The Santa Barbara Independent, CA
March 15 2009
Our Man in Azerbaijan
Los Angeles-Based Consul General Elin Suleymanov Makes a Santa Barbara Stop
By Matt Kettmann
Although Azerbaijan ‘ the former Soviet republic that’s evolved to
become a major player in the international oil business ‘ seems like a
long way away, the world’s first Muslim democracy may have more Santa
Barbara connections than you’d think. The country’s Consul General
Elin Suleymanov spoke to students at Santa Barbara City College in
early March, for instance, and visited UCSB’s Capps Center, which is
also where Suleymanov has been working with nanotechnology experts to
develop an extensive nano-network in his homeland. And during midweek
tour, Suleymanov made a brief stop by the offices of The Santa Barbara
Independent, where we chatted for awhile about the South Caucasus
region as a whole and Azerbaijan’s specific challenges in getting
their oil and natural gas to the rest of the world.
The Azerbaijani flag
Having spent more than a month in that curious corner of the world
back in 2004 ‘ reporting specifically on the war-torn, officially
unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (see my articles here and
here) ‘ I’ve loosely followed the region’s developments over the past
five years, and was curious to hear what Suleymanov had to say. When
the Soviet Union crumbled in 1991, his country engaged in a bloody war
against Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which existed during
Soviet times as an independent, mostly ethnic Armenian `oblast’
located within the borders of Azerbaijan. When the world intervened in
1994 and the smoke cleared, roughly 30,000 people were dead, but the
Armenians had won the historic Nagorno-Karabakh lands, plus a
considerable swath of what was considered traditional Azeri property.
Conflict with Armenia Since 1994, a ceasefire has existed along the
disputed border, and peace is only occasionally broken by the exchange
of sniper fire. But even today, the situation remains tense and
unresolved, as the international community ‘ working together via the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk
Group ‘ has been debating the solution to the geopolitical dilemma for
nearly 15 years. As diplomats from Russia, the United States, and
Europe consider solutions, Nagorno-Karabakh has developed a seemingly
functional republic, but is only recognized by Armenia, a country that
seems to be struggling both politically (having killed protesters
after the last election) and financially (having recently asked Russia
for a $500 million loan).
A map of Azerbaijan. The disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh is located
in the mountainous red area to the east of Armenia.
Azerbaijan, meanwhile, has been able to move forward thanks to its
considerable oil and natural gas resources in the Caspian Sea, and is
actively engaged in conversation with Georgia, the third country in
the South Caucasus region. But the Karabakh situation still hangs over
the lives of most Azeris, and remains a shadow on the country’s
attempts to progress into the 21st century, in large part because the
unresolved situation blocks any meaningful interaction with Armenia.
That was one of the main messages relayed last Wednesday by
Suleymanov, who expressed hope that upcoming talks between the
Armenian and Azeri presidents would be fruitful. But he’s not holding
his breath.
`We have a generation who has grown up in exile in Azerbaijan,’ he
explained, referring to the thousands who were displaced due to the
war. He called the establishment of Nagorno-Karabakh `the most
thorough ethnic cleansing’ in history, and explained, `If you kicked
everyone out, it’s easy to pretend you have a government.’ He is
hopeful that a two-stage process ‘first with international
peacekeepers, second with open borders to allow refugees to go home ‘
could work in Nagorno-Karabakh. Down the road, that openness could
lead to a South Caucasus passport of sorts, allowing Armenians,
Azeris, and Georgians to travel freely in the region, much like the
current state of the European Union.
Jonathan Alpeyrie
Remnants of the war over Nagorno-Karabakh, near the frontlines
But even before a full resolution to the conflict, Suleymanov believes
Armenia can change the tide, and become an integral part of the South
Caucasus’s economic and political worlds. `To have Armenia as part of
the region would be a good thing,’ he explained. `But they have to
decide what they want: Do they want to be part of the region or do
they want something separate? Are you a historic tribe or are you a
nation?’ He said that Armenia’s lack of regional participation has
`handicapped’ the region as a whole because the country does not have
`experience in real practical life.’ By comparison, Azerbaijan and
Georgia are able to `work very well together and put aside their
differences.’ That cooperation strengthens both countries, said
Suleymanov, explaining, `If we make Georgia better, we’re better off
ourselves.’
Peddling Black Gold
For Azerbaijan, that regional participation revolves largely around
oil and natural gas, and the need for open pathways to Europe and
beyond to sell such resources. There is already a pipeline through
Georgia, but Suleymanov implied that the recent war between Georgia
and Russia over South Ossetia was waged by the Russians, in part, for
intimidation purposes. Russia, taking its lead from the Soviet Union’s
decades of tight control, has long reigned over any oil coming out of
the region and is reluctant to lose market share to Azerbaijan. The
Russians have even offered to buy it at a higher price than would be
paid in Europe, said Suleymanov, just so they can then deliver it to
Europe and retain their distribution foothold. As such, Suleymanov’s
country has been forced to get creative.
