based on Baku’s movement toward
greater democracy and observance of internationally recognized human
rights standards;
– Freedom for the over 90 political prisoners;
– Further internal suppression of the remaining liberal democratic
elements in the run – up to the 2015 Parliamentary elections in
Azerbaijan.
On the human rights front, he said, there are more political prisoners
in Azerbaijan than in Belarus and Russia combined. Years of diplomatic
engagement have not improved the situation.
“Recently it has become markedly worse than anything I have observed
in my experience with Azerbaijan. If there is no progress toward
release of all these prisoners then the USG should consider imposing
travel and other sanctions on those officials responsible for the
arrest and continued detention of NGO activists and journalists,” he
said.
For Altstadt the year 2015 will be pivotal for the coming 5 years in
Azerbaijan and in US – Azerbaijani relations.
“Azerbaijan must maintain friendly relations with its neighbors and
commercial partners. Recent signs suggest that the regime, or at least
some people among the power elite, is trying to bring the country
closer Russia in foreign policy and in the handling of domestic
criticism,” she said.
“Many historical examples show that without official governance
mechanisms for the redress of grievances or civil society space for
discussion of problems and debate over solutions, people turn to
radical actions and sometimes also to radical leaders. Demonstrations
become likely and if the police crack down on them, people will become
more belligerent and a ” Baku Maidan” can begin.”
Another speaker,Svante Cornell from Johns Hopkins University’s Central
Asia-Caucasus Institute, said, a decade ago, the Azerbaijani
government was considerably more responsive to U.S. criticism and
advice concerning its domestic political system, management of
elections, and human rights record.
Speaking to TURAN after the event, Cornell said the hearing was”an
indication that there is a growing understanding of the difficulties
in the U.S.-Azerbaijani relationship and a need to work with the
Azerbaijani government and with other forces in Azerbaijani society to
improve this relationship.”
“There have to be steps from the both countries, but in the end of the
day, the US is the superpower and it has to take a step,” he said.
In an interview with TURAN Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich said, it’s
not that something has changed on the U.S. side, it’s the steps that
Azerbaijan “unfortunately has taken in recent months.”
“There have been a number of specific actions that the government has
taken recently, unfortunately on the negative side brought attention
to Azerbaijan…” he said, reminding of the large number of political
prisoners,as well as shut down of RFE/RL and other actions.
Richard Kauclarich: “Ali Hasanov needs to read the paper that
RamizMehdiyev wrote”
Commenting on Azeri officials’–most recently Ali Hasanov’s–
statements that there was no problem between the two countries,
Kuazlarich said below:
“I always follow very carefully what Ali Hasanov says; but in this
case I think he needs to read the paper that RamizMehdiyev wrote…
Because that is a definite problem: I cannot recall – in my experience
on the ground or since coming back here – that a senior Azeri
political figure has attacked the U.S. in writing, accusing us of
formatting a color revolution and creating 5thcolumn in Azerbaijan,”
he said.
A.Raufoglu
Washington, DC
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress