Arrested youth activist bears moral responsibility – Azeri opposition leader

ANS TV, Baku
5 Aug 05

[Presenter] The chairman of the [opposition] People’s Front
of Azerbaijan Party [PFAP], Ali Karimli, held a news conference
today after the Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General’s Office released a
statement on the detention of the leader of the opposition Yeni Fikir
[New Thought] youth movement, Ruslan Basirli, and accused him of
cooperating with the Armenian special services.

[Correspondent over video of news conference] Basirli should be
made responsible not criminally, but morally, Karimli told the news
conference today. We should recall that Basirli was detained as a
suspect [on 4 August].

[Passage omitted: reported details of the statement on Basirli’s trip
to Georgia; footage of Basirli’s meeting in Georgia shown on TV]

Despite this, Karimli considers Basirli’s arrest as a provocation
against himself. Karimli believes that Basirli’s actions in Tbilisi
might undermine his own reputation as well.

[Karimli referring to footage of Basirli’s meeting in Georgia] He
makes incorrect and inappropriate statements that the USA is preparing
for a revolution in Azerbaijan and makes exaggerated statements about
my deputy and his own deputy. He speaks about nonexistent issues as
if he wants to present himself as a more important figure in order
to make an impression on his interlocutor. All this is, of course,
regrettable, and probably makes him morally responsible before his
close comrades-in-arms.

[Correspondent] Basirli’s comrades-in-arms regret his statement that
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict will be settled by drinking cognac
and eating chocolate, if the democratic forces come to power, Karimli
said. Karimli does not rule out that the Russian special services may
be involved in this incident as well. He explains this by the fact
that Osman Alimuradov, who reported this incident to the Azerbaijani
Prosecutor-General’s Office, is a Russian citizen. But Karimli thinks
that Basirli made the aforesaid statements being unaware that his
interlocutors was an Armenian citizen.

[Karimli] For example, he says – Nobody in Georgian society must learn
what I am saying now. He appeals to his interlocutors as Georgian
citizens. Even if these people are Armenians and representatives of
Armenian intelligence agencies, one gets the impression that Basirli
is unaware of this. He does not treat them as Armenians.

[Correspondent] At the end, Karimli appealed to members of his
party and called on them to control their actions and behaviour. He
requested that the PFAP members do not attend various meetings and
drink alcohol. If a party member loses control of his actions, this
may lead to new provocations, Karimli said.

Mahir Mammadli, Sehrac Azadoglu for ANS.