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Persecutions of pro-Western activists continue in Azerbaijan

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  • Persecutions of pro-Western activists continue in Azerbaijan

    Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
    July 31 2014


    Persecutions of pro-Western activists continue in Azerbaijan
    31 July 2014 - 10:00pm

    Persecutions of pro-Western activists continue in Azerbaijan Leyla
    Yunus arrested

    Mikhail Belyayev. Exclusively for VK

    On July 30 the Azerbaijani authorities once again struck at the
    pro-Western "civil society", which now does not feel at home in this
    South Caucasian state. Civil activist Leyla Yunus was arrested as she
    tried to flee the country together with foreign diplomats. Before her
    unsuccessful escape she ignored four calls to attend interrogations by
    the General Prosecutor's office. The law-enforcement agencies have
    been keeping an eye on the activist for several years. She called for
    the liberation of the terrorists from the Sadval group, convicted for
    launching a terrorist attack on the Baku metro in 1994. She even
    included the terrorists on a list of political prisoners submitted to
    European lawmakers.

    The activist also defended the people responsible for promoting
    inter-ethnic hatred in the country, where people of different ethnic
    origins have always been treated as equals. For instance, Azerbaijani
    Jews have always been respected and cherished. Many of them now live
    in the United States or Israel. Remembering their past in Azerbaijan,
    these people contribute much to the development of the US-Azerbaijani
    and Israeli-Azerbaijani relations. There has never been ethnic hatred
    in Azerbaijan, however, there are those who would be happy to change
    the situation for the worse. Leyla Yunus supported not only
    terrorists from Sadval, but also Alikram Gumbatov.

    The separatist Gumbatov, who has been sentenced to capital punishment,
    Yunus believes to be "a victim of the Azerbaijani authorities." The
    "victim" now lives in Holland and (not without help provided by the
    Armenian special services) tries to incite a separatist movement in
    southern part of the country. taking into consideration Leyla Yunus'
    past, it's quite clear why the law-enforcement agencies have started
    an investigation into her activities. The questions raised were quite
    numerous. Whose interests does she represent? Who supports her
    financially? Are her activities transparent? Is she an honest
    tax-payer? The results were remarkable. Yunus has been charged with
    high treason, tax evasion, fraud and illegal entrepreneurship. These
    are the charges she was arrested on.

    It would be unwise to decide whether she has actually committed all
    these crimes before the lawsuit is over. However the very fact is
    quite eloquent. Tax evasion and illegal entrepreneurship are serious
    crimes. It seems like the law-enforcement agencies have been
    investigating her activities for a long time before bringing the
    charges. It seems probable that Yunus has embezzled foreign funds
    allocated for promoting democracy and human rights. One more activist
    and recipient of foreign financial aid, Rasul Dzhafarov, often pays
    visits to European capitals. A couple of years ago he launched a
    campaign named "Sing for Democracy", aimed at politicizing the
    Eurovision song contest held in Baku. Dzhafarov recently tried to flee
    the country as well. His bank accounts are now frozen.

    It has been decided to turn to the harsh actions and inspections of
    pro-Western activists when relations between Azerbaijan and the West
    are far from being at their best. The Azerbaijani Ambassador to the
    OSCE, Ghalib Israfilov, has even openly responded to criticism coming
    from the United States by publicly reminding Americans about not
    fulfilling their obligations to close Guantanamo Bay prison. Former
    Ambassador of the U.S. to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar, after he
    made veiled comments about the possibility of a "Euromaidan" in
    Azerbaijan, has been highly criticized by the Azerbaijani government
    and Azerbaijani media.

    In general, starting from last year, Western institutions and
    initiatives in Azerbaijan have had a hard time. The status of the OSCE
    mission in Azerbaijan was downgraded to fulfilling the mission of a
    Project Coordinator, the Office of American Democrats NDI was promptly
    closed, while the University of Azad Fikir was temporarily closed. A
    pro-Western revolutionary youth organization known as Nida was also
    neutralized by the Azeri special services. Finally, the Eastern
    Partnership with the EU, developed by Poland and Sweden, was
    practically ignored by Baku, which did not express any desire to sign
    the association agreement.

    This is another reason for western politicians to reconsider their
    approach to their partners. The Azerbaijani government has
    consistently strengthened economic and political relations with the
    Kremlin and their actions have caused irritation in Western capitals.
    It is obvious that the foreign policy and the weakening of the
    positions of the West in the South Caucasus region result in the
    gradual loss of the positions of pro-Western agents of influence in
    Azerbaijan, especially when their activities violate local laws.

    The arrest of Leyla Yunus, regardless of its legal framework, is just
    one of many manifestations of a greater political process ongoing in
    the region. However, it is another reason for Western politicians to
    reconsider their approaches to their partners in the post-Soviet
    space. One-sided criticism and attempts to bring "orange" revolutions
    there, as well as the sanctions and double standards applied by the EU
    and the United States with respect to post-Soviet republics, will not
    work in countries where the ruling elite have access to significant
    financial reserves and where there is a clear understanding of the
    national interests.


    http://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/society/58336.html

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