Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

BAKU: Retired Azeri Officer Slams Ministry For Corruption,Poor Treat

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

  • BAKU: Retired Azeri Officer Slams Ministry For Corruption,Poor Treat

    RETIRED AZERI OFFICER SLAMS MINISTRY FOR CORRUPTION, POOR TREATMENT OF PRIVATES

    Baki Xabar, Baku
    24 Aug 04

    Former brigade commander Ildirim Mammadov has accused several
    high-ranking Azerbaijani Defence Ministry officers of inhumane policy,
    adding that the ministry is rife with corruption. In an interview
    with Azerbaijani daily Baki Xabar, Mammadov said that the Defence
    Ministry was not supplying military units with necessary food, uniforms
    and medicine shown in invoices. He also said that the Azerbaijani
    armed forces were being governed by Soviet-era military laws and
    any talk of transition to NATO standards was wide off the mark. The
    following is an excerpt from report by Matanat Muslimqizi headlined "
    Professionals are being discharged from army" and subheaded "Former
    brigade commander Ildirim Mammadov: Some high-ranking officers in
    the army have declared themselves secret enemies of the people'"
    published in Azerbaijani newspaper Baki Xabar on 24 August; with
    subheadings inserted editorially:

    Reports by numerous international organizations have more
    than once highlighted rampant corruption in Azerbaijan's state
    bodies. Regrettably, bribery and corruption are rife in the Defence
    Ministry, which is the bastion and the backbone of the nation's
    protection. The treatment of soldiers and officers in the armed
    forces, high-handedness, corruption and widespread bribery in military
    units are inflicting a serious blow to our national security and
    state independence. We have had a detailed conversation to this
    effect with Lt-Col Ildirim Mammadov, a professional officer and
    former brigade commander in the Azerbaijani army. (Passage omitted:
    Mammadov's background.)

    I asked my interviewee to assess the overall situation in the
    Azerbaijani armed forces.

    (Mammadov) Unable to put up with injustice in the army, I left the
    military unit I was commanding. It was impossible to work there. Under
    the existing system, when a military unit is audited three to four
    times by various commissions and is requested to adjust something
    without any financial support or help, it is impossible to work
    normally in these conditions. Audits are conducted by the Defence
    Ministry's high-ranking officers. When the ministry sends these audit
    commissions, it knows the state of affairs in military units very
    well. It is impossible to endure this. Those who can endure this become
    a member of the system engaged in cheating and providing false reports.

    (Correspondent) What did the audit commissions from the ministry
    demand specifically from you?

    (Mammadov) For example, just imagine, military units are provided
    with neither food, nor military uniforms nor medicine stated in
    invoices. This is rife in all spheres. For example, a military unit
    should be supplied with 3,800 kg of soap. However, they only get
    a fraction of this amount. Out of 13,000-14,000 sets of bed linen,
    one-third is never supplied. Soldiers should be supplied with boots
    every six months, but they are not. If earnest investigations are
    launched, one can see that high-ranking officers commanding the army
    have made hundreds of firms bankrupt. (Passage omitted: officers are
    elevated to high ranks undeservedly.)

    Defence Ministry leadership insensitive to soldiers' fate

    (Correspondent) Why should the Defence Ministry put pressure on
    officers to take care of privates? The issue at stake is human fate,
    isn't it?

    (Mammadov) The Defence Ministry's leadership is insensitive to fates
    of sons of the people. If this were not the case, then the leadership
    of the armed forces would have ordered commanders of brigades and
    military units to cancel lessons between 1200-1700 o'clock when the
    temperature rises above 30 degrees. Soldiers should rest at this
    time and lessons should be conducted in the evenings.

    Let us look into the matter. Why do the Azerbaijani people not love
    the army? Because some high-ranking officials in the army have
    declared themselves secret enemies of our people. Professional and
    skilled personnel are discharged from the armed forces. However,
    those who should not serve in the army are elevated. For example,
    (Defence Ministry spokesman Col) Ramiz Duygun (Malikov) is a university
    graduate and is 60 years old. However, he does not want to leave
    his post to educate his grandchildren. (Passage omitted: on Soviet
    experience in the army.)

    Talk on transition to NATO standards wide off the mark

    (Correspondent) It has been recently claimed that the Azerbaijani army
    is being transformed to meet NATO standards. What is your attitude
    towards this?

    (Mammadov) Statements to this effect are purely formal. Actually,
    nothing is being done. Why? Because, currently the Azerbaijani
    armed forces are being ruled by Soviet laws. Being a NATO member,
    first means that a soldier must be treated like a human and not like
    a beast. In Azerbaijan, we see quite the contrary happen. It is very
    early to speak about the NATO system in this country. Aspiring to NATO
    membership also means big investment in the army. (Passage omitted:
    the army needs new laws.)

    (Correspondent) What is your assessment of the current state of
    affairs in the Azerbaijani army?

    (Mammadov) True, the Azerbaijani army with its many positive aspects
    is better than the Georgian army, and the army of our enemy -
    Armenia. However, I would like the Azerbaijani army be similar to
    the Israeli army. Azerbaijan should have a small, mobile, strong and
    professional army able to overcome all problems.
Working...
X