BAKU FREEDOM DREAMS DASHED, FOR NOW
Anna Zamejz
Kyiv Post
June 18 2008
Ukraine
In 2003, street protests dubbed the "Rose Revolution" swept away the
regime of Eduard Szhevardnadze in Georgia. Then came Ukraine’s turn
in 2004, when the "Orange Revolution" overturned a rigged presidential
election and put Viktor Yushchenko in power.
But with the exception of Georgia and Ukraine, democracy is on
the march backwards in many former USSR republics. Nearly 17
years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many of the newly
created nations remain the fiefdoms of strongmen, oligarchs
and presidents-for-life. Azerbaijan is a case study in dynastic
succession. In recent years Azeri youths have tried to form movements
denouncing the autocratic rule of the ruling family, but their efforts
have been crushed by Ilham Aliyev, who took over as president from his
father Heydar Aliyev in 2003. Since, Western leaders and organizations
have soft-peddled electoral and human rights abuses in the oil-rich
Caucasus nation. But Azeri youth still dream that oil and democracy
will mix someday in their nation of 9 million people.
Established political opposition parties were indisputable actors
in the peaceful transformations in Georgia and Ukraine. But youth
organizations played integral roles in street protests — Pora ("It’s
time") in Ukraine and Khmara ("Enough") in Georgia.
Inspired by Ukrainian and Georgian examples, dissident-leaning Azeri
youth in April 2004 formed — "Yeni Fikir" (New Thinking). Their aim:
democratization. Their slogan: "We have a dream – freedom."
"We had no money but we became really popular among Azeri youth. We
organized protests, staged demonstrations, we were critical about the
regime of Ilham Aliyev and spoke the truth about the government. There
were about 2,000 activists ready to join us every time," said Said
Nuri, the former vice chairman of Yeni Fikur who now lives in the
United States. "That’s the reason why the authorities cracked down
on us. They were afraid of the same scenario that had happened in
Georgia and Ukraine."
In July 2005, Nuri attended a seminar in Poland about elections,
organized by the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute. Two months
later, he and another Yeni Fikir participant, Ramin Tagiyev, were
charged with plotting a coup d’etat in Azerbaijan and undergoing
secret training in Poland.
Nuri was sentenced to three years in prison after a secret trial. The
sentence was later reduced to house arrest for health reasons. He is
now free.
Emin Huseynov is one of Azerbaijan’s most steadfast youth leaders. He
felt the power of police batons on his own skin for the first time
in 2003, working as a correspondent for Turan press agency.
"I was covering the rally after presidential elections on Oct 16,
2003 and I was beaten by police and soldiers. Why? I don’t know. There
was no reason," Huseynov said.
His story is not unique. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
claim Azeri police use excessive force on political dissidents and
journalists.
It took Huseynov two years to recover from his injuries. Then he
established the youth movement "Maqam," meaning "Now, it’s time!" to
advocate for democracy.
Huseynov is not affiliated with any political party. He believes that
whoever is in power should respect human rights and democratic values.
When his colleagues, Namig Feiziyev and Turan Aliyev, were expelled
from universities in December 2006 for political activities, Huseynov
stood up for their rights. Together with Elnur Mammadov, he went on
an exhausting 21Âday long hunger strike in solidarity.
"It was successful. Namig was restored and Turan was promised
to be restored. But the attacks continued against them and they
emigrated. Turan was granted political asylum," Huseynov recalled.
Despite the odds, Emin Huseynov has not considered quitting.
"I wish the president would have said he’s sorry and called for
national reconciliation. But it didn’t happen. I would act against
my conscience if I cooperated with the other side," Huseynov said.
Despite Huseynov’s effort, Maqam no longer exists as a democratic
movement. Huseynov believes government pressure scared people away
from political organizations. He has founded a new nonÂgovernmental
organization called the Institute for Reporter Freedom and Safety.
In August 2005, three months before the parliamentary elections,
the leader of Yeni Fikir, Ruslan Bashirli, was accused of planning
a violent takeover in conspiracy with opposition leader Ali Kerimli
and the Armenian secret service. In Azerbaijan, accusations of
collaboration with Armenians are of the highest caliber, as the nation
is still technically at war with Armenia.
"We were too open. Everybody could join Yeni Fikir. And they did. We
had three governmental agents within the group who helped to prepare
a provocation," argued Nuri.
With Yeni Fikir destroyed, new movements began to emerge. Among them
was "Dalgha" (the Wave), a studentÂled movement committed to fighting
corruption at universities and advocating for press freedoms. Dalgha
developed new techniques to circumvent a tough policy on demonstrations
in Azerbaijan: they held flash mobs, which consist of people who
assemble suddenly in a public place to perform an usual action for
a brief time before dispersing.
On World Press Freedom Day, 15 Dalgha members gathered at a square
and started reading newspapers.
"The police are disoriented. They don’t really know what to do, how
to deal with flash mobs. They know that it’s not a demonstration,
but certainly there is something going on," said Araz Gasimov, vice
chairman of Dalgha.
Despite the democratic movements, the biggest youth organization in
Azerbaijan’s universities is the proÂpresidential "Ireli," which means
"Move forward."
Ireli’s ranks include more than 5,000 students who express unwavering
support for President Ilham Aliyev.
"Our ideology is to support Ilham Aliyev," says Mahir Mammadov. "We
support everything he does."
And what if there is something the president does that is unacceptable?
"This is not possible. The president never does things we don’t like."
Ireli members do not think democracy is what Azerbaijan needs most
now. Some of them say Azeris do not deserve democracy or are not ready.
"Maybe 10 percent of the people care about politics. The rest just
care about their stomach and how to make money. It’s in our blood,"
says Mahir.
ALYA is an abbreviation for the Azerbaijan Liberal Youth Association,
an informal network of Azeri liberals. Not affiliated with any
political par ties, they work on a grassroots level, organizing
seminars and study sessions about liberal values, selfÂgovernance
and a free market economy.
"We are against revolutions, we are for evolutions. Only revolution
in minds that would lead to evolution can bring positive change,"
argues Nigar Mehtiyeva, a 20ÂyearÂold ALYA member. "If you want to
change the society, start changing yourself. After a couple of years
these young people will be in power. If their minds are more liberal,
that will influence the country and the way the government acts."
Said Nuri believes that one day he will be able to come back to a
democratic, lawÂruled Azerbaijan, though not as a political dissident.
"I keep my money for the flight ticket," Nuri said.
Nuri wants young Azeris to be more active in bringing about democracy.
"Today people are standing in front of a closed door," said Zohrab
Ismaiylov of ALYA, referring to the current political situation in
Azerbaijan. "But once it opens, they will put their feet in and won’t
let it close again."
Anna Zamejz is a Polish journalist studying at the Danish School of
Journalism in Aarhus. She has served as an election observer in many
nations, including the 2005 parliamentary election in Azerbaijan.
–Boundary_(ID_gz+4mc2tKXVb9vKd1oISRA )–