Café Babel, France
Feb 18 2005

Azerbaijan: Europe’s only hereditary democracy

Despite the country’s admission to the Council of Europe, the human
rights situation in Azerbaijan remains a cause for concern. The West
must take a stance on this region, which is getting ever closer to
Europe

With the opening of the former Eastern bloc and the enlargement of
the European Union, a region that has previously received little
attention draws closer to Europe: the Caucasus. Ever since the
democratic opposition in Georgia was able to force Schevardnadze’s
resignation through the Rose Revolution, expectations have grown of a
democratic domino effect in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Yet democratic
developments, or the lack thereof, in Azerbaijan have attracted
little interest in Europe, even though it has been a member of the
Council of Europe since January 2001. Despite irregularities in the
parliamentary election of 2000, Azerbaijan was still admitted to the
Council because of its previous endeavours and based on the condition
that it released political prisoners and respected freedom of speech
and freedom of the press. Its development along these lines is
subject to long-term monitoring by the Council of Europe. In April
2002 Azerbaijan ratified the European Convention on Human Rights and
many hoped that this development, along with the support from Europe,
would lead to, among other things, free elections.

A ‘democratic’ dynasty

Yet not only did the parliamentary elections of 2000 exhibit such
strong irregularities that they had to be repeated in January 2001,
but the presidential elections in October 2003 were also marked by
wide-spread manipulation. The obstacle posed by the opposition
political party had already begun to emerge during the election
campaign, resulting in the opposition’s demonstrations on 15th and
16th October, held at the time of the election, being brutally
suppressed, the election manipulated and hundreds of the opposition
arrested.

Thus, the beginning of President Ilham Alijew’s term in office was
hardly in line with democratic standards. In October 2003 he took
over from his father, Hejdar Alijew, as head of state, thereby
becoming the first example within former Soviet territory of a
successful hereditary succession within the highest office of a
presidential republic. Plus, in the following weeks, the unrest
surrounding the elections was used by the Azerbaijani government as
an excuse to suppress the opposition and human right activists, as
well as the free press. The opposition, their supporters, and a large
part of society were intimidated by the brutality of the police and
the arbitrary arrests. International observers confirmed reports of
those in opposition being forced to leave their party, of more than a
hundred politically-motivated redundancies, of the persecution of
members of the opposition’s families and the wide-spread use of
torture.

Resignation instead of Revolt

Since Ilham Alijew’s arrival in government, an increasing stagnation
of both the state and society’s democratisation can be detected. So
far his actions have been based on measures to safe-guard his power
and the continued construction of a soviet-style police regime that
he inherited from his father. As a result, while the wages of the
excessive police force and security apparatus have been raised, the
majority of Azerbaijanis still struggle daily to provide for their
family. The consequences of poverty are emigration and labour
migration – a last alternative for many men capable of work.
According to estimates, out of a population of 8.2 million, up to 2
million Azerbaijanis are currently working in Russia. In the last few
years political opponents have been leaving the country alongside the
financially-motivated labour migrants. In practice, legal and
economic reforms are hardly implemented and the progress expected by
Europe fails to materialise. Hopes for democracy, which were
nourished by Azerbaijan’s accession to the Council of Europe and the
European presence at the elections, have subsided into general
resignation.

As the EU’s new neighbour, the Caucasus should be accorded more
attention. Substantial public interest from the West could exert a
considerable influence on the internal events of authoritarian states
interested in, or dependent upon, interaction with the West. A clear
and decisive European policy with regard to human rights abuse and
the increasing corruption is necessary, as well as help with strict
conditions attached to promote civil society, in order to bring about
developments towards the rule of law in Azerbaijan.

Zaur Gasimov is an Azerbaijani citizen who went to university in its
capital city, Baku. He is currently doing a Masters in International
Relations at the University of Eichstätt in Germany, where the
historian Wiebke Bachmann is doing a doctorate.

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