SENATOR CORKER MEETS MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 001094 SIPDIS FOR EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AJ SUBJECT: SENATOR CORKER MEETS MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse, for reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On November 11 the Ambassador held a dinner for Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) and five members of Azerbaijan's parliament. These MPs represent a wide range of political opinions. While all guests agreed that Azerbaijan has to further reform its education system and to fight corruption, there was disagreement over the best way forward and the degree of progress to date. While opposition members appealed for more U.S. aid in this reform effort, ruling party supporters felt that Azerbaijan had to develop on its own. There was clear animosity between the ruling party and the opposition, which is one of the major obstacles to Azerbaijan's respect of freedom of speech and assembly. END SUMMARY ¶2. (C) On November 11 the Ambassador hosted a dinner in honor of Senator Bob Corker for members of Azerbaijan's parliament. Attendants represented a variety of political parties: Samad Seyidov from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party; Gultakin Hajiyeva and Fuad Muradov who are independent but largely support the government; Asim Mollazade of the Democratic Reforms Party who considers himself opposition but not an "enemy" of the government; and Nasib Nassibli of the opposition Musavat Party. WHO IS THE OPPOSITION? -------------- ¶3. (C) In an informal pre-dinner discussion, the Azerbaijani MPs showed great interest in the recent U.S. presidential election. While all guests agreed Azerbaijan usually supports Republicans, they felt that Obama represented a positive change for the United States. Once dinner began and the discussion moved to Azerbaijan's politics, however, the consensus on the benefits of multi-party democracy disintegrated. Nassibli explained that he considers himself as part of a dissident movement, rather than an opposition party, as the opposition has no rights or responsibilities in Azerbaijan. He further described that there were only 5 members of the "real" opposition in parliament, while others represent parties that are actually pro-government. This comment visibly irritated Hajiyeva and Muradov, who consider themselves independent, and they repeatedly denied being pro-government through the rest of the evening, while simultaneously stating their support for the current government. GOAJ PRIORITIES -------------- ¶4. (C) Mollazade, noting that the government's budget is currently under discussion in parliament, explained that he supports the budget because of its focus on education, a priority for Azerbaijan. He also felt that integration into NATO should be a priority, to which Nassibli agreed and added World Trade Organization membership as well. Hajiyeva cited security concerns with Iran and Russia if Azerbaijan publicly announced its intentions to join NATO, while noting Azerbaijan's ongoing work with NATO. She stated that Azerbaijan's top five priorities should be: ending Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory; improving education; creating an independent judiciary; ending monopolies; and fighting corruption. ¶5. (C) Seyidov, as the only member of the ruling party present, then explained what he felt to be the position of the GOAJ on corruption. He said that the GOAJ was taking strong steps to fight corruption by creating a state committee. According to Seyidov, the West should not expect Azerbaijan to become Switzerland overnight, but the GOAJ is taking small steps. He stated that strong non-governmental organizations were an important part of this, and that is why the government decided to fund these NGOs. He did not see any contradiction in government control and financing of non-governmental organizations. WHAT CAN U.S. DO TO HELP? -------------- ¶6. (C) Hajieva stated three main priorities that she would like to see the United States take to improve relations with Azerbaijan. She would like the U.S. Congress to end direct aid to Nagorno-Karabakh, to repeal section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, and to get rid of the Jackson-Vanik amendment for Azerbaijan. Nassibli pointed out that the USG gives more aid to Georgia and Armenia than it does to Azerbaijan, and felt that this should be remedied by a more active USG policy in Azerbaijan, to which Mollazade agreed. Seyidov disagreed, however, stating that the future of Azerbaijan is in Azerbaijan, not in the United States or the European Union, and therefore Azerbaijan needed to develop on its own. COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) While the MPs were able to sit together at the dinner table and conduct a civil, if spirited, discussion, it is clear that there remains serious tension between the ruling party and the traditional opposition. Moreover, "opposition" in Azerbaijan is hard to define, and is not a unified movement. A polarized political environment, and strong, personal animosities between veteran YAP and opposition figures, will continue to be obstacles to the GOAJ's further political reform, including broader freedom of speech and assembly. END COMMENT ¶8. (U) Senator Corker did not have the opportunity to clear this cable. DERSE