UPDATE ON OPPOSITION EVICTION; U.S, UK AND EU

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2012
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV KDEM AJ
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON OPPOSITION EVICTION; U.S, UK AND EU
AMBASSADORS ENGAGE PRESIDENTIAL CHIEF OF STAFF

REF: BAKU 1713

Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) Early morning on November 25 Ministry of Justice,
Ministry of Internal Affairs and city officials carried out
the November 24 court-ordered eviction of the opposition
Popular Front Party (PFP),the opposition newspapers Azadliq
and Bizim Yol and Turan news agency from their central Baku
headquarters. (The building, located at 33 Khagani Street
near the Embassy Annex, housed the PFP, its media affiliates
and the Turan news agency since 1992.) At around 8AM, Emboffs
observed roughly 150 police officers form lines on either end
of the block to restrict access to the facility. Police
permitted a handful of PFP, Azadliq, Bizim Yol and Turan
staff to enter the premises. By 9AM the first of seven moving
trucks pulled up to the building and GOAJ-hired movers began
removing the tenants' possessions and equipment - tables,
chairs, computers, files. The trucks arrived and departed for
several hours, and then followed police escorts to vacant
facilities on the outskirts of the city where they were then
unloaded. Reporters from all leading media organizations
(except ANS) covered the events.


2. (U) The eviction proceeded calmly throughout the morning.
The handful of opposition officials and journalists we spoke
to on the scene appeared despondent, resigned and unwilling
to mount a protest that could have given the police an excuse
to use excessive force. Turan News Agency chief Mehman Aliyev
told poloffs that officials had ordered the movers to deposit
their loads at predetermined buildings, even though Turan had
asked that the equipment be moved to another local Turan
branch office in Baku instead. Aliyev was concerned that it
would take days or weeks to repossess the equipment, which
would prevent Turan from quickly resuming its daily news
service. However, late in the day, Aliyev reported that Turan
staff were able to obtain access to and repossess most of the
equipment.


3. (C) PFP Deputy Chairman Fuad Mustafayev complained that
officials were telling them that they could only repossess
their property if the party moved into the building offered
by the GOAJ two weeks ago, a location the opposition rejected
because it was on the outskirts of the city. Later in the
day, officials directed the moving trucks to deposit their
loads at the building. Poloff visited the site in the Keshle
settlement on the edge of the city, and reported that movers
dumped the PFP and Bizim Yol,s possessions on the building's
second floor, damaging or breaking much of the furniture in
the process. PFP officials said that the party's extensive
video archive was seriously damaged. Poloff also reported
that the building lacked water, heat or electricity, and that
its third floor was occupied by an IDP community. PFP leaders
said that they will not use this office at all and instead
will work out of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party's (ADP)
offices for the time being.


4. (U) In the late afternoon, opposition party leaders and
journalists assembled at the ADP's office to assess the
situation and consider their options. According to poloff, at
the meeting, which included PFP chairman Ali Kerimli, ADP
deputy chairman Sardar Jalaloglu, Musavat chairman Isa
Gambar, National Liberal Party chairwomen Lala Shovket, the
opposition leaders announced that they would immediately
appeal the court,s decision, adding that they had not yet
seen a text of the November 24 eviction order. Kerimli told
the group that "It is not our job to become heroes to fight
this dictatorship, it should be someone else," alluding, we
understand, to the need to avoid a confrontation with the
police. The group also debated temporarily halting all
opposition political activities in protest of the GOAJ
eviction in the hope of drawing further international
attention. However, Musavat chairman Isa Gambar rejected this
option telling the others that to halt their political
activity would be to play into the government's hands. The
opposition leaders agreed to postpone a decision until
November 27 when they plan to meet again.

CHIEF OF STAFF MEHDIYEV: ANS DECISION WILL BE REVIEWED, "NOT
THE FINAL WORD."
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5. (C) The Ambassador, UK Ambassador Bristow and German
Ambassador Stachinger (representing the EU) met for over two
hours with Presidential Chief of Staff Ramiz Mehdiyev, who
was joined by Apparat advisors Ali Hassanov, Novruz Mammedov,
Fuad Alesgerov, and Shahin Aliyev. Highlighting that

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capitals are registering serious concern and that they wanted
the GOAJ to fully understand the effect its actions are
having in the West, the Ambassadors underscored that the
closure of ANS and the eviction suggested that the GOAJ was
aiming to suppress free expression and opposition activity,
flying in the face of President Aliyev's discussions in
Washington and Brussels, Azerbaijan's stated policy of
democratization and its many international commitments on
reform, including those in the European Neighborhood Plan
(ENP) signed just ten days go. They noted that these steps
had serious implications both for perceptions of Azerbaijan
and development of the relationships with the US and the EU.
Whatever the technical and legal arguments underlying them,
the closure and eviction have convinced the world that
Azerbaijan is stepping back from democracy and respect for
human rights. They urged the GOAJ to take immediate steps in
both cases that would clearly illustrate that Azerbaijan is
not stepping back from its support for democracy and media
freedom, by, for example, finding a way to allow ANS to
continue to broadcast as the National Radio and Television
Council (NTRC) pursues the legal and regulatory issues it has
with ANS, and by ensuring that all evicted entities are able
to immediately, and freely, continue their work.


6. (C) Mehdiyev stated that an impression that Azerbaijan is
going backwards on democracy is "completely wrong."
Azerbaijan remains committed to the ENP and its other
international commitments. Azerbaijan has "chosen our
pathway -- we are a strategic partner of the US."
Azerbaijan's policy of developing democracy and integrating
with the West was chosen freely and remains firm -- "We will
not deviate." He explained at length the history of the
Azadliq building case that led to the court to decide the
building was being occupied illegally. He said the
government had offered the evicted entities alternative
sites, but they "did not want to engage in this dialogue."
He said claims that records or equipment had been confiscated
were "blatant lies," all evicted entities could repossess
their equipment, which government trucks had helped remove
from the building, and continue their activities immediately,
"no one will prevent them." He cited 11 legal and regulatory
violations the NRTC had identified against ANS, including tax
violations, as the reason for its recent closure. He said it
is his understanding that "the NTRC has decided and ANS must
abide by the law," but that this "doesn't mean we've
finalized and put an end on that - we need to review the
situation and find a solution -- this is not the final word."



7. (C) Mehdiyev also offered a lengthy discourse on
Azerbaijan's geopolitical situation, saying that Azerbaijan's
"primordial goal" is to "maintain the stability that will
allow economic and political development -- you should be
with us in extending assistance, if you want to see
Azerbaijan as a developed and independent country fully
integrated into democratic structures we must work together."
Iran was exerting "huge pressure," and making efforts,
officially and unofficially, to undermine Azerbiajan's
stability. Sahar TV openly addresses the Azerbaijani people,
"blaming, condemning and blackmailing" the GOAJ and calling
on the Azeri people to take up arms against the government.
He claimed the recent publication of an anti-Islamic article
in the Sanat newspaper and unrest in Nardaran were "well
prepared by the Iranian special services" to test the Azeri
people, and Iran is "meddling in our schools...radical Islam
is of great concern, and the West must be with us on these
issues." Russia does not wish to see Azerbaijan's
integration in the EU, NATO and the West; Azerbaijan's
purportedly normal relations with Russia "are just the tip of
the iceberg, we have to deal with the rest." Developments in
Georgia have put strong and unpleasant pressure on
Azerbaijan. "We should have an intensified relationship. 2008
is approaching and there will be serious pressures and
provocations. You should help us and not allow any source to
violate stability and cause us to deviate from our course."


8. (C) Some opposition members, he said, had been in touch
with Turkish, Iranian, Russian and Armenian special services.
"We want to see a normal civil European opposition in
Azerbaijan," Mehdiyev said. "Some in the opposition
political ranks understand this, but pressure exerted by
leaders prevents internal political reform within their
parties. They do not allow their young people to move up and
be active."

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9. (C) The Ambassadors agreed that given Mehdiyev's assurance
on evictees' repossession of records and equipment and that
they may continue activities unimpeded, as well as his
statement that the ANS issue will be reviewed, they would
monitor the situation over the weekend and discuss next steps
on Monday, November 27. OSCE Baku has called a meeting of
OSCE member state Ambassadors on November 27 which will
provide the opportunity for the Friends of Azerbaijan and
like-minded Embassies to evaluate and agree on next steps.
The visit next week of EU Ambassador Terri Hakkala offers
another opportunity to weigh in with the GOAJ.


10. (U) Note: The Embassy issued a consular Warden Notice to
the American community and disseminated a security notice to
the Embassy community November 25 urging all to Americans to
avoid the downtown Baku area near the Azadliq/PFP building.
DERSE