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Delegation Reports
PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO AZERBAIJAN
FROM 8-13 OCTOBER 2006
Delegation
Brian Jenkins MP
Leader of the delegation
Labour
David Chaytor MP
Labour
Linda Gilroy MP
Labour
Quentin Davies MP Conservative
Rt Hon Lord Kilclooney Crossbencher
Lord Haworth
Labour
Jim Rodgers
Deputy Secretary
British Group IPU
Between Sunday, 8 October and Friday, 13 October 2006, we had a brief
opportunity to look at a country and some of its people and institutions.
A country no longer at the crossroads, they have decided to become a European-style
democracy. They looked at other countries around them, with Iran an Islamic
Republic to the south, and decided that was not the route for them. They
looked north to Russia, well they have been there before and do not want
to return to a Soviet style control economy and democracy again.
Deciding where they wanted to be was relatively easy; working out how
they get to that destination has been far more problematic. If you have
one in eight of your population being a refugee or internally displaced,
how do you first house them, feed them and absorb them into productive
work and earning? They have made efforts and are now building new settlements
for them.
The official Government line is that all people want is to go home as
soon as possible. However, some would say that with nearly one million
voters in this position the Government would be in no hurry to see them
go back home.
But underneath there is a growing feeling, especially amongst the young,
that they do not want to go back to a poorer way of life in the village.
They prefer the lifestyle of the city, hence the recent major improvements
in the living conditions of this group.
If the only economic model you have is the Soviet style, with little management
or entrepreneurial experience, how do you release the energies of your
people while also avoiding the Russian scenario of creating a few billionaires
with the privatisation of industries? Another legacy of the Soviet style
are some very poor buildings in need of major repair after 30 years, along
with pollution and environmental abuse on a massive scale.
On the plus side they have oil and gas and can expect a lot of money to
flow in over the next 20 years plus. A further plus is that the Government
has agreed to put funds into a transparent account, so that everyone can
see where the money comes and goes.
This is a major step in the right direction. The economy seems to be doing
well with major construction projects in Baku, while the number of Mercedes
cars, and traffic jams, tell of a newly developing middle class.
Everyone we met was friendly and open about their situation, even to the
point of, “I can’t tell you the answer because we have yet
to work that one out ourselves”, which showed a level of openness
that would not have been there a few years ago. This is a sign of growing
confidence and maybe a recognition that we are there as a critical friend.
The list of people we met was impressive:
• The President – Ilham Aliyev, who spoke in English and gave
a very clear and pragmatic presentation of his country’s problems,
as well as their aspirations for the future. This included information
about what Azerbaijan perceives its role to be in the region and its attitude
to possible integration with Europe at a future date.
• The Deputy Prime Minister – Mr Ali Hasanov. Mr Hasanov also
acts as the Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees. He informed
us of the number of internally displaced persons, as well as asylum seekers
from Iraq, Chechnya and Palestine.
• The Foreign Minister – Mr Elmar Mammadyarov, who spoke about
Azerbaijan’s attitude towards the EU and reiterated his President’s
views on the country’s role in the region. He also gave us his take
on Russian, Georgian and Armenian policy in the region.
• The Speaker – Mr Ogtay Asadov, who greeted us at the start
of our trip and also, unexpectedly, on the last day when he expressed
his disgust at the French, who had just passed through their assembly
a law that makes it an offence to deny the Armenian genocide. This was
a very sensitive point for Mr Asadov.
• The Chief Imam - Sheikh Allashukur Pashazade, who is a strong
believer in the separation of powers between the Church and the State.
He stated that he was against the use of Islam for political means.
• The British Ambassador – We had lunch with the Ambassador
and received an excellent briefing from him and his staff.
• Representatives from a range of 7 NGO’s, including two young
people. Most were engaged with community action or conflict resolution
and peace building (with particular reference to the frozen conflict in
Ngorno-Karabakh). They seemed to have the ability to come and go with
reasonable ease to the conflict area – though Caucusus-wide projects
run in a third party country such as Georgia seemed to be most successful.
There was broad agreement that the electoral process was not producing
fair outcomes and no confidence that the general population will benefit
from the oil fund – with some research/polling appearing to bear
this out.
There were some contrary views as to the potential for and evidence of
the spread of radical Islam. All politicians were perceived to be from
the business elite and the opposition deemed to be ineffective.
It seemed to be widely believed that’s the internally displaced
persons issue was being manipulated by politicians for their own ends,
although reference was also made to internally displaced people having
refused to be conscripted for military and health service purposes.
Disparaging reference was made to the proportion of seats on the Council
of Europe now held by former communists, perhaps explaining the statement
elsewhere that “the Council of Europe was now corrupt” and
a matter of concern in respect of standing up for human rights.
We met members of the opposition who spent most of their time informing
us of the unfair way the elections were run and the oppressive nature
of the Government.
These complaints are largely accepted by the international monitors who
were present at the time of the last election and who were critical of
the number of apparent irregularities that occurred during the electoral
process.
The opposition groups, however, are beginning to give the appearance of
being able to work together on an agreed alternative programme to the
Government. The main point is to attack the level of corruption within
the country.
One example of the extent of corruption we were given is in education.
Azerbaijan has a lot of teachers, who do not get paid very well. So if
pupils want to get their work marked they pay the teacher. The more they
pay, the higher the grade. This goes on even in Universities, meaning
that it is not possible to tell if a student has achieved their grade
through hard work or simply by paying for the grade.
Freedom of the press was also a big issue with opposition groups, as well
as the way in which the Government influence the main media outlets, such
as television, and the pressure it brings to the many newspapers that
are in operation.
There have been instances where the law has been used to shut papers for
defaming Ministers. One should be clear to differentiate between “freedom
and licence” and that concept may not be entirely accepted in this
country.
We visited the British Council who are doing an excellent job and one
telling indication is that they have a grant of £500,000 per year,
but a turnover of £1,500,000 per year, they raise £1million
through contract work. Their offices are in an excellent position and
very busy. We met the Azerbaijan-UK alumni association who spoke very
enthusiastically about their experience with the council.
Special thanks go to HMA Dr Laurie Bristow and his staff for their full
and interesting briefings that were delivered to a very high standard
and their accompaniment and support on many occasions. Also to Mr Chingiz
Asadullayev MP and Mr Aydin Abbasov, who began our visit with a welcoming
dinner and accompanied us for much of the trip.
I feel that as a result of this trip we have a better understanding of
the problems facing both the Government and the people of Azerbaijan.
Further to this, as a sense of the goals the Government wants to achieve
and how they intend to meet those goals.
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