EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Azerbaijan: Youth Activist Arrest Fuels Campaign Tensions

EURASIA INSIGHT

AZERBAIJAN: YOUTH ACTIVIST ARREST FUELS CAMPAIGN TENSIONS
Khadija Ismailova and Shahin Abbasov 8/12/05

The arrest of Ruslan Bashirli, head of the Yeni Fikir youth organization, is stoking antagonism between pro-government supporters and opposition members in Azerbaijan. Political analysts believe the controversy could damage the chance of a free and fair parliamentary election in Azerbaijan this November.

The young activist was arrested on August 3 and charged with plotting a coup attempt with financial backing from Armenian special services. The Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General’s office provided television channels with a video that depicts Bashirli signing a receipt for $2,000 and drinking cognac with two men identified as Armenian agents. The film was allegedly made in Tbilisi, when Bashirli traveled to the Georgian capital July 28-29 to attend a conference organized by the Georgian non-governmental organization Democracy Without Borders.

According to a statement issued by the Prosecutor-General’s office, one of the supposed Armenian special services representatives who met with Bashirli, Giorgi Ispryan, suggested that live gunfire be used during an opposition rally in order to undermine stability in Azerbaijan. The prosecution also alleged that Bashirli received support from the National Democratic Institute, an American non-governmental organization that trains political parties and civil society groups. The prosecution charges that Bashirli stated that he received "specific instructions" from NDI to stage a "revolution" � a charge that has been made previously against the American group by pro-government parliamentarians. The tape has been repeatedly aired by pro-government TV channels and even shown on public video displays.

Bashirli has been charged under clause 278 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, which concerns attempts to forcibly seize power and overthrow the constitutional order. If convicted, Bashirli could face up to life in prison. Contrary to usual practice, the Ministry of National Security, which ordinarily handles all espionage cases, has made no comments or statements on the case.

Bashirli’s defense attorney, Elchin Gambarov, who gained access to his client one day after the arrest, argues that the case is political Gambarov claims that the individuals in Tbilisi who paid Bashirli $2,000 were representatives of Democracy Without Borders, a Georgian non-governmental organization which was providing technical support to Yeni Fikir. Rather than Armenians, Gambarov has identified the two individuals who paid Bashirli as ethnic Georgian "representatives of democratic forces" -- Giorgi Burjanadze and Merab Jibutiya. Gambarov reported Bashirli as saying that he had intended to use part of the $2,000 to pay for his upcoming wedding.

Gambarov has argued that if Bashirli is convicted he would rank as a political prisoner. "It is a provocation, very primitively organized," Gambarov said at a news conference on August 8. Gambarov claimed that authorities attempted to coax Bashirli into testifying against Ali Kerimli, the leader of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, a group with which Yeni Fikir has a loose association.

The prosecutor general’s statement was based upon testimony by Osman Alimuradov, a former bodyguard for Caucasus Muslim Board Chairman Allahshukur Pashazade. Alimuradov had recently joined Yeni Fikir and accompanied Bashirli to the Tbilisi meeting. The prosecution alleges that Alimuradov himself volunteered the information to state law enforcement officials that the Armenians had offered to pay both Bashirli and him for staging the coup, but that he had refused the money. Alimuradov claims, according to the prosecution, that he failed to persuade Bashirli to do likewise.

Members of the opposition have condemned the arrest and subsequent street violence as an attempt by the government to discredit the opposition and youth movements, while moving away from the democratic reforms advocated by Western countries and international organizations. The Yeni Fikir movement, which has about 2,000 members, is supported by the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), a prominent opposition party, although no formal connection exists between the two. On August 4, the party issued a statement demanding Bashirli’s release. Pro-government parties have since demanded that the PFPA be closed down.

The National Democratic Institute has categorically denied involvement in the alleged plot. "The US National Democratic Institute does not finance anybody, or any political party running for elections," Turan news agency reported NDI Regional Director for Eurasia Programs Nelson Ledsky as saying. "We do not do it. It’s against US law and it’s against the policies and practices of the National Democratic Institute." Ledsky termed the PFPA "an authoritative and legitimate organization," but would not comment on calls for the party’s closure.

