Adding to the controversy over stolen elections…Other freelance
journalists reported at least one death from police beatings and a young boy in
critical condition from being trampled in the melee. Resource wars, war profiteering, stolen elections – isn’t this
more than enough to seriously pursue alternative energy resources? - KWC US Restraint on Azerbaijan Election
Encourages Instability A EurasiaNet commentary, 10/17/03,
excerpt: “Washington has
maintained relative silence in the face of vote fraud in Azerbaijan and the
accompanying crackdown on opposition activists in Baku. State Department
spokesmen have adopted a reserved tone in noting voting irregularities. Such
restraint sends a signal to other governments in the Caucasus and Central Asia
that fundamentally undermines US strategic interests in those regions; removing
even the pretense that the societies were democratizing. Since the September 11
terrorism tragedy, US policy has reinforced the notion among regional leaders
that the use of authoritarian methods is acceptable in the name of preserving
stability. In many cases, most notably in Uzbekistan, authorities have
curtailed fundamental political and civil rights under the guise of promoting
stability.” A Stolen Election and Oil Stability Last week's presidential election in Azerbaijan
ensured that the current government would maintain its control over the
country's significant oil reserves. In the former Soviet bloc's first dynastic
succession, Ilham Aliyev, son of the ailing Communist-era holdover Heydar
Aliyev, has now become president. Many in Western policy circles viewed this
transition as critical to the stability of billions of dollars of investments
in the country's energy sector. The violent events of the past few days should
make them think otherwise. International and domestic monitors reported
widespread irregularities in the Oct. 15 election. I saw it myself at a polling
station where the election chief kicked out local observers and made off with
the votes, claiming she had to take a nap. The government clearly stole the election, and
then brutally beat hundreds of people who poured out in the streets in protest.
The day after the election, I watched from the roof of a hotel in Baku as
thousands of riot police beat protesters unconscious. Afterward the riot police
raised their shields to the sky and turned their batons into drumsticks,
celebrating the victory of intimidation.
Now hundreds have been arrested, while Isa Gambar, the opposition
leader, is effectively under house arrest and activists from his Musavat party
are being beaten and detained all over the country. Everyone I speak to is
scared. The violence surrounding the election was shocking
yet predictable, as the government for years has shut the opposition out of the
political process. In the months leading up to the poll, Azerbaijani
authorities blatantly manipulated the electoral process to ensure that Ilham
Aliyev would inherit his father's presidency. The opposition had nowhere to go
but the streets. More astonishing, however, were the public
assessments of the election made by the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe. Their election-monitoring
missions in Azerbaijan took due note of the violence and election
irregularities, but their overall appraisals were alarmingly upbeat. The OSCE
mission chief, Giovanni Kessler, said the election showed "an increased
vitality of political life and serious efforts in Azerbaijan towards democracy
and international standards.” Meanwhile, the head of the Council of Europe's
parliamentary delegation, Guillermo Martínez Casañ, said he hoped the election
could "mark the beginning of a new era in Azerbaijan in which progress
could be achieved through cooperation of all democratic forces in the
country." The Aliyev government has a terrible human
rights record, and a long history of imprisoning its opponents, rigging
elections and breaking up public protests with excessive violence.
International and local observers have charged that the country's last national
election, the parliamentary election of 2000, was blatantly fraudulent. The international community is well aware of
this sorry history, but it seems to want to wish it away so it can get on with
business with the oil-rich country's government. Europe's foremost human rights
body, the Council of Europe, admitted Azerbaijan in 2000 despite the country's
disastrous parliamentary election. The Council of Europe did establish a body
that monitors the country's democratic development and requires the government
to report back on charges of election fraud. But this measure did little to
restrain the government from repeating election fraud last week. This time, the international community must not
passively accept a violently stolen election. Azerbaijanis are justifiably
tired of the corruption and arbitrariness of years of rule under the current
government. They are growing
increasingly suspicious of the West and
its unwillingness to be tough on the Aliyev clan. Moreover, letting the Azerbaijani government
steal its election will embolden other governments to do the same. In the long
run, this will contribute to more public discontent and destabilize this
oil-rich region. The writer observed the Azerbaijan election for Human Rights
Watch. |
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