EurasiaNet Civil Society - Azerbaijan: Opposition Parties Prepare to Vigorously Contest Parliamentary Election

CIVIL SOCIETY

AZERBAIJAN: OPPOSITION PARTIES PREPARE TO VIGOROUSLY CONTEST PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION
Shahin Abbasov and Farid Arifoglu 3/28/05

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Some analysts believe a recent pardon by President Ilham Aliyev, setting free opposition activists who were imprisoned in connection with post-election rioting in 2003, was an attempt to show the international community that the Azerbaijani government is interested in reform. The move came amid signs that Azerbaijan’s fractured opposition is coming together as preparations for the country’s parliamentary election campaign get underway. Some opposition members are already expressing a desire to bring about a "democratic revolution" in Azerbaijan, emulating the experiences of Georgia and Ukraine.

Aliyev’s decree on March 20 -- issued to commemorate the Azerbaijani spring holiday Novruz -- freed 115 prisoners, including the so-called "group of seven" opposition leaders: Rauf Arifoglu, editor-in-chief of the Yeni Musavat newspaper; Arif Hajily, deputy chairman of the Musavat Party; Panah Huseynov, leader of the People’s Party; Sardar Jalaloglu, General-Secretary of the Democratic Party; Igbal Agazade, leader of the Umid Party; Ibrahim Ibrahimli, deputy chairman of the Musavat Party, and Etimad Asadov, leader of the Karabakh War Invalids Society. Former defense minister Ragim Gaziyev, former Ganja police department chief Natig Efendiyev, and the former head of the special presidential department, were pardoned as well.

The Aliyev government has long been dogged by international criticism over Baku’s use of the judicial system to persecute political opponents. In February, for example, a report prepared by the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) called on the Azerbaijani government to release opposition political activists jailed following October 2003 protests that were sparked by accusations of electoral irregularities. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The ODIHR report said the trials conducted for opposition activists did not meet OSCE standards for protection of human rights and recognition of the rule of law.

The United States, the European Union and the Council of Europe have endorsed the ODIHR report. Malcolm Bruce, rapporteur for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), went even further. "The Council of Europe is not going to close its eyes to the political prisoners’ problem any more," he said at a March 17 press conference in Baku. Bruce stated that the future of relations between Azerbaijan and PACE would depend on how the government decided to handle the prisoners’ situation. If the problem remained unsolved, he indicated, Azerbaijan could face the possibility of sanctions during the upcoming PACE session in April. All 53 people included on the Council of Europe’s list of political prisoners � a longstanding source of Council criticism of the Aliyev government � have been freed.

"The decree has fully resolved the problem of the �October prisoners’ and partially the problem of political prisoners in the country," Hajimurad Sadaddinov, chairman of the Baku-based non-governmental organization Azeri Fund for Democracy Development and Human Rights Protection commented to the Turan news agency. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Members of the "group of seven" said their fight "for the democratization of Azerbaijan" has just begun. Huseynov, one of those recently released from prison, does not believe that Aliyev’s decree will usher in a new era of harmony in relations between the authorities and opposition. "One decree will not be able to solve the problem of political prisoners," Huseynov told EurasiaNet. "Only a democratic revolution can eliminate this regime."

Other freed opposition leaders agreed. "The only support the authorities have today is from law enforcement bodies, but activation of the political fight will deprive them of it," said Jalaloglu.

Azerbaijan’s opposition has been fragmented since the October 2003 crack-down that led to the arrest of hundreds of government critics, journalists and human rights activists. Opposition parties made only a haphazard showing in December 2004 municipal elections. But on March 18, three main opposition parties � Musavat, the Popular Front and the Democratic Party -- announced the formation of a coalition for the November 2005 parliamentary elections.

International pressure on the Aliyev administration helped inspire Azerbaijani opposition parties to run a vigorous parliamentary election campaign, party leaders contend. "Political prisoners were released under huge pressure from international organizations and this will have an impact on increasing people’s activity prior to the elections," Popular Front Party Chairman Ali Kerimli told EurasiaNet.

Zafar Guliyev, a political analyst for the Turan news agency, suggested that Aliyev intended the pardon as a message to the West. "He wanted to let them know that he can promote liberal reforms in Azerbaijan by himself, and has tried to avoid revolution in the country," Guliyev said. "This line coincides with the opinion of some Western experts who back the evolutionary way of democratic changes in Azerbaijan," Guliyev added.

Making that case could prove increasingly critical to the Aliyev administration. In the past 18 months, opposition groups in Georgia, Ukraine and, now, Kyrgyzstan have all seized power via protests over rigged parliamentary elections. Kyrgyzstan’s opposition, like Azerbaijan’s, was widely seen as disorganized in the run-up to the February 2005 parliamentary polls. However, the Kyrgyz opposition came together quickly as mass protests pushed Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev out of power. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Aliyev signed the decree releasing the opposition leaders just days before the March 24 overthrow of Akayev. No official statement has yet been issued from the Azerbaijani president’s office on the events in Kyrgyzstan.

Some analysts indicate that another factor influencing Aliyev’s action was the March 2 murder of the opposition journalist Elmar Huseynov. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The murder sparked a string of opposition protests, with many former colleagues and fellow journalists blaming the government for the editor’s death.

Elmar Huseynov’s death followed on the heels of riots in three Baku prisons on February 15-16 that left the Aliyev administration open to criticism from human rights groups, which complained about the use of force in quelling the uprisings, terming it a display of "tyranny." The government used the situation to recast itself as open to reform. After authorities crushed the riots, an investigation was launched into reports of misappropriation of state funds, malnourishment of prisoners, provision of "illegal privileges" and abuse of power among Azerbaijan’s penitentiary system. Ten Justice Ministry officials have been dismissed in connection with the probe. In an interview with local television stations following a March 3 National Security Council meeting, Aliyev stressed that he himself had been "horrified" to learn of the problems. "I could not even imagine that violations of the law could be so terrible and incompatible with all existing moral and ethic norms," he went on to say.

Though Aliyev’s pardon freed political prisoners, it did not meet the OSCE’s demand that the opposition activists be formally acquitted of the charges against. Under existing legislation, the still-standing convictions could bar the freed opposition activists from running for a seat in parliament. In addition, officials have expressed no intention to investigate charges that law enforcement officers tortured the October prisoners. Opposition leaders, including Panah Huseynov and Igbal Agazade, leader of the Umid Party, have said that they plan to petition the European Court of Human Rights regarding the torture of prisoners, and to secure an acquittal for the charges brought against them. "A crime was perpetrated against us, and we suffered from torture," Huseynov said. "Both the organizers and executors of this crime have to be punished."

Many in Baku are sceptical about the possibility of any dialogue between the authorities and opposition. Anar Mamedkhanov, a pro-government member of parliament, has stated that strong opposition existed within the government to the idea of releasing the political prisoners. "Some, such as the members of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE were in favor of solving this problem as soon as possible," said Guliyev. "Some other influential members of Ilham Aliyev’s inner circle were against it. So Aliyev was obliged to make a choice between liberals and conservatives. It was the first time that the president has showed his position so clearly."

So far, Western governments have responded to the pardon with cautious optimism for the Azerbaijani government’s openness to political reform. "We urge Azerbaijan’s government to build on this positive step by promoting democracy and stability through political dialogue, restoring freedom of assembly and freedom of the press, respecting human rights and conducting a transparent parliamentary election meeting international democratic standards," US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Adam Ereli said in a March 23 statement.

Editor�s Note: Shahin Abbasov is a freelance journalist in Azerbaijan. Farid Arifoglu is a correspondent of Turan news agency in Baku.

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