Regnum, Russia
May 12 2006
On American maps US troops are already deployed in Azerbaijan: Azeri
press digest
Politics
`All possible scenarios of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement
have already been considered,’ Azeri President Ilham Aliyev says on
May 5. `Presently, the co-chairs are holding intensive consultations
and are considering different possibilities. Perhaps, they will
appear with some novelties.’ `I don’t believe that they will propose
anything new. Probably, they will make some changes in the proposals
we have already discussed. If so, we will probably get even closer to
resolution,’ says Aliyev. He says that Azerbaijan’s position has not
changed: `We advocate compliance with the international law and a
single approach to this problem,’ says Aliyev. (525th Daily)
`For us, there is no concept of government or opposition, for us,
Azerbaijan’s interests are more important,’ Day.Az reports the member
of the Turkish delegation to PACE Movlud Cavusoglu as saying.
Cavusoglu says that, as a Turk, he is obliged to protect Azerbaijan’s
interests. He calls `parricides’ those oppositionists who keep
demanding that PACE suspend the mandate of the Azeri delegation. At
the same time, Cavusoglu notes that Azerbaijan should improve its
electoral system to have no such problems at PACE in the future.
`Presently, it is impossible to resolve the Armenian-Azeri conflict
by peace. If the sides were ready for compromise, they would act
differently in their foreign and domestic policies,’ Turan reports
the director of international security and energy programs at the
Nixon Center Zeyno Baran as saying. She says that `a possible
campaign against Iran may have a negative impact on Azerbaijan, but
it is hard to say yet how heavy this impact will be.’ Commenting on
Iran’s protest against the project to lay an oil pipeline between
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan via the bottom of the Caspian Sea, Baran
says that Iran will not be able to prevent it.
The vice chairman of the Azeri opposition youth organization Yeni
Fikit (New Idea) Said Nuri, who is facing charges of coup, demands
that Zbigniew Brzezinski be summoned to the court. He denies the
charges that when in Poland on July 31-August 4, 2005 he got
instructions from Brzezinski on how to plot and carry out a coup in
Azerbaijan and on how to involve youths in mass disorders. `These
facts have nothing to do with reality. Brzezinski was not present at
the workshops I was attending. But if they insist that this is true,
let them invite Zbigniew Brzezinski to the court’ says Nuri. In his
turn, the chairman of the organization Ruslan Bashirli demands the
summons of Norwegian Embassy representatives as the prosecutor says
that he has got $50,000 from Scandinavian diplomats. (Azadlyg)
Reporters Sans Frontieres has published Annual Worldwide Press
Freedom Index, reports Turan. In 2004 Azerbaijan was 136th among 167
countries, with 49.67 points. 2005 was even worse – 141st and 51
points. `Press freedom sharply deteriorated in Azerbaijan. The murder
of independent journalist Elmar Husseynov in Mar illustrated the
violence and harassment journalists are exposed to there. Attacks on
press are increasing in the run-up to parliamentary elections on Nov
6,’ says the report. From the CIS countries only Belarus (152nd,
61.33), Uzbekistan (155th, 66.50) and Turkmenistan (165th, 93.50)
have worse indices than Azerbaijan.
Concerning the results of the elections, some international
organizations show double standards towards Azerbaijan, says the head
of the social-political department of the Azeri president’s office
Ali Gasanov. He says that Azerbaijan has protested against this to
their observers. `We have several reasons for protest. It’s quite
possible that there is no unanimity among observers. Each observer
speaks on behalf of his own country or political force, even though
they all are set to monitor on behalf of the OSCE and the Council of
Europe,’ says Gasanov. `They use generalizations and give preference
to their own subjective views. For example, if the CE monitoring
mission consists of 300 observers, the subjective views of 100 of
them are taken as basis,’ says Gasanov. He says that the local
opposition and NGOs are also to blame for this as they misinform
international organizations about the political situation in their
country. (525th Daily)
Section 907 of Freedom Support Act (Adopted in Oct 1992 and suspended
by the Senate in 2001, Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act forbade
the US government to provide direct assistance to Azerbaijan because
of that country’s blockading Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh – REGNUM)
will be valid for Azerbaijan until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is
resolved, says Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy in Azerbaijan
Jonathan Henick. He says that though the US Government is against
this section to be against Azerbaijan, US Congress keeps it in force:
`We are very satisfied with the fact that during the last 5 years 907
Article is frozen against Azerbaijan, and our cooperation with this
country lasts.’ (APA)
There are certainly no CIA secret jails in Azerbaijan, the Azeri
delegate to PACE Gultekin Gajiyeva says to Trend. She says that the
CE’s repeated inquiry about the jails may be due to some technical
problems. `Probably, Azerbaijan’s response to the first inquiry has
not satisfied the CE for some technical reasons. Azerbaijan is in
quite sensitive region and it needs to protect its military secret
from its neighbors. Azerbaijan may have some military facilities on
its borders with Iran and Armenia. It might be for this or some other
reasons, or because of incomplete information, that the CE has sent
us a repeated inquiry,’ says Gajiyeva.
