LAWMAKERS CRITICIZE BIDEN OVER REMARKS ON DEMOCRACY

AssA-Irada
October 27, 2009 Tuesday
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani pro-government lawmakers have criticized US Vice President
Joe Bidens recent statement in Romania that called on Eastern Europe
to aid several former Soviet republics on their path to democratic
rule. Addressing political leaders and students at Bucharest University
last week, Biden mentioned the past revolutions that toppled communism
in the former Soviet satellites. He praised Eastern Europe for the
achievements made in the past two decades since the Iron Curtain fell,
calling on Romania and its neighbors to help countries such as Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Belarus to boost democratic development.

MP Siyavush Novruzov, deputy executive secretary of the ruling New
Azerbaijan Party (NAP), speaking at a Milli Majlis (parliament) session
on Tuesday, blamed world countries for a double standard approach to
the developments ongoing in the region. He said it was unacceptable
for an official of a superpower to draw parallels between Armenia,
which occupies part of Azerbaijans territory, and the latter, which
has been subjected to an aggression. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought
a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994,
but Armenia continues to occupy Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh and seven
other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law.

Peace talks have not yet resulted in resolving the conflict. According
to Novruzov, the U.S., as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering
settlement of the Upper Garabagh conflict, should say its piece to the
invading nation. The United States allocating financial aid to Armenia
and its endless endeavoring to achieve opening of the Turkey-Armenia
border is unfair, the NAP deputy executive secretary said. Novruzov
noted that the people are the Azerbaijani authorities stronghold,
saying government has always formed in the country through free and
fair elections. This being said, everyone should attend to internal
problems in their own countries and forget once and for all playing
the role of a military police regime in other [countries] territories.

We witnessed what shape the countries where color revolutions were
staged ended up in. Novruzov said the Azerbaijani parliament should
send an appeal to US Congress and the US embassy in Baku over such
irresponsible statements. Zahid Oruj, deputy chairman of Ana Vatan
party, recalled that such statements have been made in the past. He
further called on Washington to heed attention to the Garabagh
problem. If the U.S. is supporting democracy-building in Azerbaijan,
it would be good to start with Garabagh. The reality of occupation
is dealing a blow to democratic development in the country, said
Oruj. He added that comparing Azerbaijan with Belarus and Armenia
means belittling Azerbaijan.*