OIL MONEY TO FUND NGOS AND OPPOSITION PARTIES IN AZERBAIJAN
By Fariz Ismailzade

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Different groups in Azerbaijan are clamoring for their share of
the massive flow of oil revenue generated by the completion of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

Lobbying from the ministries for additional financial resources to
complete new, massive projects is leading to a new era in Azerbaijani
politics. Among the public works projects under consideration are
refugee settlements, bridges and underpasses in Baku, subways and
railways, roads, and schools.

Political parties and NGOs alike have entered the competition for oil
revenues. Until only recently the more hard-line opposition parties and
NGOs refused to sit down with the authorities at the government-owned
negotiating table, preferring a neutral forum instead.

Now they have openly expressed a desire to claim their part of the pie.

The government has responded positively, as funding NGOs and political
parties will create additional tools to control them, especially prior
to the presidential elections next year. On July 27 President Ilham
Aliyev issued a decree calling on the government to "adopt a concept of
state support for the non-governmental organization" (AzTV, July 27).

According to the decree, the president’s office has two months to
prepare suggestions regarding the establishment of a Fund to Support
NGOs and to formulate procedures for the state to work with NGOs
(Trend News Agency, July 27).

The decree established priority areas for NGO projects, such as
advancing Azerbaijani positions regarding the Karabakh conflict in the
international arena, protecting the rights of internally displaced
persons and refugees, assisting disabled citizens and war veterans,
encouraging the idea of "Azerbaijanism," cooperating with foreign NGOs,
encouraging human rights, and promoting the rights and freedoms of
individuals, including the right to free speech and expression (Echo,
August 2).

NGO leaders welcomed the government’s long-awaited decision. In recent
years, NGOs have largely relied on international donors and foundations
for project funds, but as the foundation monies have dried up, many
local NGOs have found themselves on the brink of bankruptcy.

Azay Guliyev, president of the Azerbaijani NGO Forum and a member
of parliament, assessed the decree positively. "It will contribute
to the development of national NGOs and serve as a new stage in
the dialogue between the state and civil society," Guliyev to Echo
newspaper on August 2. The Azerbaijani NGO Forum has also initiated a
roundtable discussion with dozens of local NGOs to give feedback on the
presidential decree and develop suggestions on concrete ways to support
the third sector. Arastun Orujov, director of the presidential staff,
hinted that the NGOs will be provided the "financial, informational
and other kinds of assistance, as well as conditions to hold events,
conferences, forums, and trainings" (Echo, August 2).

Speaking to Azertaj news agency, Parliamentary Speaker Bahar Muradova
indicated that the law on political parties would be amended during
the fall session of the parliament (Zerkalo, September 4). Muradova
did not specify which aspects of the law will be discussed, but
noted that the current law, adopted in 1992, is not suitable for the
contemporary political environment and that the relations between
the parties and society, as well as political party funding, will
be re-worked, taking into consideration the representation of the
political parties in parliament and the geographic scope of their
activities in the country. The issue of state financial support is
of special interest to the political parties, as they have long been
accused of being sponsored from abroad.

Although these amendments to the law on political parties have
been on the table for nearly two years, there has been no formal
document presented to members of parliament. Opposition MP Panah
Huseyn told media representatives on September 3 that he had not seen
any such draft and that perhaps it was still under development in
the president’s office. Huseyn added that the experience of other
countries should be taken into account when developing financial
and other conditions for Azerbaijan’s political parties, including
such acts as simplifying the registration process for parties and
establishing financial quotas for them.

Fazil Gazanfaroglu, chairman of the "Great Revival" opposition
party and a member of parliament, also welcomed the idea of the new
amendments, noting the need to support secular parties. Indeed, in
the past several years, secular parties have stagnated, leading to
the growth of Islamic tendencies in the country.

According to Gazanfaroglu and other experts, it is exactly this factor
that drives the government to support political parties.

Although both initiatives are positive in nature, they are likely
to provide extra financial resources for the leaders of NGOs and
parties, but they are unlikely to change the democratic atmosphere
in the country significantly.