Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
The Jamestown Foundation
Aug 8 2005
THE CONSPIRATOR AS BRAGGART
By Vladimir Socor
Monday, August 8, 2005
Azerbaijani opposition movement leaders under pressure On August 4
and 5, Azerbaijani television channels screened a videotape of a
meeting held on July 29 in Tbilisi between Ruslan Bashirli, leader of
the Baku-based Yeni Fikir (New Thinking) youth association, and two
Georgians who claimed to represent a youth group supporting regime
change in Azerbaijan and offered clandestine assistance to that end.
Yeni Fikir itself seeks to spearhead an “orange-revolution”-type
movement in Azerbaijan and has clad its followers in orange shirts,
preparatory to street demonstrations in connection with the upcoming
parliamentary elections. The group is affiliated with (though not a
part of) the People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party (PFAP). Yeni Fikir
activist Osman Alimuradov, who accompanied Bashirli to Tbilisi,
promptly reported to the Azerbaijani authorities and turned over the
videotape, which he said had been made by the Tbilisi hosts who
retained a copy. Bashirli was detained on August 4 on criminal
charges of conspiring to overthrow the constitutional order.
Bashirli, who is 27 years old, has been interrogated by a Baku court
in the presence of his lawyer, Elchin Gambarov. The lawyer as well as
PFAP leader Ali Kerimli, Musavat Party leader Isa Gambar, and others
seek to mobilize political support for Bashirli. Official media,
using the case to discredit PFAP, accuse Bashirli and other
opposition members of working with Armenia’s intelligence services,
but they adduce no evidence other than the Armenian names of some of
Bashirli’s alleged contacts in Tbilisi. Bashirli’s defenders suggest
that the videotape was doctored.
Beyond the welter of far-fetched mutual accusations in the media,
however, Bashirli and his defenders have admitted to the accuracy of
at least some of the content of the videotape. Thus, they concede
that Bashirli has accepted a $2,000 donation — the receipt for which
he is seen signing and heard confirming on the videotape — and a
promise for a further $20,000 donation later this month. By way of
mitigating circumstances, they cite Bashirli’s assertion — on tape
and again to the court — that he would use the initial donation to
buy technical equipment for Yeni Fikir and to cover expenses for his
wedding party.
Kerimli told a news conference that the case is a provocation by the
authorities “aiming to discredit Yeni Fikir, [out of] fear that the
movement will grow in the run-up to the election.” Bashirli “should
be held responsible morally, not criminally. He makes incorrect and
inappropriate statements that the United States is preparing a
revolution in Azerbaijan … He wants to present himself as a more
important figure [than he is] in order to impress his interlocutors.
All this is of course regrettable and makes him responsible before
his comrades-in-arms,” Kerimli stated. He cautioned PFAP members to
refrain from attending dubious meetings or drinking alcohol, and
generally to control their emotions (ANS TV, Turan, August 5).
For his part, Gambarov told a news conference that the donation was
part of a grant received via Georgian non-governmental groups.
Bashirli was to have spent part on it on his wedding party planned
for August 10 (ANS TV, August 6; Turan, August 6, 8). Yeni Fikir’s
vice-chairmen, Said Nuriev and Fikret Faramazoglu, while defending
Bashirli, told their press conference that their leader was “drunk
and bragging” (AFP, August 5). In fact, drink was a topic of
discussion several times on the videotape — an element seized on by
the authorities to discredit an opponent in this Muslim nation.
On the tape, Bashirli is seen and heard saying that the
Washington-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) is instructing
Yeni Fikir about organizing mass protest rallies and “preparing for
revolution.” In Washington, NDI’s Eurasia regional director, Nelson
Ledsky, responded in a statement that NDI does not support any party
or individual candidate in the parliamentary elections. NDI’s Baku
office in turn responded that allegations that NDI is funding a
revolution are untrue, as NDI cooperates with all political parties
to promote free and fair elections (Turan, August 5, 6).
The flap over Yeni Fikir and Bashirli, while overblown, seems to
demonstrate the immaturity and volatility of some of the opposition
circles.