Democratic Values in the History of Azerbaijan
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AZERBAIJAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC – 90 DEMOCRATIC VALUES IN THE HISTORY OF AZERBAIJAN edited by Leila Alieva The Center for National and International Studies Áàêu – 2009 Az2 Published by the Centre for National and International Studies with the support of National Endowment for Democracy (USA) Baku, Azerbaijan www.cnis-baku.org The Center for National and International Studies (CNIS). Democratic values in the history of Azerbaijan. (edited by Leila Alieva) Baku, Qanun, 2009, -288 p. Translator: Emil Gazi English language editor: Ann Dubina Design: Fakhriye Mamedova, Sahib Ganiyev ISBN 978-9952-26-068-7 Q 1500005104 AB022051 Az2 Qanun, 2009 CNIS CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 4 THE HISTORY AND PROSPECTS OF PARLIAMENTARIANISM IN AZERBAIJAN (The city of Sheki 8 November 2008) .......................................... 7 EUROPE AND AZERBAIJAN: 100 YEARS AFTER (Ganja 20 December 2008) .......................... 36 OIL RESERVES AND MARKET REFORMS IN AZERBAIJAN: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (The Salyan conference 17 January 2009) ................................... 70 AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF LOCAL SELF GOVERNMENT TRADITIONS IN AZERBAIJAN (The town of Barda, 27 March 2009) ......................................... 91 THE TRADITIONS AND CURRENT DEVELOPMENT OF AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISM (Shirvan conference 25 April 2009) ......................................... 127 REFORMS IN AZERBAIJANI AGRICULTURE IN PRE - AND POST-SOVIET ERA (The city of Quba 21 February 2009) ....................................... 164 WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN AZERBAIJAN: BACK TO THE FUTURE (The town of Masalli 23 May 2009) ...................... 197 INDEPENDENCE OF COURTS: PAST AND PRESENT (The town of Balakan 27 June 2009) ........................................ 240 BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES OF THE LECTURERS ......................... 275 Democratic values in the history of Azerbaijan / 3 INTRODUCTION This publication details the proceedings of eight round tables which the Centre for National and International Studies com- pleted in 2008-2009 in the regions of Azerbaijan. These conferences were conducted in Sheki, Ganja, Salyan, Shirvan, Guba, Masalli, Balakan and Barda in connection with the 90th anniversary of the first democratic republic of Azer- baijan - the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic - of 1918-1920. Due to some technical problems with recording, some parts of these conferences have not made it into this publication, but it still covers nearly all the important presentations and debates. The project, supported by the National Endowment for De- mocracy, covered 8 topics which reflected the most pressing issues of the transition viewed from an historical perspective. It includes traditions of parliamentarianism in Azerbaijan (Sheki), problems of Azerbaijan's integration in Europe (Ganja), the in- terlinked influence of oil and reforms (Salyan), traditions and problems of Azerbaijani journalism (Shirvan), agricultural re- forms (Guba), gender issues (Masalli), self - governance (Barda) and an independent judiciary (Balakan). The importance of the historical perspective in the formation of a national identity is obvious. There were well-known attempts in the last century to rewrite history, in particular during Soviet times, to make people forget their past and to create a new Soviet identity. Yet despite the decades of persecution and attempts to delete the historical memory, Azerbaijani identity, in particular, based 4 / Azerbaijan Democratic Republic – 90 on pre-Soviet experience of the formation of the modern nation state - the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic of 1918-1920 - sur- vived and laid the basis for a revived independent Azerbaijani state in the 1990's. Thus, history is vital for an increased awareness of one's own place and role in the world, and in terms of national and indi- vidual identity. Another no less important question is how new the experience of building democracy really is for Azerbaijanis. Ongoing deba- tes, both domestic and international, are concerned with the capacity of the people and nation to reform and to draw closer to the ideals of the free world. This also touches upon the issue of how European are Azerbaijanis and what the prospects are for the country's integration into Europe. The historical context makes a significant contribution to these debates, demonstrating that even one hundred years ago, when the population of the country was not so educated or modern- ized, many attributes of democracy and democratic institutions could be found in Azerbaijan. This is the best reminder of the significant reform potential of the Azerbaijani