Azerbaijan’s capital city of Baku, at night
`We just want to sell our oil,’ said the consul general. `That’s all
we want to do.’ As well, Suleymanov proved a big proponent of natural
gas, calling it the `bridge to the future’ and arguing that it was the
best stepping stone between oil and renewable resources. Currently,
their oil goes through Georgia and Turkey and into Greece and other
parts of Europe, and they are making attempts to get more flowing
toward Western Europe. But geopolitics ‘ largely dominated ruled by
Russia’s desires ‘ keep getting in the way. `We’re about to begin
expanding has production,’ said Suleymanov, `but we have to line up
our partners first.’
The country is also focused on, as their official mantra goes,
`turning black gold into human gold.’ Suleymanov called the slogan
`somewhat cheesy’ but defended its intention to plan for the future,
since oil and natural gas are finite resources. The nanotechnology
talks with UCSB are part of that diversification goal. `It’s not about
oil and gas,’ he explained. `It’s about how you use oil and gas.’
State of Azerbaijani Democracy
Eventually, our conversation turned to the state of democracy and
freedom in Azerbaijan, which, when I investigated the region in 2004,
did not seem promising. Though my research then was based on all
available articles and books, my first-hand reporting relied mostly on
the opinions of Armenians, as the only access to the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR) was through the embassy in Yerevan and via the winding
roads of southern Armenia. Once in NKR, our guides and translators
were Karabakh natives who had lived through the war’s bombing raids
and, in certain cases, fought as soldiers themselves. Their opinions
on the matter, of course, were strong and therefore dominated my
reports, which described what appeared to be a fully functioning
though internationally ignored NKR, complete with a parliament (whose
leader I interviewed extensively), a military (with whom we ate,
drank, and shot guns), ministers (some of whom gave us thoughtful
gifts upon our departure), and a president (who lived in a mansion
next door to our rented flat). As well, the available literature
overwhelmingly suggested that NKR and Armenia had fought the more
noble cause ‘ though as I have come to learn from reporting on other
geopolitical conflicts, the fog of war is always thick, and verifiable
truth is one of the first things to die on the battlefield.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev
As a result of that, I did reach out to the Azerbaijan government for
comments in 2004. They proved unresponsive at the time, though I was
able to get an angry and enflamed counterpoint from at least one Azeri
citizen. On top of that, the available reporting on the Azeri
government in 2004 was disheartening ‘ there was a drastic lack of
independent, non-state-sponsored journalism, their recent and upcoming
elections were awash in controversy and corruption, and the vitriolic
attacks lobbed by everyday citizens against the Armenians was evidence
to me that their emotions had blinded Azerbaijan from any peaceful
resolution to the conflict.
Listening to Suleymanov’s descriptions of his home country, it appears
that things have drastically changed. `Every nation in that part of
the world is making progress,’ said the consul general, who was quick
to point out the troubles recently affecting both Georgia and Ukraine,
countries once considered `beacons of democracy.’ Suleymanov said that
the 2008 election in Azerbaijan went well, and that the government is
largely supported by the population. He compared that to the 10 people
killed by the Armenian government following their recent
election. `They say that Azerbaijanis like to shoot,’ said Suleymanov,
referring to the NKR conflict. `But in one day, the Armenian
government in downtown Yerevan kills more people than we do [during
the entire 15-year NKR ceasefire].’
Suleymanov is quick to re-assess what we mean when we say
democracy. `Do we mean elections?’ he asked, later adding, `Hitler was
elected.’ Or, Suleymanov asked, `Do we mean tolerance? Do we mean
women’s rights? Do we mean children’s rights? On the composite scale,
I think Azerbaijan is doing very well.’ Suleymanov noted that
Azerbaijan was the first Muslim democracy in the world, and the first
country to give women the right to vote, both of which were wiped away
when the Russian Empire an, later, the Soviet Union took over. But
today, Azerbaijan is a `diverse, pluralistic’ society, and a very
moderate country by Muslim standards. There are even more than 10,000
Armenians living in Baku, he explained, and although passion run high
because of the NKR conflict, they are still welcome.
Whatever the truth may be, one thing’s clear: Elin Suleymanov, as
consul general of the Republic of Azerbaijan’s Los Angeles-based
outreach office, is doing his best to introduce his country to the
rest of the West Coast. Now it’s up to the rest of us, from
nanotechnology researchers at UCSB to SBCC students studying
geopolitics, to decide if and how his country fits into our future.
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