What you need to know about proposal for yet another referendum in Azerbaijan?

This would be a third time our country will have a constitutional referendum.

The first one was introduced by Heydar Aliyev. A year before his death, on August 24, 2002 Aliyev introduced a number of critical constitutional amendments giving the Prime Minister the power to act as an interim President- the power which previously rested with the speaker of the parliament- until the new round of elections. It was not the only critical amendment. “The most important changes over which the referendum is believed to have been organized were the cancellation of the proportional electoral system, which implied that deputies are to be selected only on the basis of single-member constituencies; the number of votes required for the election of President was reduced to simple majority where before two thirds of votes were required; and transfer authority to ban political parties from the Constitutional Court to public courts”. 

The day of the referendum was marred by violations, fraud, and yet, passed with 97percent vote.

In 2009, Ilham Aliyev, the son of Heydar Aliyev had his own referendum on March 18, which allowed him to cross off the presidential term limit among other critical amendments. Needless to say fraud and violations were abound. You know what they say, "like father like son". 

And just when we thought it cannot get any worse, Ilham Aliyev (who has been in power since 2003) decides to introduce a whole new series of amendments in another referendum. 

So what does he propose this time? In total there are 29 proposed amendments: 

- broadly speaking to reorganize the legislative as well as executive branches; 

- Aliyev suggests to extend his presidential term by another 2 years, making it 7 years in total; and have the right to announce elections at any time;

- Prime Minister would be replaced by first vice president and vice presidents; 

- Vice presidents will have immunity throughout their service. Unless vice presidents are caught "in action" committing a crime, he/she (most likely he) will be totally untouchable;

- President would have the right to introduce "extraordinary election" for president;

- Minimum of 35 age limit for presidential candidacy will be removed;

- The age limit for parliament member candidates would be reduced to 18;

- In case of human rights and freedoms violations, civil servants will only carry civic responsibility;

- Citizenship: according to current constitution, Azerbaijani citizen can not under any circumstance be deprived of his/her right to Azerbaijani citizenship. The new amendment suggests to remove "cannot under any circumstance"; 

- Land ownership can be restricted by law

What do these mean? Well it depends on who you ask. 

Alovsat Aliyev says that for instance removing "cannot under any circumstance" clause to the article on citizenship will increase cases of forced revoking. "This has to do with the government's interests in revoking citizenship from any citizen it wants", says the expert. 

On the amendment on land ownership, lawyer Yalchin Imanov says, "so basically now, property or land will be taken. Because up until now, constitution ensured immunity of property and the government was obliged to fulfill this immunity".

But not everyone is worried. Siyavush Novruzov, a parliament member thinks, "as the country develops, its security mechanisms improve, and reforms are carried out within state structures, it is important to make necessary amendments to constitution". As for the 7 year term limit, Novruzov had something even more outlandish to say. "Azerbaijan holds elections for three consecutive years [referring to presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections]. It takes one year to prepare for each election. That's why increasing presidential term from 5 to 7 is praiseworthy". 

Something tells me this referendum will go through just like all other referendums. And president will have all that he needs to ensure his son enters politics soon enough and it all will be fine in the land of Aliyevistan.

This is what you get for a pat on a shoulder

Novruz Mammadov is the chief of the department of foreign affairs of the Presidential Administration. Stefan Fule is the Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy. Azerbaijan became a member of the Council of Europe in 1999. You are probably thinking what these three have in common. Not a lot, especially if you read one of the most recent statements made by Mr. Mammadov in response to Commissioner Fule's statement regarding the arrests of two opposition voices- Ilgar Mammadov and Tofig Yaqublu. Very openly and quite boldly, Mr. Mammadov threatened EU officials warning them to stay out of Azerbaijan's internal political business and instead deal with its own crisis. 

Frankly, I wasn't surprised to hear such words of deeply nourished wisdom, coming from someone like Mammadov. But the tone is astonishing. Don't mess with us or you will make the lives of those arrested in Azerbaijani much worse than it already is.