Azerbaijan – USA
Real Azerbaijan says: `Bush tapped Aliyev on his shoulder: at last he
did – at the end of Aliyev’s first visit as president to America.
Bush did that patronizingly but, at the same time, approvingly: `Our
guy!’ He called Aliyev a modern Muslim leader and even congratulated
him on the wedding of his daughter. Why has Bush invited Aliyev now
despite the risk of being criticized by his opponents before the
upcoming parliamentary elections in the US? The answer seems to be
obvious – Iran! Of course, Iran was a topic during their talks, but
not the only and not even the key topic. The main reason the US made
an over-2-year `luftepause’ before inviting Aliyev to Washington was
not so much that it planned to `export’ democracy to Azerbaijan (as
the local opposition would expect) as that it wanted to see who is
more capable Aliyev Junior as president or the Azeri opposition. Now
it is almost an axiom: Aliyev has no alternative and will not have in
the near future. And so, the Americans have decided it’s time for
closer cooperation – especially now that Azerbaijan’s strategic
importance is going very high: the upcoming launch of the big `oil
pipe’; the prospects of a big `gas pipe’; the US’ plans to `free
Europe’ from the Russian gas monopoly. And also energy security, and
also the selfsame Iran and the Islamic factor, in general. Small
Azerbaijan is becoming a `card’ in a big Middle East game…’
The daily notes: `During Aliyev’s visit the US press called Baku the
US’ `Muslim ally’ (not more just Ankara!) and, along with criticism,
said something we have already heard, alas, for many times: `Though
democracy in Azerbaijan is not on a proper level, the country is
moving in the right direction.’ They also said that Washington might
offer Baku strategic partnership similar to what it has with
Tel-Aviv. A more real version is possible reliance on Kurds if not
Azeris against Iran. That is, the US is acting like it did with
Turkey, when it `punished’ Ankara for its intractability over Iraq by
reliance on Kurds. And with their strong positions in the Azeri
business, army and other structures, the Kurds are no less negative
factor in Azerbaijan than they are in Turkey.’
`That is, despite the serenity of Aliyev’s Washington visit, America
has something to sulk with Azerbaijan for. If today the US is focused
on changing the situation in Iran by overthrowing the local mullah
regime, and Ilham Aliyev is speaking about Azerbaijan’s good neighbor
relations with Iran and Bush – about diplomatic ways to solve the
Iranian problem, this does not mean yet that the dynamics of the
situation over Iran will not lead Baku and Washington to other
relations and assessments! In its time, Azerbaijan was pressed by the
US to agree to a more expensive and longer oil pipeline to Ceyhan
though there were much more profitable routes – first of all, via
Iran. And it got nothing in exchange. On the contrary, it got
dependent. And now only few opposition parties believe that the
`Southern Azerbaijan’ card may be dealt and the US anti-Iranian
campaign may result in reunification of Azerbaijan. It’s absolutely
obvious that nobody will agree to the breakup of Iran and the rise of
a 40-mln Turkic Muslim country (in addition to 60-mln Turkey!) –
agree to something that would break the whole balance of forces in
the Middle East and the Caucasus… something that would make
absolutely impossible the resolution – especially peaceful – of the
Karabakh conflict. As you may know, America is very active in the
matter now. Only God knows how it is going to act, but they in the
Armenian opposition are as always there with quite unexpected
scenarios: things will sort themselves out if America… deploys its
troops in `NKR’ (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) for further strike on
Iran. They say that Azerbaijan will silently agree to this, contrary
to its peace agreements with Iran – as it has no control over this
territory. In its turn, Iran will try to outstrip America, i.e. will
invade into `NKR’ itself! What this all will end in is clear – as
soon as the US `conquers’ Iran, it will remunerate Nagorno Karabakh
with independence and may even annex to it former Shahumyan and other
formerly Armenian regions and … the whole Azerbaijan (as you may
know, Armenia is already annexed to Nagorno Karabakh by `our guy’
Kocharyan.’
“Quite original but a very improbable idea. In any case, the Azeri
president’s visit to the US has made even stronger his strong
positions at home and in the region. The local press presents this as
if he entered the White House on `a white horse.’ Still one should
not exaggerate the international response to the first visit of
Aliyev Junior to America – at least, for the time being. As they say,
let’s live and see: One can not be equal friend to the strong. One
can serve him and get an award `from the king’s shoulder.’ So, nobody
knows yet what uncle Sam will bring with him when entering Baku on a
`white horse’ (and this will certainly happen sooner or later!)…
(Real Azerbaijan)
The US has requested from Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev that his
country open an official representation in Israel, reports Haaretz
(Israel). The subject was raised last week during the visit of the
Azeri president to Washington, where he met with President George W.
Bush and other senior members of the administration. Aliyev did not
respond to the American request and sources said that he is unlikely
to undertake such a move in the near future, and certainly not during
the period in which Azerbaijan heads the Economic Cooperation
Organization, a regional group comprising predominantly Muslim and
Turkic states from Central Asia. The American request follows an
appeal by Israel to the Bush administration, which was made to boost
a similar demand by Jewish American groups.
