The Azerbaijan government's crackdown against independent journalists and has exposed its authoritarian nature to a broader western audience.
Azerbaijan is making itself a welcome home among neighboring states — from Russia to Iran, to the wider Middle East — that deny basic rights to their citizenry and ignore ways democratic states treat their citizens.
Does Ilham Aliyev government care about its image in the West? Until recently it seemed like it did.
For years, the oil-reach Caspian country has been trying to spruce up its image by hosting international events such as Eurovision, Global Internet Forum, OSCE Parliament Assembly summit, as well as the first European Games, due this summer. Aliyev and his team have also been spending a sufficient amount of money for lobby efforts in the U.S. and European capitals.
However, recent moves by the government of Azerbaijan to crack down on western and local organizations as well as restrict the media have caused a very negative effect on the country’s international image and, according to some analysts, also on perceptions of the business climate in Azerbaijan.
Azeri officials: “Why us?”
“Why are we being targeted by the western media? Is that because we want to be the U.S. ally?” Azeri government emissaries, key members of the Parliamentary International Relations committee Samad Seyidov and Asim Mollazade asked an audience in Washington D.C. early last month.
Speaking at Capitol Hill Club, Seyidov said the relations between the two countries sometimes are affected by the “less significant problems related to human rights in Azerbaijan”, and this negatively affects the country’s attempts to create closer relations with Europe and the U.S.
America, added Asim Mollazade, should “protect freedom in my country…”
Unlike Azeri officials, many in the West though see human rights, freedom of expression, freedom of the media to investigate and report on the facts as essential factors for democracy, and their lack as a lead to corruption and authoritarianism.
Azerbaijan once opened its doors to westerners. Slapped by Soviet Moscow, Heydar Aliyev, a former KGB officer and communist-era leader, had returned to his native Azerbaijan to head the country and oversee the unprecedented opening and rapid expansion of Azeri oil-gas industry, after taking over the governance at home in 1993. He invited leading western business and civil society groups to Baku, urged them to hire local employees, and lifted censorship from the media.
But things have changed in Azerbaijan under his son Ilham Aliyev, who has succeeded in bringing the pro-western Azeri civil society and media to heel.
Aliyev senior once called the media “a mirror of the society.” Today, under his son’s leadership, that mirror has been taken away from Azeris. Their media is nothing if not entertaining, with a daily diet of outrageous shows, news, and movies. Rather than using state media to mobilize his supporters – like his father had – Ilham Aliyev sees it as means to placate and distract the population.
Crackdown…
Current arrests of journalists and rights defenders in Azerbaijan are part of a broader crackdown.
It initially started as a response to western criticism to October 2013 presidential election.
Once the election was over, Aliyev, who announced his victory for the third period, wasted no time in launching a broad crackdown on civil society, particularly those who were involved in the election monitoring process.
Although many observers and political leaders in the West have expressed grave concerns about the deteriorating situation in Azerbaijan, the arrest of Anar Mammadli, head of Azerbaijan’s most respected election monitoring group, as well as accusations against western institutions in Baku, didn’t immediately have an effect on Aliyev government’s international reputation.
Aliyev had succeeded in blunting international and domestic criticism through his considerable lobby policy by pointing to his and his father’s significant political achievements. The repression largely escaped international attention until last summer, when Aliyev overplayed his hand.
Dozens of rights defenders, critical activists, scores of journalists were rounded up for allegedly undermining stability in the country; private media companies and NGOs came under intensive political pressure, and most were subjected to punitive tax penalties; and critical commentators—investigative journalists such as Khadija Ismayilova and others—were publicly excoriated by the high-level officials.
The arrests of journalists Rauf Mirgadirov, Seymur Hazi, Khadija Ismayilova and many others vastly increased the level of international attention on the press freedom and situation of the civil society in Azerbaijan.
However, prior to Ismayilova’s arrests, it was easier for the Aliyev government to cast the crackdown against the media as part of its anti-Armenian propaganda. But after Khadija’s arrest even many in the country began sounding an alarm.
Unquestionably the government also took advantage of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and informational war environment to recast his crackdown on critical dissent not as “censorship” but as a legitimate response to a mounting threat to national security. The strategy resonated because Azerbaijan does face threats from variety of actors in the region.