This boldness so to speak didn't come from nowhere. For years, Azerbaijan was treated gently or "hugged and held" at a safe distance for Europe's own interests. But its not just Europe. US too, taking into account Azerbaijan's strategic significance been "soft" when it came to hold Azerbaijan's corrupted leaders accountable unlike say in Ukraine or Belarus where pressure has been much higher and more visible. And so, the spoiled child of Europe and the US, Azerbaijan, grew into a spoiled adult, rarely listening anymore. Today, Azerbaijani officials fear no one. They arrest, beat, torture, because they are certain their brutality will go unnoticed (except from "very concerned" statements). Their message is simple- we don't have to listen to you!

And so, Mammadov's statements come as no surprise, after all he is not the first, and he certainly wont be the last. If you remember just few weeks ago Ali Hasanov, head of the Social and Political Department under the Presidential Administration advised Christopher Strasser to retire all together.

The importance of stability in the region, and in the country is costing Azerbaijanis a lot, which surely interests the West to a lesser extent. And while Azerbaijan receives a gentle pat on a shoulder with somewhat parenting look to be kinder, no lessons are learned- the spoiled child returns home to play with its toys, and break or throw away the ones it no longer has interest in. 

Awakening

On February 12th, during his address [AZ] at the Baku Business Center dedicated to the overview of the State Program on Social and Economic Development for 2009- 2013, President Aliyev, finally said few words of wisdom. In fact in the past decade since his "election", this was by far the most positive thing he has said, which of course doesn't and shouldn't overrule his own economic and political misgivings by no means. But let us look at some of his remarks during the address.

President Aliyev, called on certain government officials (not naming them, just saying that they know who they already are) to stop holding lavish birthday celebrations and weddings. This he said, is not the proper behavior of government official. He did not exclude the children of the officials either. In case of yet another act of "disobedience" President promised to deal with the issue personally, and to make sure, the fathers also get penalized if not fired and their "hooligan offspring" get arrested.

The video below is a short part of his speech touching upon some of the things mentioned above. Azerireport provided a transcript of President's speech here. 

However, just because President Aliyev pointed his fingers at certain government officials in his address calling out on their extravagant life styles (mind you, not their names), it doesn't mean that he has gone all democratic on us. It is no news how Azerbaijani ministers, governors and their families live in Azerbaijan and surely Mr. President was aware of this for a while now. His personal business interests are also there, and haven't disappeared. And so are the reasons triggering people in the regions to protest- living conditions, salaries, infrastructure, transparency, rights.  

The timing of this awakening is obvious- upcoming elections. The wording of his speech was cautiously elaborated- showing him as a caring, softhearted man, who prefers to celebrate his 50th birthday anniversary with refugees. May I remind you dear readers, that President Aliyev is no Jose Mujica, the thoughtful President of Uruguay who lives on the outskirts of Montevideo. Our fashion conscious first lady will never give up her right to Chanels and Burberrys nor will their children. And this goes for the families of the government officials, governors and the rest of the greedy cronies, filling up their pockets as much as they can and as quickly as they can, especially now, that they have been warned and could go any minute. Spending one birthday (or two or as many) with refugees, wont make the lives of those refugees better the next day. Nor baking meters long birthday cakes. Now, if you have offered a generous box of goods to every resident living in those regions, that would be a grand birthday present, wouldn't it?! Or why not install heating in few of those newly built schools in villages across the country? Nah, why bother?! Its so much easier to show off, who cares if the kids freeze at schools anyway, what is important is a big, long, cake instead.

So, given that it is election year in Azerbaijan, given that we have had all too many scandals (and who knows of the ones yet to come) leading up to the elections- Gulergate, Elshad Abdullayev, New York Times articles, resolutions passed (or not) by the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, riots, arrests, more criticism, and implications of some of the high end officials as Ramiz Mehdiyev in parliament seat sale- President Aliyev is trying to appear good. But paying attention to people's grievances or making it look like you do once in five years ain't the way. Concrete steps must be taken. Pointing fingers to your "own kind" wont work. The son of the minister who instigated the riots in Ismayilli must be arrested, his father, must be dismissed, the uncle governor should face the people of Ismayilli, apologize for his corrupted nature, and resign, at least as a sign of respect to the people this person been put in charge to govern. Guler Ahmadova, needs to be in jail, not under house arrest. Release political prisoners who have done nothing wrong. And stop treating your people as filth, let them too live and enjoy life. Let them speak freely, let them simply be!

