FIKRET SADIKHOV: "IT IS INCORRECT TO COMPARE THE LEVEL OF DEMOCRACY IN GEORGIA AND AZERBAIJAN"

Today.Az
17 October 2008 [13:37]
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with famous political scientist and diplomacy Fikret
Sadikhov.

– How do you assess the result of presidential elections in Azerbaijan?

– One of Russian analysts have recently voiced an opinion according
to which "Azerbaijan is already not an eastern despotic government
but not yet a European democracy". I have always been surprised at
the inclination of some Russian political scientists to libel, use
of models and other demonstration of inability to judge reasonably,
based on existing facts and realities, inability or unwillingness to
demonstrate their personal but not repeatedly voiced, often mistaken
thesis of someone else.

Naturally, each country has its own individual way of development. But
Azerbaijan adheres to all standards of democracy. And the elections,
held in our country in conditions of openness, transparency, pluralism
of opinions is another proof of it. I am confident that elections
in Azerbaijan were held better than in neighbor Georgia and Armenia,
where opposite opinion was suppressed and bloodshed was committed by
the powers of these countries.

Elections in our country were held normally and by the level of their
democracy Azerbaijan was quite equal to the developed countries of
Europe, which has old traditions of democratic development.

– You have started the interview with recalling Russian political
scientists. Is the level of democracy higher in Azerbaijan or in
Russia?

– I would not draw parallels between Russia and Azerbaijan for the
level of democracy in Azerbaijan is quite high, the level of political
culture in the society is also high. Azerbaijan enjoys freedom of
speech, thought and expression of will. At the current presidential
elections in our country all components of the democratic development
of the country promoted conduction of open and transparent elections,
which were highly evaluated by all international observers.

In the result, most people of our country willfully voted for working
president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who embodies the youth and
political maturity, political pragmatism and European traditions. The
choice of people, under preservation of all components for free
and open will expression by the people, is a proof of Azerbaijan’s
adherence to democracy.

– Georgia, which has no economic attractiveness, has gained great
profits from the use of an image of "an island of democracy in the
Caucasus". Do you think Azerbaijan will be able to outstrip Georgia
and become the most democratically developed country in the region
after the presidential elections, which were held democratically by
assessments of all international experts?

– First all, the political support of the United States and some
European states to the current leadership of Georgia is not connected
with the level of democracy in this country. We have all witnessed
that the current powers of Georgia can apply force against opposition,
send army to the Tbilisi streets in order to avert meetings of those,
who do not agree with the results of the elections in this country and
put pressure on freedom of speech. It all proves that today Georgia
is the US outpost in the South Caucasus region, just like Armenia,
which is considered Russia’s outpost.

In this connection, I think it is incorrect to speak of the democracy
level in Georgia. Moreover, it is incorrect to compare the level of
democracy in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Our country holds an absolutely
independent, multi-directional external policy and the presidential
elections here are transparent, democratic, witnessing no use of force
by powers against those, who think differently, like it was in Georgia.

– In this case, how do you see the next five years for Azerbaijan?

– I think in the coming five years Azerbaijan will strengthen its
leadership in the South Caucasus region. Our country will pay
a special attention to the non-oil sector, continuing to gain
more from the status of a supplier country and a transit state
for hydrocarbons. Measures will be taken to fortify the internal
political stability in Azerbaijan and multi-directional external
policy will continue.

As for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, all men of sense understand that
the status, which Nagorno Karabakh had had before 1988, will never
be returned again. But I am sure that significant steps will be taken
soon for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict in Azerbaijan’s favor,
taking into account the territorial integrity of our country.