VOICES FOR DEMOCRACY STRIVE TO BE HEARD IN AZERBAIJAN: WASHINGTON POST

Tert.am
11:48 ~U 06.04.10

While Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is brutally cracking down on
the opposition and independent media and while Azerbaijani opposition
continues its struggle for freedom, it is vital that the United States
pursue a policy of establishing democracy in Azerbaijan rather than
focusing on the largest nation in the South Caucasus, head of the
opposition Azerbaijan People’s Front Party and co-founder of Azadlig
(Freedom) Political Bloc of Opposition Parties Ali Karimi writes
in the Washington Post, adding that Aliyev has made the country his
own property.

"Many Americans may know my country, Azerbaijan, for its oil wealth or
for its conflict with Armenia over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

A March 5 article in the Post portrayed a nation whose ruling family
appears to own $75 million worth of luxury villas in Dubai. Few of us
in Azerbaijan were surprised by a report that President Ilham Aliyev’s
family apparently invests assets abroad. What else should be expected
from a leader who inherited power from his father through fraudulent
elections?" writes Karimi.

"Aliyev’s brutal crackdown on the opposition and independent media
began with his election in October 2003. Thousands of Azeris protesting
the transfer of power – more succession than an election – were
arrested and beaten. As opposition supporters languished in jail,
then-deputy US Secretary of State Richard Armitage phoned Aliyev
to congratulate him on his ‘landslide’ victory. Democratic voices of
protest were stifled by the blows of police batons. Western powers were
eager to work with a new leader they viewed as young and progressive,"
continues Karimi.

Saying that he is going to seriously fight in the upcoming
parliamentary elections, Karimi adds that the democratic opposition
in Azerbaijan does not seek intervention or financial assistance from
the United States.

"What we need is the moral support of an America that stands by its
own values," writes Karimi.

"Our platform is simple: We intend to establish a functional democracy
in our country.

"Azerbaijan has a resourceful populace, and we can and must decrease
our nation’s dependence on oil. We must break the economic monopolies
controlled by corrupt officials. Our goal is to establish a free,
market-based economy. We want Azerbaijan to integrate into the
Euro-Atlantic community of nations, ending its status as a satellite
of autocratic Russia.

"Bilateral relations have long been based on cooperation on energy,
security and democratic development. Sadly, many Azeris see US policy
as driven by energy interests and the global war against terrorism. To
us, it seems that democracy gets a short shrift. We hope the Obama
administration will make clear to Azerbaijan’s leader that democratic
reforms and human rights are a priority in US-Azeri relations …

Azerbaijan does not seek intervention or financial assistance from
the United States," concludes Karimi.