Your trusted source

“Nardaran is a sore appendix, which shall be amputated by no means” – writes Eynulla Fatullayev in his edited news website haqqin.az .

The editor-in-chief of Azerbaijani pro-government haqqin.az news website Eynulla Fatullayev, who years ago was somewhat more famous as “prisoner of conscience” for being prosecuted and imprisoned by the regime of Ilham Aliyev in 2007, has authored a long and pathetic article (“Riot in Nardaran. Time does not wait, time to act!”, Nov 28, 01:51am ), where he urged the authorities of increasingly dictatorial regime in Azerbaijan to “amputate Nardaran as a sore appendix” in order to “restore multiculturalism in Azerbaijan”, a country where there are neither political freedoms nor civil rights, according to Freedom House and other reputative human rights organisations.

It’s noteworthy, that Amnesty International, which has been protecting Mr Fatullayev during his imprisonment and served as one of the most prominent and loud voices which at the end resulted in his pardon and release (2011), has cut ties with the former “prisoner of conscience” in 2013 citing his financial support from the same government which he had been imprisoned by. 

Mr Fatullayev, who reportedly owns and serves as editor-in-chief of popular Russian language haqqin.az and English language azeridaily.com websites, now writes columns urging the government to “amputate” a 10.000 people strong district 25km off Baku – Nardaran -- for being somewhat more religious than the rest of the country, basically privatised by the ruling Aliyev clan.

According to official numbers, four locals and two police officers have reportedly been killed and 14 people arrested during a police operation in Nardaran last Wednesday, November 25, which the religious leader of Azerbaijan Allahshukur Pashazadeh, closely linked and loyal to the regime, rushed declaring as “not having religious motives”. On Saturday, November 28, all fourteen arrested activists were sentenced to four months pre-trial detention under charges of planning a coup d’etat to create a religious state.

The haqqin.az also reported total shutdown of gas and electricity in Nardaran as of November 28, due to big debts by the inhabitants. 

“The Azerbaijani police acted in unacceptably humane and liberal manner” on November 25, writes Mr Fatullayev, who perhaps would wish his treatment in the prisons of Azerbaijan would have been more humane at the time and he would not be continuously suppressed by prison gangs and additional charges, including for drug possession, would not be brought against him while in prison, to only prolong his imprisonment.

“Riot in Nardaran” editorial by Mr Fatullayev is an unfortunate example of hate speech and xenophobia against those who dare to form unions and movements in oppositon to the Aliyev regime.

“The rebels shall be cracked down mercilessly and ruthlessly”, - writes Mr Fatullayev in a country where most political opponents of the regime are imprisoned by trumped-up charges  and are treated in inhumane and unspeakable conditions.

A similar call ("cleanse Libya house by house" from “cockroaches” protesting against his rule ) was attributed to Colonel Qadhafi before the UN Security Council adopted two resolutions referring him, his sons and closest associates to the International Criminal Court, which charged each of them on few counts of crimes against humanity. 

“In recent years , dozens of human rights defenders, political and civil activists, journalists, and bloggers have been arrested or imprisoned on politically motivated charges, prompting others to flee the country or go into hiding”, - Human Rights Watch cries out in numerous reports alerting of deteroirating human rights situation in Azerbaijan. 

“Are we afraid of the resistance by few hundreds of obscurantists who are enthused by medieval myths”, - writes Mr Fatullayev denegrating those in Nardaran who exercise one of only few remaining freedoms in Azerbaijan – freedom of religion. The authorities need to “amputate Nardaran as a sore appendix” – concludes the author, who perhaps is not aware of the commitments of his country before the Council of Europe, leave alone the development of international human rights law in the past few decades from Nuremberg Trials to Nahimana, Barayagwiza and Ngeze trials by the Rwanda Tribunal.

Speaking of the Council of Europe, it is mainly operationalised by the ruling regime in Azerbaijan for the sole purpose of feeding its anti-Armenian propaganda (through misleading reports in the Parliamentary Assembly authored by its clients) and legitimising national elections as “free and fair” , while more notable election observer missions such as OSCE/ODIHR or European Parliament are declining to send such missions, arguing credible election observation impossible due to Azerbaijani government restrictions.

The treatment of political opponents, imprisonment of outspoken critics and silencing of free media – is the political and social reality in modern Azerbaijan, which at times we see presented as “Western ally” by the Council of Europe, which instead of serving as the guardian of the rule of law and democracy in Europe, has been praising the iron-fist rule of Aliyevs.

However, good news is that some awakening and willingness to scrutinise the Aliyev regime and its accomplices is observed in the reputable international media outlets, human rights groups and influential thinkers.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Kauzlarich and former State Department ranking official and later on president of Freedom House David Kramer urged in a joint article in Politico (September 22) “to get tough on Azerbaijan” for most grave human rights violations and imprisonment of opponents.

Worths remembering also the panel discussions in October-November, 2015, in U.S. Congress to stripe off that glamourous veil off the Aliyevs and their brutal regime, that two years ago also managed to involve a dozen of U.S. Congressmen in a lofty trip to Baku (New York Times editorial “To Baku and Back With Freebies”, May 25, 2015.), and which, at the end of the day, resulted in House Speaker John Boeher to resign because of the corruption scandal, according to the same haqqin.az (as translated by Panorama.am), 

With the Americans on the right track, the Europe still is lagging behind in more decisive steps, while Aliyevs and their “talking head” Mr Fatullayev launched fake human rights organisation in Strasbourg, France, -- The European Information Human Rights Center (EIHRC)  -- in order to “present reports on human rights situation across Europe”. This organisation, according to media reports, has been engaged in spreading anti-Semitism in Europe  and staging anti-Israeli and xenophobic demonstrations in France  allied with a left-wing anarchist movement in Frankfurt, Germany.

To refresh, back in January 2013, when then-Chairman of EIHRC Mr Fatullayev was ready to present his report on the human righsts situation in Germany, German Ambassador to Azerbaijan Herbert Quelle, as well as Amnesty International, both protested the endeavours of this organisation, which, according to the German diplomat and international human rights watchdog were labeled as fake and provocative. 

To conclude, now the ruling regime in Azerbaijan, through their manipulative media outlets, is trying to build the cult of personality of Ilham Aliyev as the savior of the nation, with the image and likeness of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk of Turkey, who through bloody and brutal policies attempted to Europeanise Turkey since 1923, at the time accused of genocide against Armenians and other Christian minorities, the same Turkey which now is falling back in the hands of still moderate Islamists headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Asatur Sarkisyan