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Elections, Democratization, and Human Rights in Azerbaijan

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Elections, Democratization, and Human Rights in Azerbaijan ELECTIONS, DEMOCRATIZATION, AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN AZERBAIJAN HEARING BEFORE THE COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION MAY 25, 2000 Printed for the use of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe [CSCE 106-2-10] Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.csce.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 2001 67-554PDF For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: (202) 5121800 Fax: (202) 5122250 Mail Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 204020001 COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS HOUSE SENATE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado Chairman Co-Chairman FRANK R. WOLF, Virginia KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas MATT SALMON, Arizona SPENCER ABRAHAM, Michigan JAMES C. GREENWOOD, Pennsylvania SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania TIM HUTCHINSON, Arkansas STENY H. HOYER, Maryland FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland BOB GRAHAM, Florida LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER, New York RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin MICHAEL P. FORBES, New York CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS HAROLD HONGJU KOH, Department of State EDWARD L. WARNER III, Department of Defense PATRICK A. MULLOY, Department of Commerce COMMISSION S TAFF DOROTHY DOUGLAS TAFT, Chief of Staff RONALD J. MCNAMARA, Deputy Chief of Staff BEN ANDERSON, Communications Director ELIZABETH M. CAMPBELL, Office Administrator OREST DEYCHAKIWSKY, Staff Advisor JOHN F. FINERTY, Staff Advisor CHADWICK R. GORE, Staff Advisor ROBERT HAND, Staff Advisor JANICE HELWIG, Staff Advisor MARLENE KAUFMANN, Counsel KAREN S. LORD, Counsel for Freedom of Religion MICHELE MADASZ, Staff Assistant/Systems Administrator MICHAEL J. OCHS, Staff Advisor ERIKA B. SCHLAGER, Counsel for International Law MAUREEN T. WALSH, General Counsel (ii) ELCTIONS, DEMOCRATIZATION, AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN AZERBEIJAN MAY 25, 2000 OPENING STATEMENTS PAGE Hon. Christopher H. Smith ............................................................................. 1 WITNESSES Testimony of Ambassador Daniel Fried, Principal Deputy, Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States, U.S. Department of State .............................................................. 3 Testimony of Hafiz Pashayev, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the United States ........................................................................................... 12 Testimony of Shahin Aliev, Director of the Legislative and Legal Expertise Issues in the Office of the President ............................ 17 Testimony of Nazim Imanov, Deputy Chairman, National Independence Party of Azerbaijan .......................................................... 23 Testimony of Abulfaz Elchibey, Chairman, Azerbaijan Popular Front ..... 25 Testimony of Isa Gambar, Chairman, Mussavat Party .............................. 29 Testimony of Rasul Guliev, Co-Chairman, Azerbaijan Democratic Party .......................................................................................................... 32 Testimony of Dr. Audrey Altstadt, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst .......................................................................... 43 Testimony of Cathy Fitzpatrick, Executive Director, International League for Human Rights ................................................ 46 APPENDICES Prepared Statement of Hon. Christopher H. Smith, ................................... 54 Prepared Statement of Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, ............................ 57 Prepared Submission of Ambassador Daniel Fried .................................... 58 Prepared Submission of Ambassador Hafiz Pashayev ................................ 63 Prepared Submission of Abulfaz Elchibey ................................................... 69 Prepared Submission of Isa Gambar............................................................ 72 Prepared Submission of Rasul Guliev .......................................................... 76 Prepared Submission of Nazim Imanov ....................................................... 81 Prepared Submission of Cathy Fitzpatrick .................................................. 