Azer News, Azerbaijan
July 29 2004

President dismisses another minister

President Ilham Aliyev has dismissed the National Security Minister
Namig Abbassov. The presidential order did not give any reason for
sacking Abbasov. He is the third minister to have been fired by
Azerbaijan’s 42-year-old president. Earlier this year, Aliyev sacked
the ministers for communications and foreign

affairs. Any changes in the government are closely watched in
Azerbaijan, where, according to analysts, reformers led by President
Aliyev are engaged in a behind-the-scenes power struggle with
conservatives inside the government. Abbassov is one of the biggest
figures to lose his job in Azerbaijan since Aliyev succeeded his
father, Heydar Aliyev, as president late last year.

The outgoing minister had served under Heydar Aliyev since 1994 and
was widely seen as a key figure in the ruling elite. The minister is
to be replaced by Eldar Mahmudov, a senior official from Azerbaijan’s
interior ministry. Mahmudov, born in Nakhchivan’s Sharur region in
1956, is a police colonel and has headed the Interior Ministry’s drug
enforcement department since February 2004. Prior to that he headed
the Interior Ministry’s department on combating economic crimes,
which was subsequently abolished. On the same day, the President
granted him the title of General Major. This is the first time for an
Interior Ministry official to serve as national security minister.
The appointment came as a surprise and the reasons behind it are not
clear yet. So far, National Security Ministry workers were
transferred to the Interior Ministry to strengthen this organization,
while presently the opposite is taking place. Some observers explain
this unexpected decision by the successful attempt of Armenian
national Ispir Gazarian to come to Baku from Moscow on July 23.
Gazarian’s identity was verified only after he arrived at the Baku
Airport. Several months ago a similar incident occurred, as two other
Armenians, fleeing the unbearable living conditions in their country,
came to Baku. No explanations were provided to the Azerbaijani public
as to how they succeeded in entering the country. The public
interpreted the two incidents as the weakness in the activity of
national security agencies. Regardless of the reasons for the two
incidents, they explain the President’s intention to reshuffle his
team. As for the future activity of Colonel-General Namig Abbasov, it
remains unclear at this point. The presidential order indicating the
dismissal of Abbasov from the minister’s position did not specify
whether he will still head the state commission on POWs, hostages and
missing persons. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Abbasov, while
visiting a European country, was unaware of his dismissal until the
presidential decree was issued. Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev was
dismissed in a similar manner. Abbasov was one of the only
Azerbaijani officials appreciated by the public. After the last
presidential election Abbasov refuted the statements by some members
of the ruling elite that secret services from some Western countries
were involved in the October 2003 developments, which ultimately
targetted a coup d’etat. Shortly before and after the presidential
election the then Minister Abbasov tried to remain impartial in the
unfolding internal political struggle. Undoubtedly, in the present
situation in Azerbaijan, any attempt of a government official to be
independent is not encouraged by the higher leadership. In short,
Abbasov had a lot of opponents both in and outside Azerbaijan. Their
number further increased after his explicit statement about the
presence of PKK units in Azerbaijan. Official Moscow and Tehran were
interested in the dismissal of Abbasov, as he was widely known for
his pro-Western position. On many occasions, he made anti-Russian and
anti-Iranian statements. However, Abbasov may be offered another
position, for instance, the post of the security council secretary to
the President. Besides, the President is also likely to fire the
current Interior Minister Ramil Usubov soon. The latter’s position is
likely to be taken by the chief of Surakhan district police
department Etibar Gazibayov. Namig Abbasov’s dismissal came as a
surprise to many analysts who predicted changes in the government
agencies. The ex-minister was one of the last officials included into
the president’s “black list”. The unexpected dismissal of Abbasov
also signals that other key figures in the government hierarchy may
also lose their job in the foreseeable future…