AZERBAIJAN: RULING PARTY ANGRY AT PRESIDENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000386 SIPDIS EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM AJ SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: RULING PARTY ANGRY AT PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PRESS FREEDOM STATEMENT REF: A. 08 BAKU 54 ¶B. 08 BAKU 447 Classified By: Political-Economic Counselor Robert Garverick, for reaso ns 1.4 b and d ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On May 8 several Members of Parliament (MP) from the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party (YAP),including the First Lady's sister Ganira Pashayeva, made speeches during a parliamentary session complaining about President Obama's statement on World Press Freedom Day. All accused the U.S. Embassy in Baku of giving false information to President Obama, and demanded that the MFA ask the Embassy to explain the statement. Panah Huseyn from the opposition Musavat Party dissented slightly from this argument, however, saying that Azerbaijan would continue to be mentioned on these lists until journalists stopped being pressured and all journalists were let out of prison. Speaker Ogtay Asadov closed the debate by echoing the call for the MFA to get an explanation from the U.S. Embassy. The Presidential Apparat has previously reached out to the Embassy on this issue, and the Foreign Minister is likely to ignore this message from parliament. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) After much negotiation, poloffwas able to observe the May 8 session of the Mili Majlis (parliament),which is normally not ope to the public or any diplomatic missions. Speaker Ogtay Asadov began the session with a moment of silence for both the victims of Shusha during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the victims of the recent shooting at the Oil Academy. The first speeches by MPs, however, had nothing to do with either of these topics. Instead, the first four MPs to speak, all from YAP, complained about President Obama mentioning Azerbaijan in his statement on World Press Freedom Day. Asaf Hajiyev, Ganira Pashayeva (sister of the First Lady),Siyarush Novruzov, and Khanhuseyn Kazimli all stated that the mention of Azerbaijan next to Zimbabwe was unfair. Hajiyev, Pashayeva and Novruzov also said that Armenia should have been mentioned, as Armenia is undemocratic. All four asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs to demand answers from the U.S. Embassy in Baku regarding how this "misinformation" was given to President Obama. ¶3. (C) After these four speeches, several members of different opposition parties were allowed to speak. They pointedly did not mention President Obama's statement, but instead brought up other key issues for Azerbaijan at present. Arzu Semedbeyli of the Musavat Party changed the subject to the Oil Academy shooting, asking for a parliamentary working group to investigate the incident. Igbal Agazade of the Hope Party asked for details on what President Aliyev and President Sargsian discussed at the May 7 meeting in Prague. Fazil Musatafayev of the Great Formation Party made some proposals to deal with the global financial crisis. ¶4. (C) The speaker then returned the floor to YAP members Mubariz Gurbanli and then Elton Mammadov, who both returned to the discussion of President Obama's statement. Gurbanli stated that Azerbaijan's reputation was damaged by mentioning Azerbaijan next to military regimes, and again blamed the Embassy in Baku for sending incorrect information. He then blamed opposition parties for trying to benefit from the Oil Academy shooting. Mammadov took a different line, saying it was unfair for the U.S. to criticize Azerbaijan "for the closure of a few radio stations." He claimed these foreign radios spread "information that was baseless and against Azerbaijan." ¶5. (C) Despite the fact that there was a long list of MPs waiting to speak, including more opposition members, Speaker Asadov then closed the debate. He stated that the Oil Academy investigation was under the personal control of the President, implying there would be no parliamentary action on it. He then asked the MFA to get more information from the Embassy on President Obama's statement. He then moved to a discussion of some villages which want to change their names, and then allowed Musavat Party member Panah Huseyn to speak. Huseyn used this opportunity to return to the subject of BAKU 00000386 002 OF 002 President Obama's statement, saying he agreed it hurt Azerbaijan's reputation to be mentioned next to Zimbabwe, but that Azerbaijan would continue to be mentioned on these lists until journalists stopped being pressured and all journalists were let out of prison. COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) The YAP MPs fixation on President Obama's statement is unsurprising, given the very negative official reaction to President Bush's statement on last year's World Press Freedom day, which also mentioned Azerbaijan (reftels). The very serious and pressing issues raised by the opposition MPs, however, show a striking contrast to the more narrow focus of the ruling party. In Azerbaijan's power structure, the parliament holds little sway, and the MFA is not likely to follow up on parliament's request for information from the Embassy. Several days earlier Presidential Advisor Novruz Mammadov had already discussed the issue with the Charge. LU