The Armenian special services have also denied involvement. National Security Service Chairman Harik Hakopyan dismissed the allegations as "ridiculous," Radio Liberty reported, and compared the case with the accusations brought against alleged "spies" during the late 1930s under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

In the days since Bashirli’s arrest, PFPA headquarters have become the target for regular attacks by pro-government protestors throwing stones, eggs, and tomatoes. City police, usually quick to crack down on unauthorized street actions, have not acted vigorously to stop the protests. On August 8, police forces could be seen pinning PFPA members up against the building, while protestors attempted to enter it.

Asked whether the protest had been authorized by police, Kamal Velishev, deputy chief of the Sabayil district police department supervising police forces at the rally, told EurasiaNet that the street action did not qualify as a "picket" and, therefore, did not require official approval before it could be held. In a statement to Turan news agency, the Interior Ministry characterized the demonstrations as "popular protests" that do not require police intervention, adding that the police "just control the situation." Eight people were injured during the August 8 protest.

PFPA members have denounced the protests as an attempt to fuel discord. PFPA leader Ali Kerimli charged that the government was behind the attacks. "We have information from inside the government about a special plan of provocation aimed at capturing the PFPA headquarters," said Kerimli, who has urged party members to stay inside the building and not respond.

The PFPA claimed that at an August 10 meeting, Minister of Youth, Sports and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev urged athletes to actively participate in the demonstrations against PFPA. The ministry has denied the charge, but a PFPA press release went on to claim that its office in Lankaran had been attacked on August 10 by a group of athletes under the direction of Azad Kazimov, head of the ministry’s Lankaran branch. The party also claimed that members of its branch in the exclave of Nakhichivan were severely beaten by police and unidentified assailants on August 9.

Pro-government television channels and newspapers financed by the government have broadcast and published a steady stream of stories attacking opposition political forces, echoing the charges voiced during anti-PFPA street protests. In response, pro-opposition papers have published letters from the intelligentsia that condemn the anti-PFPA campaign as reminiscent of the Stalin era.

Reactions from the international community have been harsh, but, as yet, to little apparent effect. "We expect that the government of Azerbaijan will conduct a fair and impartial investigation into the recent allegations raised by the General Prosecutor against the head of the Yeni Fikir organization. Serious allegations should be addressed in the courts, and not in the media," a statement released by the US embassy on August 10 reads. The statement goes on to urge the government to "pursue fair, transparent elections in November" and to permit "all political parties to pursue their elections campaigns without harassment or unsubstantiated allegations."

The scandal surrounding Yeni Fikir and the PFPA has already caused a halt in talks between the opposition and pro-government parties, sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Pro-government parties have refused to continue any contacts with the opposition Azadlig alliance, which includes the PFPA, on the grounds that they are financed by the Armenian special services.

The OSCE, in response, has expressed strong concerns about the situation developing in Azerbaijan. "We strongly condemn these acts of violence. It is unacceptable that groups of private citizens decided to take justice into their own hands," Ambassador Maurizio Pavesi, head of the OSCE Baku mission, said on August 10 in reference to the attacks on PFPA headquarters. "I hope the government will take all necessary measures to prevent damages to private properties, and violent and unauthorized public meetings, which would result in an unjustifiable deterioration of the electoral campaign."

One political analyst, however, believes that the campaign over Bashirli’s case will fail to sway public opinion against the PFPA or other opposition parties. "The scandal is rather aimed to curb the wave of [opposition] rallies," said Rasim Musabekov, an independent political analyst who is running as a non-party candidate for parliament. "This will allow the government to ban opposition rallies which are attracting youth to the Orange movement in Azerbaijan."

Zardusht Alizade, a columnist for several local newspapers and independent political analyst, also maintains that the campaign against the Popular Front will not discredit the party. "The authorities have discredited themselves enough and people will not believe in an allegation that someone could arrange a coup for $2,000," said Alizade.

Existing tensions show little sign of subsiding soon. Opposition activists have promised to start similar protests in front of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party’s headquarters and government agencies if the attacks against PFPA continue. "This is only the beginning of the [election] campaign," commented one shop owner, who was forced to close his store, located near PFPA headquarters, during the recent street violence. "What can we expect further?"

Editor�s Note: Khadija Ismailova and Shahin Abbasov are freelance journalists based in Baku.

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