In late December 2014, the authorities raided the local Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) office, Azadliq Radiosu, taking all the staff for questioning, seizing computers, and sealing the offices. The staff was later questioned again, without legal representation, some in the middle of the night in their pajamas.
The crackdown against independent journalists, activists had given a golden opportunity to disrupt Azeri government’s narrative of progress. It exposed the authoritarian nature of the government to broader western audience and simultaneously made the government even more authoritarian.
In order to have a complete picture about whether or not human rights matter for the Azerbaijani government, you should also mentioned the recent pardoning decree of President, when he release some of the civil society activist. Yes, there are problem on human rights in Azerbaijan. However, you also should be an objective and neutral when describing the situation in Azerbaijan. US State Department welcomed President’s pardoning decree, while you are not even simply mentioned about that. You also mentioned corruption. Yes, there is a corruption in Azerbaijan, as its existing in all countries, including United States (read articles about Clinton Foundation financial sources). However, it doesn’t matter for government. You can read articles on newly created ASAN service that made a revolution on combating corruption in public services. You have even simply mentioned this fact as well. As you can see, I have much more objective and pluralistic view on things happening in Azerbaijan. You are writing only the negative side of all happening in Azerbaijan. Therefore, sorry, but I have a doubt that your article is really unbiased.
Ramil, as Azeri i am also happy to know that our governemt pardoned the civil activists and etc. But please, leave this soviet mentality behind, stop praising our government or president for doing what they have to do…
By criticizing the governemnt on the real facts we can solve our internal problems of corruption, freedom of media and etc. So please, consider this acticle as help for Azeri people, for it’s prosperous future.
I don’t see the point why to hide the positive developments:-) you have to be objective, regardless of that you want to help country or not.
We can not say that the image of Azerbaijan doesn’t matter for the President. I think it matters and therefore, he is taking steps in developing democracy in Azerbaijan. Of course, you are blind for to see those reforms, because of your political affiliation.
Really? Your dictator life president is taking steps in developing democracy in Azerbaijan?
He has a lot to learn from the Republic of Artsakh as far as Human rights and democracy is concerned.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is working hardly for reforms in the country in all fields of the country including the legal, media and NGO legislation area. A very recent legislation on NGO and public paricipation is an example to that. At the same time the government first task is to provide national security of the country, if anybody by hiding under activist or journalist face is making the actions against the national interest of the state, of course government will not observe it. As far as I know for most cases mentioned in this article there is still investigation and such kind of articles is the real pressure to the investigation process. If some western international organizations would not build their activity against the national interest of Azerbaijan by undermining its independence and funding political activities, they would continue their activity in Azerbaijan. I am sure every country first put its national security interest. This is the same as in US and in all European countries.
Dear FPJ. Its not the first time, that you are publishing a one-sided negative article about my country. Please read more alternative writing about most recent development, before publishing such article. Your article is outdated and do not simple reflects the real situation in Azerbaijan.
But there is nothing wrong in saying the truth. The societies which want to survive should have maximum public participation.
I see it is completely easy to sit in the US and to write such non-sense article about Azerbaijan. And from the comments written by nitwitarmenians or armenian lovers it is clearly seen how those are envious about Azerbaijan :) that is very difficult for them to see the problems in Armenia, but they are so enthusiastically searching for problems in Azerbaijan :) and they convince themselves that they find the problems by the help of such poor articles :) I know it is hard for you to see the prospering Azerbaijan, as even the armenian soldiers themselves passing to our country and running away from armenian brutals :) but you have to take it easy, you shall get used to it :) otherwise that is the only consolation for you to read such unjustified and false information based articles and to be happy by deceiving yourself :)
And one little selvedge for FPJ: that is not the first article you are publishing against Azerbaijan, so every time you are successfully proving your biased characteristics and personality. But we will reveal that always :)
As I see, FPJ has lost its feature to be a serious journal. I respect the freedom of speech, but from the perspective of journalism, you should not publish such articles based on not facts, but instead on imagination and fantasy. Otherwise, by such unfair mathod, you are completely misleading people reading this false information. That is not befitting with journalism conception.
Dear author, I think that this article is just a compilation of wrong facts and wrong, biased opinion on Azerbaijan. I guess you have very good relations with the opposition parties in Azerbaijan. In that case, I understand your position, I wish you good luck in your struggle against Azerbaijani government. However, I have to warn you that you should do this openly as a political activist, rather than masking under the neutral journalist face.