Letter of Azerbaijan Diplomatic Commission to President Aliev
His Excellency President Elham Aliyev
Republic of Azerbaijan
Baku, Azerbaijan
Oct 27th, 2010
Mr. President,
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alireza Nazmi Afshar, an Azerbaijani American Turk living in the United States. As the Director of Azerbaijan Diplomatic Commission, I represent the interests of millions of Azerbaijani Turks living abroad. As a native Azerbaijani, I love my country, and one of my highest priorities has always been the welfare of Azerbaijan - both North and South.
At the Second General Assembly of the World Azerbaijanis Congress (DAK) at George Washington University in Washington DC, where I was elected General Secretary, a panel of scholars representing six think-tanks convened. A question was posed to the panel: “Do you think that South Azerbaijan in future will be more aligned to Tehran or Baku?” Mr. Freedman, a member of that panel, gave an insightful response and provided a valuable direction to both countries. His response was: “South Azerbaijan has nothing to do with this determination; the role is in Tehran’s and Baku’s hands - whichever provides better opportunities for democracy, prosperity, freedom, security and pride to its own country and people will be attractive to the people of South Azerbaijan and will be the ultimate direction for them."
Mr. President, that comment of thirteen years ago is the reason for this letter.
Republic of Azerbaijan is the only government that officially represents Azerbaijanis all over the world, and we believe that the government of Azerbaijan is failing in its role as standard-bearer to Azerbaijanis all over the world. For us, the Araxes River is just an imposed border to acknowledge two neighboring countries and administrative responsibilities; it is not a border between people. What is needed today is a government of Azerbaijan that puts the unity, the prosperity, and the future of all Azerbaijanis first, and not its own short-term self-interests. Mr. President, we wish our Azerbaijan to be the country that sets an example of democracy, transparency and freedom. We wish our government in Baku to be an example of protecting and promoting all voices, regardless of the self interest of the people in power. We wish to see the selfish, and undemocratic political processes structured with a Mafia mentality and style, inherited from old regime eliminated, rather than promoted, expanded, and institutionalized by the Government.
We, of the South, believe that Karabagh is the bleeding wound of all Azerbaijanis until our people settle back in their land and the occupation is ended. Few years ago, I worked very closely with the US authorities, preparing for the meeting between President George W. Bush and President Putin in London for this issue. With such an abundance of new and critical information, the US authorities’ questions to President Putin caused him to break off the meeting unexpectedly. We ask: “Why does your team not reveal such information to the public? Why does your team not pursue this issue with the same fervor?”
Mr. President, Azerbaijanis in the South, just like their brothers and sisters in the North, are people of dignity and intelligence; we espouse real human rights and are forward-thinking. We as Azerbaijani Diaspora all over the world wish to see political debate and serious discussion of issues by our elected officials on our TV and honest reporting of events. We have one million refugees not properly represented. We have a significant portion of our land occupied and our case is not well challenged. We wish that you, rather than walking a fine line to keep Mr. Putin and his Armenian allies politically happy, and your oil partners in the U.S. financially happy, would utilize and rally the mind and energy of all patriotic Azerbaijanis, especially those who are not in your circle of interest in Baku. They love this country as much as you do, if not more.
Mr. Aliyev, we have qualified men in North Azerbaijan to assist the country with its serious issues. Where are they now? Where is Mr. Farhad Aliyev? Is he jailed because of one wrong comment from Ms. Madeleine Albright: “He can run the country for you?” I had gathered a group of American investors including top management of RUSH international hospitals and invited them to Baku. Of all the members of your father’s last cabinet, Mr. Farhad Aliyev was the only man who put the country’s interests before his, the only man who asked what is best for the people. Why we do not hear from Mr. Isa Qenber? Where is Ali Karimli? They are decent, honest and patriotic men. They do not blindly obey those in power, and it is precisely for this reason that they should be given a voice. In a truly great country, a truly great leader has the courage to give voice to dissent.
Elections in Azerbaijan are in a matter of days. In Azerbaijan and the world at large, your reelection may be a foregone conclusion. However, this election is but a brief moment in time. The election of one man, the continued hold on power of one family cannot and will not last forever, even not the 25 years that was promised in the oil deals. The country of Azerbaijan will in the future be a truly democratic country – representing the interests 40 million Azerbaijanis world-over.
My last objection is for your approach to our human right movement in the South Azerbaijan. Mr. President your role is very dangerous, your interference is in a very bad faith, and your result is in the favor of “Persian chauvinism- Islamic Republic”. I will address this issue separately later.
Your father, his Excellency President Heydar Aliyev, was a great leader and our nation owes him a great deal. As we stand here today, you have the opportunity to carry on his legacy and build one of your own.
Mr. President, you can be a truly visionary leader – one that history will judge fairly – by leading this country into a truly democratic future or you can choose the past riddled with corruption and narrow-mindedness. I encourage you to look to future, to look to your place in history.
God Bless Freedom
God bless the great nation of Azerbaijan
Dr. Alireza Nazmi Afshar
Azerbaijan Diplomatic Commission
San Francisco, California USA
CC:
President Barak Obama, Washington, D.C.
Vice President Joe Biden, Washington, D.C.
Ms. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State
General James Logan Jones, Jr., National Security Advisor
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, United State House of Representatives
Senator John Kerry, Chairman of Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Senator John Sidney McCain III, United State Senate
Excellency Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United