Israel has had a diplomatic mission in the Azeri capital Baku since
1993, but Azerbaijan, whose majority Turkic population is
predominantly Shi’a, has avoided reciprocating with an embassy of its
own in Israel. Several months ago, a large delegation of Jewish
American representatives, led by the Conference of Presidents of
Major American Jewish Organizations, visited Baku and called for the
opening of an official Azeri representation in Israel during their
meeting with President Aliyev.
During his visit to Washington, President Aliyev was presented with
the American request at a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State
Robert Zoellick. The State Department had received a request from the
Israeli Foreign Ministry to raise the idea with Aliyev.
Around Iran
As a UN member, Azerbaijan is obliged to support the Security
Council’s any decision on the Iranian nuclear problem, says Azeri FM
Elmar Mamedyarov. Azerbaijan’s official position is that any country
has the right to develop its nuclear power engineering with the
approval of the IAEA. Mamedyarov says that he can’t say what
consequences the possible sanctions against Iran may have for
Azerbaijan as this has not happened yet. At the same time, he says
that the Iranian nuclear problem must be solved by diplomatic means.
`Diplomacy is not tired yet,’ he says. (New Time)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to Baku on May 4 to take
part in the May 5 summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization
(ECO).
On May 5 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held a news conference
in Baku. He said that his country is implementing its nuclear program
for peaceful purposes and is ready to cooperate with all states on
the basis of the international law. Concerning Russia’s proposal to
enrich uranium in its territory, Ahmadinejad said that Iran has
excellent relations with Russia and is going to develop them. But it
prefers negotiating with different countries having nuclear
technologies. `Iran is an advocate of peace. We believe that peace
and constant security should be based on morality and justice.’
Ahmadinejad said that he sees no obstacles to the development of
Azeri-Iranian cooperation. `I love the Azeri people. I personally
speak Azeri.’ He noted that Iran has never attacked anybody and has
always advocated peace. Asked if the US attack on Iran is real,
Ahmadinejad said that `this will never happen.’ `Those who are
speaking about war must have no idea about the Iranian people. They
must be joking.’ Asked: `Aren’t your tough statements bad, first of
all, for Iran itself?’ Ahmadinejad said that he is making no tough
statements but just saying that Iran’s legal rights must be
respected: `There are 2-3 countries who want all the others to ask
them for permission for whatever they want to do, while our position
is in line with the international rules and laws. They have their own
nuclear weapons but they don’t want us to produce nuclear power for
peaceful purposes.’ (Azeri Press)
During his meeting with the head of the Board of Muslims of the
Caucasus Allahshukur Pashazade, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
said that the Iranian and Azeri peoples have many common things and
faith is one them. He expressed conviction that Islam will always be
a stimulus for whatever good wishes and purposes the two nations
have. Admadinejad said that he loves the Azeri people and stressed
that the Azeri and Iranian peoples are united by common beliefs. (New
Times)
Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter has given a big interview
to American Patriot. `You’d be surprised what kind of plans are being
hatched up right now – plans that include covert action; plans that
include massive aerial bombardment, according to Seymour Hersh’s
[April 17] article in The New Yorker; plans that include massive
aerial bombardment that incorporate the possibility, or some would
say the probability, of nuclear weapons. And if you go to the School
of Advanced Military Studies in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., as I have
several times, you’ll see the maps on the wall clearly indicate an
American interest in pushing forces into Azerbaijan. Why? It
neighbors Iran. Why is that important? The shortest route to Tehran
is down the Caspian Sea coast, [where] the Army is planning an
incursion right now…’ says Ritter.
Echo wonders that Ritter’s conclusions are made against the
background of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev’s Washington declarations
that Azerbaijan will not take part in the anti-Iranian coalition.
`The point is that the problem of Iran is not closed for us, it will
still be discussed for two months, at shortest,’ says independent
military expert Uzeir Jafarov. `As regards the maps mentioned by
Ritter, the Pentagon actually has such maps, and, quite recently,
when they planned their possible actions against Iran, they,
naturally, put them down on maps. They mapped out possible directions
so as to see easier ways to solve their task by land, sea or air.
Those maps are not a secret, we know about them from the press. I
tend to believe that Ritter saw them personally. If, God forbid, the
US still starts war against Iran, Azerbaijan will have no way to stay
neutral – like it or not, our territory will also be involved in the
campaign.’
Political expert Rasim Musabekov says to Echo: `Today there are no US
troops in Azerbaijan’s territory for us to be able to say if they
will be used or not and if Azerbaijan will allow this or not. This is
just a hypothetical question. Yes, if the US is going to attack Iran,
it may be considering in what form and how effectively it can use
Azerbaijan’s territory. But I don’t think that this is their key
scenario. In any case, Azerbaijan cannot be the key direction – just
because it has no necessary infrastructure and contingent.’ `If Iran
actually takes some actions against Azeri facilities (oil pipeline,
etc.) just to show – we can’t reach the US itself, but we can reach
its interests here – this may seriously change the situation, and
Azerbaijan will then be forced to accept any military assistance and
to join the anti-Iran countries. But still, Azerbaijan’s position of
principle is that we don’t want military actions against Iran, we
will not provide our territory. Azerbaijan must insist on this for as
long as possible,’ says Musabekov.