people. And last but by no means least is a review and re-assessment of these historical lessons. This is always a useful exercise which allows us to develop a more objective view of the events of the past and the current situation, along with defining the reform potential of a people in transition. Democratic values in the history of Azerbaijan / 5 One of the aims of this project was also to show people that an alternative exists of open debates which are free from ideology and propaganda. The people attending these conferences were of different ages, ethnic backgrounds, sexes and professional backgrounds. The expectations of the editor were fully realized - participants in all the regions got involved in sincere, intelligent and free dis- cussions on truly topical issues, demonstrating openness and motivated by free thinking, with a talent for deep and refined understanding of the topics under debate. The editor would like to express her gratitude to everyone who participated in realizing this project - first and foremost to the coordinator Aydin Balayev, local coordinators and speakers. My gratitude also goes out to assistants, volunteers and staff of the CNIS, whose help was invaluable at every stage of the project - Khuraman Bagirova, Gultekin Ramazanova, Tutu Isayeva, Sabi- na Salmanova, Mehseti Tahirzade, Ali Novruzov, Elvin Babayev. Leila Alieva 6 / Azerbaijan Democratic Republic – 90 THE HISTORY AND PROSPECTS OF PARLIAMENTARIANISM The city of Sheki IN AZERBAIJAN 8 November 2008 Leyla Aliyeva: Dear participants of the conference! We decided to hold the first of the eight conferences planned within the framework of the project "Democratic traditions in Azerbaijani history" in your beautiful city. Our Centre for National and International Studies is an inde- pendent organization. We are trying to ensure that our research and surveys are as objective as possible. We investigate and analyze developments in our country and events in internation- al relations. I would like to speak a little about the city of Sheki. I have heard a lot about this city since I was a child. The image of Sheki is linked mainly with the Sheki accent, silk, headscarf and jokes. But several years ago, I read an interesting article in the USA. The author of this article was a professor of New York University, Bruce Grant. Several years ago, he lived in the Sheki village of Bash Shabalid for several months and wrote a won- derful article about its history. After I read the article, I felt that with their bravery, Sheki residents defended the image of the freedom loving people of Azerbaijan. Bruce Grant proved with historical facts that until the 1930's, Sheki residents coura- geously and bravely resisted the Bolsheviks. It is a great honour for me to hold our first conference in Sheki. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the ADR. This is the most important date in our history, because development of Azerbaijan's democratic traditions peaked in May 1918. We have come here with well-known scholars to hold this confer- ence. There is the well-known historian of the Azerbaijan Na- tional Academy of Sciences and doctor of science, Aydin Balayev, and one of the researchers of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Democratic values in the history of Azerbaijan / 7 and historian, Kamran Ismayilov. I would like to give the floor to Aydin Balayev. Aydin Balayev: - Dear participants of the conference! As you know, prior to the ADR parliament, a number of Eastern countries had set up organizations that called themselves parliaments. For example, there was a parliament in Turkey in the 19th century. But this par- liament was a parody of a real parliament, because its members only said "yes" in response to the decisions taken by the sultan. From this point of view, the first parliament, which was truly based on a multi-party system, started work on 7 December 1918. The heated discussions between various factions in this parliament demonstrated the true meaning of a real parliament. The speakers at our conference today are Habibulla Manafli, the historian Kamran Ismayilov and the lawyer Erkin Qadirli. With your permission, I would first of all like to give the floor to Kamran Ismayilov. I should tell you that discussions will be held after the report of each speaker. Kamran Ismayilov: - Dear participants of the conference! First of all, I would like to say that I am very pleased to be here with you. Leyla told the participants about Sheki's role in Azerbaijani history. At a con- ference which we held here in Sheki two months ago, we spoke about Sheki's role in Azerbaijani history. At that time, we decid- ed to write a big monograph that reflects the history of Sheki. The monograph is now about to be completed. Indeed, Sheki is a region that has played a great role in Azerbaijan's history of national statehood. As an historian, I 8 / Azerbaijan Democratic Republic – 90 would like to say that