Associated Press Worldstream
September 29, 2005 Thursday
President: Azerbaijan not expecting Ukrainian- or Georgian-style
revolution
by AIDA SULTANOVA; Associated Press Writer
BAKU, Azerbaijan
President Ilham Aliev warned against foreign interference in
Azerbaijan’s upcoming parliamentary elections, saying the country did
not expect a Ukrainian- or Georgian-style revolution because he and
the ruling party enjoyed strong support in society.
Rising political tensions before the Nov. 6 vote have led some
observers to predict that Azerbaijan could see a mass uprising
similar to those that brought opposition leaders to power in Georgia,
Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.
In an interview with Finnish state television, published Thursday in
Azerbaijani newspapers, Aliev said that any unrest in the run-up to
the election would be the fault of opposition forces attempting to
destabilize the country.
He said the opposition was led by “a small group of political losers”
who had already been in power in 1992-93 and allegedly ruined the
country.
“They have lost every parliamentary and presidential election between
1993 and 2003,” Aliev said. “We realistically assess the situation
and possibilities in the country.”
He said the opposition had support from unnamed foreign countries,
where “there are forces that do not want Azerbaijan to develop
normally, strengthen its economic potential, integrate into European
structures and be a modern, democratic state.”
Azerbaijan, a mostly Muslim nation of 8.3 million, is the starting
point for a pipeline that will ship oil and gas from the country’s
huge offshore reserves to a Turkish Mediterranean port.
“Those who are planning something in Azerbaijan should know that we
will not allow this. We are adherents of a normal political process
and very carefully look into all questions connected with interfere
in our life,” he said.
Aliev – who succeeded his late, strongman father Geidar Aliev in a
2003 election the opposition said was rigged and which triggered
violent clashes between police and demonstrators – has pledged
repeatedly that the November elections would be free.
Opposition leaders have said, however, that they strongly doubted the
vote would be fair, and have rallied their supporters for
pro-democracy protests virtually every weekend – with some marchers
displaying portraits of U.S. President George W. Bush.
Two opposition activists have been detained in connection with a case
alleging that a youth movement leader, Ruslan Bashirli, met with
agents from Azerbaijan’s rival neighbor, Armenia, aimed at organizing
an uprising by pro-democracy forces in Azerbaijan.
Tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains high more than a
decade after a 1994 cease-fire ended a six-year war that left
Nagorno-Karabakh, a mainly ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, in
Armenian hands.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress