OPPOSITION MUSAVAT PARTY REMAINS ENGAGED IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000611 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KDEM PGOV PREL IR AJ SUBJECT: OPPOSITION MUSAVAT PARTY REMAINS ENGAGED IN DEMOCRATIZATION SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On April 10, Ambassador paid a farewell call on Musavat Party Chairman Isa Gambar. Gambar (whose party is participating in the May 13 rerun elections) said that the overall election climate remains difficult. As an example, one of Musavat's candidates in the May parliamentary election reruns briefed the Ambassador on the increased administrative interference he has faced this time around. Gambar also reported that beyond elections, Musavat has been working to strengthen its regional support through regular issue-based forums. This initiative has given Musavat a better sense of citizens' concerns outside of Baku, which Gambar said still remains heavily focused on increasing tensions between the USG and Iran. Ambassador assured Gambar the USG was devoting all of its resources to achieving a diplomatic solution to the current situation. END SUMMARY. MUSAVAT'S WARY ELECTION ENGAGEMENT -------------- ¶2. (SBU) During his farewell call on opposition Musavat Party Chairman Isa Gambar, the Ambassador noted the progress Azerbaijan has made during his tenure, but also assured Gambar the USG would remain engaged on all fronts. In particular, Ambassador said the USG would focus its programming and advocacy on civil society, community development, human rights, and elections. Gambar said he agreed on the importance of both the USG and local Azerbaijanis remaining engaged in the democratization process. While he said he was not satisfied with the conduct of the November parliamentary elections, his party would nevertheless participate in the May 13 rerun elections. He indicated Musavat candidates would begin their campaigns in earnest the week of April 17 and said he hoped the USG and other Western countries would demonstrate equal engagement. ¶3. (SBU) Ambassador assured Gambar the USG would remain fully engaged in the process, including with support for exit polling, candidate training, finger inking, and observers. Arif Hajili, one of Gambar's deputies and a candidate from a northern Azerbaijan constituency, said that he appreciated the USG's support for the rerun elections but said the situation in his constituency was worse this time around than in November. He said the local government authorities have been more overt in their support for his main opponent, who according to Hajili, is connected to the "oil barons" in Azerbaijan. Infrastructure repairs and energy supplies are being provided by the candidate and according to Hajili, the local government has told its employees that if Hajili wins, the region will fall out of official Baku's favor. Ambassador responded that the USG would follow the race carefully and continue to push the GOAJ for a free, fair, and transparent election. (Emboffs plan to travel to this region during the week of May 1). MUSAVAT TAKES ITS MESSAGE TO THE REGIONS -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Gambar relayed that Musavat had begun its own "community development" projects in the regions through regular regional forums in the regions. He reported that the party was working on building its regional organizational structure and to boost that structure, each region had held meetings in January and would do so again in April. Gambar said he himself had attended some of the meetings, which in January were focused on the rerun elections, but in April supporters would discuss a broader political agenda. Explaining that the authorities in the regions have even limited his movements, Gambar said that continued engagement is necessary to lift restrictions on freedom of assembly, freedom of the media, and other civil rights. GAMBAR REMAINS CONCERNED ABOUT IRAN -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Gambar noted with concern that during their travels, Musavat officials had noticed that concerns about Iranian influence in particular, but also Russian influence, are heightened in the regions. He said that society in the regions is more split than in Baku, in particular because both Russia and Iran have strong networks of influence and use them to spread anti-American propaganda. Iranian propaganda, he said, focuses on the "fact" that the USG plans to attack "peace-loving" Iran and that Azerbaijanis should side with their "Muslim brothers." After November's elections, Gambar continued, society has lost some of its trust in the USG and its policies and anti-West propaganda is gaining more resonance. Gambar said Musavat has been working to counteract this propaganda, specifically by labeling Iran a threat to the world and to Azerbaijan itself. Gambar BAKU 00000611 002 OF 002 concluded that Iran must understand the world's concern and voluntarily give up its nuclear ambitions. Ambassador confirmed to Gambar that the USG is seeking a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear plans and that the USG would not forget Azerbaijan's security concerns with regard to its southern neighbor. HARNISH