PRESIDENTIAL APPARAT EXPLAINS RADIO LIBERTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000157 SIPDIS FOR EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2019 TAGS: KDEM KPAO PGOV PHUM PREL SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL APPARAT EXPLAINS RADIO LIBERTY CONTENT CONCERNS REF: A. BAKU 118 ¶B. BAKU 124 Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Presidential Apparat insider Elnur Aslanov complained that Radio Liberty's content is unfair and unbalanced, presenting a poor view of Azerbaijan and government officials. Content was markedly pro-opposition during the 2008 presidential campaign, he said. Aslanov, with help from the pro-government Strategic Research Center, monitored Radio Liberty's content extensively last year, and produced a comprehensive report to make the case for their findings. Colleagues at the Presidential Apparat, he said, commonly believe that Radio Liberty's content reflects the USG's foreign policy priorities and has maintained a Cold War tone in a post-Soviet world. We encouraged Aslanov and/or other senior GOAJ officials to share concerns about Radio Liberty's content directly Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's management in Prague. End Summary Concerns about Content -------------- ¶2. (C) Pol-Econ Chief met February 11 with Presidential Apparat Chief of Political Analysis Elnur Aslanov to discuss Radio Liberty content issues and related GOAJ concerns. The discussion followed the February 9-10 Baku visit of a Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) delegation, which presented a draft intergovernmental agreement for return of VOA and Radio Liberty broadcasts to the FM airwaves in Azerbaijan (ref a). Pol-Econ Chief told Aslanov that negotiations over the return of VOA and Radio Liberty to the air would be led by BBG in accordance with their February 9-10 proposal, but that separately the Embassy would like to understand further the GOAJ's objections and concerns about Radio Liberty's content, as previously conveyed by the President and other senior officials (ref b). ¶3. (C) Aslanov, who provides domestic political analysis and disseminates information on foreign policy developments to the President and senior members of the Apparat, complained that Radio Liberty was "one-sided" and "opposition-focused." Government figures, he said, were poorly presented and given insufficient opportunity to respond to allegations or refute arguments. Only "negative" aspects of Azerbaijan and its government were highlighted, while positive stories, e.g., on social and economic trends, were passed by. Aslanov recounted his own experience with Radio Liberty, which ran a "three-minute excerpt of my speech, with 45 minutes of criticism" by opposition leaders and political commentators. "There was no opportunity for rebuttal," he said, despite a personal request he made by telephone to the station's bureau chief. ¶4. (C) Aslanov said that many senior GOAJ officials, including colleagues in the Presidential Apparat, believe that "Radio Liberty's content reflects the true foreign policy of the United States." GOAJ officials are aware, he said, that Radio Liberty is funded by the U.S. Congress, and therefore "influenced by the Armenian Diaspora and lobby. This is the common impression," he said. Like many GOAJ voices these days (including President Aliyev -- ref b), Aslanov suggested that Radio Liberty continues to have a Cold War tone in a post-Soviet world. He also noted that the U.S. has not maintained a common line on broadcasting in the post-Cold War environment. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, he said, "Poland closed down Russian language radio broadcasts and the United States did not complain." Not Fair, Not Balanced -------------- ¶5. (C) Aslanov complained that Radio Liberty sought to "vilify" Azerbaijani officials in its broadcasts. Sound effects, such as the dragging of chains and unhappy music, were commonly used as background when GOAJ officials spoke. More pleasant background sounds were applied when opposition figures were aired. Radio Liberty regularly identified "uninformed, unreliable spokesmen" to present the GOAJ's positions, while more eloquent speakers were employed to represent the opposing view. During the autumn presidential campaign, Aslanov said, about 90 percent of coverage presented a negative view of President Aliyev. BAKU 00000157 002 OF 002 Monitoring Project -------------- ¶6. (C) Aslanov presented a comprehensive, Russian-language report on Radio Liberty's content, which, he said, was the result of a prolonged study conducted by his office in conjunction with the Strategic Research Center. (Note: Aslanov describes the Strategic Research Center, which his close friend operates, as "an NGO like the Brookings Institute." The Center, however, is described by other observers as a government-funded and friendly entity. End Note) The report, which was full of tables, charts and other graphics, showed that Radio Liberty's content had become increasingly hostile to the President and other GOAJ officials in the May-November 2008 period. Chief of the Presidential Apparat Ramiz Mehdiyev, he said, was a particular target of attacks. Morever, monitoring had shown that Radio Liberty's content was "highly favorable" to Ali Karimli, head of the Popular Front. (Note: Pol-Econ Chief asked for a copy of the report, but Aslanov said that he could not release it outside the Presidential Apparat. End Note) Sharing Concerns -------------- ¶7. (C) Pol-Econ Chief encouraged Aslanov to share his concerns about Radio Liberty's content directly with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty management in Prague. Pol-Econ Chief suggested that subsequently Aslanov or others at the Presidential Apparat might want to set up a dialogue on content with RFE/RL President Jeff Gedmin. Aslanov agreed to consider the proposal. Aslanov's Role -------------- ¶8. (C) Aslanov and his colleagues provide information and analyses to senior officials, including Apparat Chief Ramiz Mehdiyev. Data include comprehensive reports, like the study of Radio Liberty content, as well as studies of domestic political trends and social and economic developments. At times, he and his associates appear to resort to Google searches. Aslanov gathers data on activities of the Armenia Diaspora in the United States and follows discussion, as it relates to the South Caucasus, in the U.S. Congress. Aslanov's Strategic Research Center meanwhile produces more comprehensive studies on a wide range of political, economic and social issues, and most likely authors Ramiz Mehdiyev's exhaustive op-ed pieces, which regularly appear in government friendly newspapers. Given his take of "political analysis" and his excellent access to Mehdiyev and other senior officials, Aslanov would be well placed to share concerns about Radio Liberty's content with RFE/RL management in Prague, should the GOAJ choose to go that route. Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) GOAJ officials at all levels, including President Aliyev, state baldly that they believe Radio Liberty is a tool of USG policy actively employed to attack or undermine the government and the President himself. At times, they assert close personal links between Radio Liberty bureau chiefs in Baku and Prague and the opposition. The GOAJ has put an impressive amount of effort into "proving" their case. Embassy will continue to push for resumption of Radio Liberty FM broadcasts, but in light of the GOAJ's professed conviction that it is an anti-government tool, we expect the content issue to re-surface in some fashion with respect to any proposed solution. DERSE