For once, hold accountable all those filthy cronies of yours to their actions. Its not just one governor, one minister, and one son. There is an army of these people, all across the country, eating away our country and our future. 

 

If you let your people speak, there will be plenty of opportunities to point fingers at. Just look around you...

'Arab Social Media Report'

Arab Social Media Report

And it happened again...

Today was an important day in Turkey. Millions of Turks left their homes to cast their votes in general elections. 

A lot of hope was vested into the ruling center- right Justice and Development Party (AKP)'s main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in these elections, however, it failed to win or get the majority of votes. It came with a 25.92% of votes while the ruling AKP with almost twice as much. But what is more concerning is the trend of the overall percentage of votes AKP has been getting since 2002 when it came to leadership with 34%, 46% in 2007 and 49.90% in 2011 (see more details here).

AKP will maintain majority in the parliament with 326 seats, followed by CHP with 135 seats, MHP 54 seats and independents with 35 seats. AKP was targeting 330 seats which would have allowed the party to push for rewriting the constitution. The debate over changing the constitution that was introduced during the 1980 coup, rests on AKP's promise of making Turkey a more democratic country with enhanced individual freedoms vs. its opponents fearing of AKP simply consolidating its grip on power. The current Prime Minister spoke of his affection for a French- style presidential system which is what many believe AKP will strive to achieve by changing the constitution. If this happens, Erdogan will have the constitutional right to govern for additional two terms, leading the country in 2023 which coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic.

In his post- election address, leader of the ruling CHP party- Kemal Kilicdaroglu promised to continue working as hard as they did before, sending out a strong message of becoming a ruling party. 

According to the country's current constitution, a party must get a minimum of 10% of the national vote for it to join the country's 550- seat parliament (to read more on Turkish election system read this article by Al Jazeera).

It was disturbing to see cars drive on one of the busiest and hip streets of Istanbul, Bagdad Caddesi, with AKP flags hanging from their windows and women with headscarves smiling proudly waiving the flags from their cars tonight. It reminded me of Fenerbahce (one of the Turkey's biggest football teams) championship celebrations just few weeks ago on the same street, except this was no soccer championship. AKP's controversial rule in the country has been subject to criticisms. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Kilicdaroglu pointed out to limitations in democracy and freedoms. CHP leader referred to cases of confiscation of unprinted books, arrests and detainment of hundreds of journalist (Turkey is leading among countries with highest number of arrested journalists). Freedom of press is fragile, journalists are concerned their phones are tapped and mass case over military coup plot is in papers everyday. 

So it looks like religion won today again for a third time... 

Why did Azerbaijan join Council of Europe?

According to Samed Seyidov, who is the Chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliamentary Assembly to the PACE Azerbaijan joined the CoE for the following reasons (see the link and scroll down to read this quote): 

We joined the Council of Europe not for the sake of membership. We joined the Council of Europe for the sake of democracy, human rights and supremacy of the law. 

He then adds:

We will express our attitude openly if we see that any of these issues is used as a means of influence upon Azerbaijan's interests. 

Here, you have said it yourself Mr. Seyidov, that Azerbaijan joined Council of Europe "for the sake of democracy, human rights and supremacy of law" but I am having hard time seeing any of these notions applied in Azerbaijan. 

Where is democracy? Certainly its not in fake elections we have each time and more certainly its not in the way you treat your people when they protest on the streets. Or tell me, where is the human rights notion? Does it even exist in your vocabulary, because it looks like you use these words only when you want to and mostly for the internationals not the locals. Is it in the way you treat your journalists? Or anyone for that matter? Or tell me, what about supremacy of law? Is supremacy of law means that judges can be bought? Or does supremacy of law mean that they can imprison anyone they want just because someone "influential" demanded that person's arrest for the sake of their own personal happiness and comfort? 

Ah, Mr. Seyidov, if only you really knew the meaning of these notions. Its a pity that such sacred and important notions have become a joke to you and people like you, who have no idea and no understanding whatsoever of what these notions really mean... Sad... Very sad...