83 (iii) ELECTIONS, DEMOCRATIZATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN AZERBAIJAN THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2000 COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE, WASHINGTON, DC The Commission met in 2255 Rayburn House Office Building, Wash- ington, DC, at 2:00 p.m., the Honorable Christopher H. Smith, Chair- man, presiding. Commissioners present: Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman; Hon. Frank R. Wolf; Hon. Joseph R. Pitts. Witnesses present: Ambassador Daniel Fried, Principal Deputy, Spe- cial Advisor to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States, U.S. Department of State; Clifford Bond, Office Director for Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Hafiz Pashayev, Ambassador of Azerbaijan; Shahin Aliev, Director of the Legislative and Legal Expertise Issues in the Office of the President; Abulfaz Elchibey, Chairman, Azerbaijan Popular Front; Isa Gambar, Chair- man, Mussavat Party; Rasul Guliev, Co-Chairman, Azerbaijan Demo- cratic Party; Nazim Imanov, Deputy Chairman, National Independence Party of Azerbaijan; Dr. Audrey Altstadt, Associate Professor, Univer- sity of Massachusetts, Amherst; and Cathy Fitzpatrick, Executive Di- rector, International League for Human Rights OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, CHAIRMAN Mr. SMITH. The Helsinki Commission will come to order. I welcome all of our guests and witnesses to this hearing, Elections, Democracy and Human Rights in Azerbaijan. This is the latest in a series of hear- ings the Commission has been holding on the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, with more to follow. Today the Commission is focusing on Azerbaijan because of the criti- cally important elections coming up. In November, Azerbaijani voters will elect a new legislature. Observation missions from the OSCEs Office for Democratic Institu- tions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which monitored the 1995 and 1998 parliamentary and presidential elections, concluded that they did not meet OSCE standards. Council of Europe observers gave a harsh as- sessment to the first round of the local elections in December 1999, though they noted improvements in the second round. The conduct of Novembers elections will help define the countrys political orientation and its international reputation. Is Azerbaijan de- veloping toward Western-style electoral democracy or are Soviet pat- terns of controlled elections still prevalent? 2 Unfortunately, to judge by OSCE verdicts on many recent elections, the latter pattern seems dominant throughout much of the former USSR. The assessment of Azerbaijans November election will also help to de- termine whether the country is admitted to the Council of Europe, where it currently has Special Guest status. Domestically, the election offers an historic opportunity for the con- solidation of Azerbaijani society. The legacy of Azerbaijans recent elec- tions has been deep distrust between the government of President Aliev and opposition parties. While opposition parties function in Azerbaijan, publish their newspapers and are represented in Parliament, they face various constraints. With the election approaching fast, opposition parties have reacted with skepticism to assurances from the government that the election will be free and fair. It is essential for the future development of Azerbaijans democracy and for the legitimacy of its leadership that Novembers election is free and fair and the results are accepted by society as a whole. We are well aware that the last dozen years have been turbulent for Azerbaijan. The reestablishment of independence has been accompa- nied by the tragic Nagorno-Karabakh, the loss of territory and massive refugee problems. Moreover, Azerbaijan is in an extraordinarily com- plex region of the world, at the crossroads of civilizations and competing empires, some of which to this day harbor hopes of influencing, if not controlling, the country. Obviously, these are not the most favorable circumstances to over- come the legacy of Soviet rule. Nevertheless, if I may quote Ambassa- dor Nelson Ledsky of the National Democratic Institute or NDI, Azer- baijan is a country where democracy is both necessary and possible. That is a sentiment I fully support. The purpose of this hearing is to publicize the issues surrounding the election in a country with so much promise and such strategic and economic importance for the United States. Finally, I know that today Azerbaijan is celebrating its independence day. I congratulate you, the country of Azerbaijan, and the Commission congratulates you, and wish to express the hope that the November election will strengthen your independence. To discuss Azerbaijans election, democratization and human rights, we have assembled an extremely qualified group of witnesses. Speaking on behalf of the State Department we have Ambassador Daniel Fried. A career Foreign Service Officer, Ambassador Fried has only recently fin- ished his tour in Poland. In fact, he took up his new position as Special Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States only on May 8. That has not given him very much time to acquaint himself with his new set of responsibilities, and we are very appreciative of his willing- ness to come here and present his testimony today. From 1993 to 1997 the
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