AZERBAIJAN: SPLITS AT THE TOP
By Boyukaga Agayev in Baku
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
March 29 2007
Arrest of a once-loyal politician suggests feuding among the ruling
elite.
A fight on the floor of parliament and the subsequent arrest of a
deputy have exposed increasing tensions within the once monolithic
governing elite in Azerbaijan.
During a debate on March 16 on the government’s report on its
activities, parliamentary deputy Husein Abdullayev, formerly a loyal
supporter of the government, launched a stinging attack on Prime
Minister Artur Rasizade and his cabinet.
The speaker tried in vain to get Abdullayev to calm down, and
pro-governmental members responded to his tirade.
The exchange of angry words ended in a fight between Abdullayev and
Fazail Agamaly, the head of the pro-government Ana Vatan (Motherland)
party. The younger and more athletic Abdullayev sent the other man
crashing onto a table and then left the chamber.
Agamaly apologised to members of the government, deputies and guests
for the incident, saying, "Someone had to stop this ill-mannered man,
and that’s what I did.
"Everyone can see that he’s gathered a gang of cut-throats around
him. The law-enforcement bodies know that and should take serious
action."
Three days later, Abdullayev was summoned to the prosecutor’s office
and arrested for hooliganism and assault. Later, he was stripped of
his parliamentary immunity and given two months’ pre-trial detention
in Baku’s Bailovo prison.
Eynulla Fatullayev, editor-in-chief of Realny Azerbaijan newspaper and
a friend of Abdullayev, told IWPR how the arrest happened. He said
Abdullayev had been on his way to a meeting with diplomats from the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe when he was stopped
by a group of men who asked to see his documents, then seized him,
pushed him into a car and drove him to the prosecutor general’s office.
Fatullayev said that his friend had been expecting to be arrested
even before the fight in parliament, and described that incident as a
"provocation".
"Sources in the government told him as much. They forced Abdullayev
to choose between leaving Azerbaijan and going to prison. He wanted
to stay and carry on his struggle, and he asked me for advice. I said,
‘You’ve already made your move, so you have to fight to the end.’"
Abdullayev is now also being investigated for tax evasion.
As often happens in Azerbaijan, relatives of a disgraced public figure
are suffering alongside him. On March 26, Husein Abdullayev’s brother
Azer was sacked from his post as head of the anti-smuggling department
at airport customs.
Husein Abdullayev can lay claim to being the first of the oligarchs
in post-independence Azerbaijan. In 1992, his fortune was estimated
at five million US dollars, a huge sum for that time. He set up a
big trading company, called Nakhichevan after his home region, and
was a major player in the oil business.
He is now head of a large private security agency.
In recent years Abdullayev has moved into politics and was an
ardent supporter of the late president Heidar Aliev, who also came
from Nakhichevan. He personally led an armed group that broke up
opposition protests.
In 2005, he was elected to parliament as an independent deputy.
However, the political landscape has changed since Ilham Aliev
succeeded his father Heidar in 2003, and in his new role as legislator
Abdullayev did not toe the government line.
He first caused a stir in parliament last year, when he demanded
that Interior Minister Ramil Usubov give a report on the case of Haji
Mamedov, a police colonel who had recently been given a life sentence
after years of collusion with criminal gangs.
Abdullayev is only one of a number of politicians who have quarreled
with their former allies in the government and presidential
administration. Several of them have ended up in jail.
Former health minister Ali Insanov was arrested on the eve of the
October 2005 parliamentary election and accused of plotting a coup
d’etat. The charges against him have changed since he has been in
detention, and he is now accused of corruption, embezzlement of state
funds and abuse of power.
Insanov’s court appearances have attracted much public attention,
since he was one of the founders of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan
party and was considered the leader of a large influential "clan" in
government drawn from Azerbaijanis with roots in Armenia. In court,
Insanov has accused his accusers of being politically motivated and of
"anti-state activities".
Insanov’s supporters have joined protests by the opposition party
Musavat, which has held three political rallies this year.
Musavat and another opposition party, the Popular Front, are now also
demanding the release of Abdullayev.
Another ex-minister, Farhad Aliev, also arrested in October 2005,
is also due to stand trial soon. Analysts believe his arrest marked
the start of a period of strife within the governing elite.
Political expert Eldar Namazov said the feuding was almost inevitable.
"No political reforms have been carried out in Azerbaijan since 2003,"
he said. "Heidar Aliev controlled the system by virtue of his personal
authority. The system ran on autopilot for several years after he died.
"Now it’s begun to crumble from within. Even those who built this
power structure are worried about the situation."
Namazov said the breakdown of the elite was a long drawn-out process,
but might pick up speed as circumstances changed.
"Every day there are new scandals and rows," he said. "People who
used to be strong supporters of the authorities are now strongly
criticising them. They cannot stand the situation any longer, and
they are speaking out."
Abdullayev has complained that he is being held in poor conditions
and is being subjected to pressure by the prison authorities. He met
the head of Azerbaijan’s Anti-Torture Committee on March 22 and has
appealed to international organisations to help him fight what he
says is an illegal arrest.
Boyukaga Agayev is a correspondent with the Azadliq newspaper and
head of the South Caucasus Research Centre in Baku.