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MEXICO CITY TO MOVE STATUE OF FORMER AZERI LEADER
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21163517
23 January 2013
Azerbaijan paid for the redevelopment of the park around the statue
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The mayor of Mexico City has said that a controversial statue of the
former Azeri leader Heydar Aliyev will be moved from its current
location.
Miguel Angel Macera said the statue would be moved from a park on
the city's main avenue that Azerbaijan paid to have renovated.
Oil-rich Azerbaijan has threatened to cut investments in Mexico
in response.
Human rights activists had objected to the statue and pointed to the
repressive nature of Mr Aliyev's rule.
Azeri investments in Mexico amount to $4bn (£2.5bn), according to
the Azeri embassy in Mexico.
When the previous mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, unveiled the
Azerbaijan-Mexico Park last year, he said it was a "testament to the
will of the two peoples to grow closer".
Mr Ebrard also noted that - in 16 years - none of the 180 diplomatic
missions or 45 international organisations based in Mexico City had
given as much money for public spaces in the capital as Azerbaijan.
A plaque accompanying the statue describes Aliyev as "a great
politician and statesman".
In Azerbaijan there is a growing personality cult surrounding the
former leader, who is regarded as a father of the nation, which became
independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the BBC's Damien
McGuinness reports from neighbouring Georgia.
His face can be seen on huge billboards all over the country, our
correspondent adds.
Mr Aliyev's son Ilham has ruled the country since 2003 - but with
presidential elections in October, and growing concerns in the West
about the government's human rights record, Azerbaijan is keen to
promote his father's image abroad, he says.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21163517
23 January 2013
Azerbaijan paid for the redevelopment of the park around the statue
Related Stories
Azeri leader statue row in Mexico
Eurovision and activism in Baku
Amnesty condemns Azeri crackdown
The mayor of Mexico City has said that a controversial statue of the
former Azeri leader Heydar Aliyev will be moved from its current
location.
Miguel Angel Macera said the statue would be moved from a park on
the city's main avenue that Azerbaijan paid to have renovated.
Oil-rich Azerbaijan has threatened to cut investments in Mexico
in response.
Human rights activists had objected to the statue and pointed to the
repressive nature of Mr Aliyev's rule.
Azeri investments in Mexico amount to $4bn (£2.5bn), according to
the Azeri embassy in Mexico.
When the previous mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, unveiled the
Azerbaijan-Mexico Park last year, he said it was a "testament to the
will of the two peoples to grow closer".
Mr Ebrard also noted that - in 16 years - none of the 180 diplomatic
missions or 45 international organisations based in Mexico City had
given as much money for public spaces in the capital as Azerbaijan.
A plaque accompanying the statue describes Aliyev as "a great
politician and statesman".
In Azerbaijan there is a growing personality cult surrounding the
former leader, who is regarded as a father of the nation, which became
independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the BBC's Damien
McGuinness reports from neighbouring Georgia.
His face can be seen on huge billboards all over the country, our
correspondent adds.
Mr Aliyev's son Ilham has ruled the country since 2003 - but with
presidential elections in October, and growing concerns in the West
about the government's human rights record, Azerbaijan is keen to
promote his father's image abroad, he says.