Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

BAKU: Azeri pundits say no backlash if Kerry wins US election

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • BAKU: Azeri pundits say no backlash if Kerry wins US election

    Azeri pundits say no backlash if Kerry wins US election

    Ekho, Baku
    2 Nov 04


    Today, on 2 November, an event closely watched by the whole world and
    described as a "battle over the White House" is taking place in the
    USA. Two candidates - republican George Bush and democrat John Kerry -
    are vying for the sympathy of the electorate. And while John Kerry
    enjoys the support of the Armenian diaspora, George Bush can count on
    the votes of American citizens of Turkish and Azerbaijanis descent.

    Opinion polls show that a significant part of the Azerbaijani
    population supports the incumbent US president. The position of the
    Azerbaijani diaspora of the USA is the same. Its representatives are
    actively campaigning in favour of Bush and have even opened web
    sites. For instance, www.AzerbaijanForBush.com is an independent web
    site set up by the US Azerbaijanis. Its organizers stress that it is
    not linked to either of the candidates. The Azerbaijani diaspora
    explains its position by the fact that Bush supports Azerbaijan and
    the White House appreciates Azerbaijan's contribution to the war on
    terror.

    "The Bush administration supports Azerbaijan's ambition to integrate
    into Euro-Atlantic organizations," the founders of the web site
    said. The site also praised Bush's role in the construction of the
    Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and in the suspension of sanctions
    imposed against Azerbaijan under pressure from the Armenian lobby in
    1992. At the same time, Senator Kerry was an active supporter of the
    pro-Armenian Section 907 [which banned US government assistance to
    Azerbaijan].

    [Passage omitted: background information about the candidates' going
    on a campaign trail]

    A specialist in election processes, Fuad Agayev, does not think that
    the election of Kerry would be catastrophic for Azerbaijan. "Because
    the USA is an established democracy. A change of president is not as
    palpable there as in Azerbaijan, Russia or Ukraine. America has a
    developed political system, therefore, it would be wrong to think that
    the support of one candidate by the diaspora might anger the other
    candidate. The USA is not a country where the change of the head of
    state entails the replacement of all key officials. So I don't expect
    any serious negative action on the part of Kerry if he wins the
    election," Agayev said.

    The head of the Azerbaijani Euro-Atlantic Centre, Asim Mollazada,
    explains the Azerbaijani support for Bush by the absent security
    system in our region. The Azerbaijanis appreciate Bush's policy which
    is primarily aimed at protecting the national security interests of
    his own country.

    [Passage omitted: repetition]

    Mollazada does not think that "there will be any major changes in
    US-Azerbaijani relations if Kerry wins the election". "Because there
    are state mechanisms in the USA for protecting the interests of
    America first of all. Since the strategic interests of the two
    countries overlap, I don't think any US president will pursue an
    anti-Azerbaijani policy. Though as a person more aware of the South
    Caucasus problems, Bush is more preferable to us," Mollazada added.
Working...
X