US POPULARITY IN AZERBAIJAN AT ‘ALL-TIME LOW’
news.az
March 17 2010
Azerbaijan
Fikret Sadikhov News.Az interviews Azerbaijani political scientist
and diplomat Fikret Sadikhov.
Is it possible to say that after the US House committee adopted
a resolution recognizing the killings of Armenians in 1915 as
‘genocide’, the loss of US influence in Azerbaijan and Turkey has
reached an all-time low?
There is no doubt about it. The Americans have gone beyond the
boundaries of the possible to lose the great reserve of trust in them
that accumulated in Azerbaijan and Turkey in recent years. It has even
come to the point when hatred towards the United States and its false
ideals has formed in Azerbaijan. Our country has repeatedly tried
to make closer ties with the US political elite, to find a friend
there, but in response it has seen an openly biased and mercantile
attitude towards itself. It is already clear that different circles
in the United States are closely linked to the Armenian diaspora,
thanks to which most of them become congressmen and influential people.
The United States is the only country that allocates annual official
financial aid to the Karabakh separatists. In addition, the United
States is clearly concerned at the strengthening of Azerbaijani-Turkish
fraternity which cannot be spoiled by the interested parties, while
Azerbaijan is developing economically and becoming a more influential
state in the region.
In other words, many factors have caused the loss of US influence
in Azerbaijan and the adoption of the resolution on the so-called
‘Armenian genocide’ in the congressional committee was the last straw.
The US State Department report of 1 March says that 30-35% of drug
users in Azerbaijan are students. This information caused indignation
among the Azerbaijani public and the US embassy in Azerbaijan was
obliged to apologize for the inaccurate report. Is this proof that
the US State Department has a negative attitude towards Azerbaijan
and does not attach special importance to our country if it quotes
unchecked figures?
First of all, this proves the two-facedness and double standards of the
United States in its policy on Azerbaijan and its unawareness of the
realities of life in Azerbaijan, as well as a complete unwillingness
to study the life of the Azerbaijani public in detail.
The figures in the US State Department report are not merely insulting
to Azerbaijan, they are disgusting in terms of their bias and lies.
The fact that the lie was acknowledged by the US embassy in
Azerbaijan only further undermined trust in US values, as it showed
that reports can easily be changed depending on a country’s reaction
to the latest lie.
This is a clear case of amorality in action.
Does the United States have the authority to be an arbiter, as it has
not apologized for dropping nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
You are quite right to say that the United States has not apologized
for the mass termination of civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
for the use of nuclear weapons and that this country has already lost
the moral right to teach other nations and states.
Three million Vietnamese were killed by Americans during the war in
Vietnam! Just imagine the scale of the loss!
Americans invaded Iraq, presenting to the world a false report about
the alleged presence of nuclear arms in Iraq. Even when this lie
was disclosed afterwards, the United States did not apologize to the
world community and remained in the country where citizens are dying
every day.
After this the United States has no moral or ethical right to indicate
to other countries the mechanisms for settling problems.