World's best airport in a country with best camouflage skills

So The Jakarta Post published this list of 13 best airports in the world. It is awesome to see Azerbaijan's new international airport featured on the list, and I am not surprised our media outlets picked up on the story.

What is however interesting is that how Azernews does not mention much about tourism stats or the point Jakarta Post makes about the importance of airports:

According to Citylab, airports play a crucial role in economic development as it moves people. The number of passengers and flights is said to be related to economic output, wages and income. Fortunately, more and more airports are being upgraded and modernized, giving comfort to passengers and supporting a country's economy.

According to the most recent stats, as shared by the Ministry of Culture, a total of 1.8million tourists visited Azerbaijan in 2017. The highest number of tourists are from Russia, followed by Georgia, Iran, Turkey, UAE, and others.   

And yet, our own citizens prefer going to neighboring Georgia for holidays such as New Year. The close distance, lower prices, friendly environment are certainly important in this decision. Even though Azerbaijan Tourism Association disagrees. It is not the low prices that attract Azerbaijani tourists but the closeness of the country. I think we should ask Azerbaijanis who travel there. I am sure price, quality and diversity would certainly have something to do with it. It is also easier to travel to Georgia as there are no visa requirements and although Azerbaijan is working to improve its visa handling through notorious ASAN service we are yet to see the results and impact on the country's tourism industry.

Now back to the discussion of economic development and the role of the airports. Y'all know about levels of corruption in Azerbaijan so who knows how much money was swept under the carpet during the construction of this airport. And since Y'all know all about how "caring" our leadership is towards its people, I don't have to tell you that the only economic development that can be a topic of discussion in Azerbaijan, is the economic wealth of the ruling family and its closest. 

Independence of institutions are nominal and all of the power is vested within the executive. The imitation of the multiparty system has been stellar even though those who are familiar with the country are aware that this is indeed an imitation and tolerance only extends to those parties who are supportive of the regime and its policies. Within such carefully built system, it is not surprising that the country's economy is and its capital is divided among families and the rumors of vibrant economic development are just rumors (or perhaps they are affecting state coffers only while leaving the general public out). 

According to this report, while in developed countries GDP per capita aligns with the average salary level, in Azerbaijan, the GDP per capita is almost 10 times the average salary. 

So while its great that Azerbaijan's international airport made it into the ranking, it would be grand to see the local media cover the economic development aspect with a bit more realistic analysis but then, if Azernews did that, it is likely it won't be around and available to its readers which is the case with a number of other independent and opposition media. But that's another blog entrance. 

Now, while I recommend visiting my beautiful home, I suggest staying away from glitz and glamor that sometimes can be too much and visit the countryside, go hiking in the mountains and enjoy the delicious national cuisine. And bear in mind that there are many hidden stories of struggle, poverty, and corruption on the streets of the City of Winds. 

Aliyev's mask is finally off

It just keeps getting better and better. After appointing his wife as VP, intimidating family members of dissident activists living abroad, president Aliyev's minions go after popular video blogger, author of numerous videos critical of the government and its officials of their lavish life styles. Court in Baku sentenced Mehman Huseynov to two years on charges of slander. 

This is important. Huseynov is the first journalist/blogger to be openly sentenced for slander. So the mask is finally off for president Aliyev. No need for cover ups and camouflages. And why should he be hiding anymore anyway. He has changed the constitution, secured presidency for life, violated every single possible human rights convention Azerbaijan signed up to and got away with it, made his wife his vice president. 

Mehman's sentence means that the government in Azerbaijan no longer needs to hide its true colors; that more arrests will follow [not that there were many independent voices left anyway] and that we have successfully transitioned to being banana republic (not that we were too far from  becoming one). 

I think someone should tell one of Aliyev's minions they should add that description into one of Aliyev's speeches where he boasts about democracy, freedoms, modernism and so on. "In addition to many strengths of our country, we have also successfully built a banana republic".

***Updated
Also today, court extended pre-trial detention period of Faig Amirli, finance director at opposition Azadliq newspaper by three months;
Another court extended pre-trial detention of political activist Fuad Ahmadli by three months;
And yet another court extended pre-trial detention of another journalist Elchin Ismayilli until June;

Vice Presidency for your own, intimidation for others

So the news of Mehriban Aliyeva, the wife of current president of Ilham Aliyev being appointed first VP traveled fast and for many has been a matter of ridiculing. 

It is pretty easy system- you are from the family, you get pampered, you get to do what you want, but if you are not... Then it is a whole other story. 

Just like the story of Netherlands based video blogger Ordukhan Babirov whose family members have been detained and questioned over the blogger's political activities outside of Azerbaijan. 

Or the story of Germany based rapper Jamal Ali. 

Or the story of 100 something political prisoners. 

Or like the stories of recently detained and sentenced to administrative detention activists: Rahim Shaliyev, Amil Mammadzade, Elchin Ismayilli, Farasat Ahmadov, Elvin Behremov and Namig Abbasaliyev. 

Or like the stories of so many others whose names we don't know. 

Yes, it is good to be part of the Aliyev family and be untouchable. 

Short update on Azerbaijan (written for a separate publication, reposting here)

On September 26, 2016 Azerbaijan confirmed the adoption of 29 constitutional amendments, strengthening the power vested in the hands of the ruling regime. Similar to previous elections, September Referendum took place not without election fraud and violations. Videos, interviews, and independent reporting documenting these violations was swept under the carpet as per business as usual. As a result next presidential elections in Azerbaijan will take place in 2020 rather than in 2018 as the presidential term limit were extended from 5 to 7 years. Among other changes are right granted to the incumbent president to call for early elections; dissolve the parliament; and appoint a first vice president who would replace the current president as his constitutional successor. In addition, minimum age for running in parliamentary and presidential elections was reduced to 18 years of age and so on. In a statement issued by the Venice Commission "proposed amendments would severely upset the balance of power by giving unprecedented powers to the president". 

Ali Hasanov, presidential aide described the changes as necessary in order for the government to work more efficiently. For those familiar with this small nation on the shores of the Caspian and rich in energy resources, official Baku already had all the powers it needed to run a country already constrained by corruption, appalling press freedom and human rights record. On January 24, court sentenced independent journalist Rovshan Mammadov to 30 days of administrative detention. Earlier, court sentenced member of youth organization N!DA to a similar charge while fining popular citizen journalist and blogger Mehman Huseynov for allegedly resisting police. Court in Baku in addition sentenced to other members of N!DA movement to ten years in jail on bogus drug possession charges while many critics of the regime saw this sentence as a grave punishment for the two men drawing graffiti on the statue of the late presindent on Flower day, which is know to celebrate late President, Heydar Aliyev's birthday. In addition to the case of Rovshan Mammadov and Mehman Huseynov, at least five other journalists have been arrested or detained by the authorities in recent months including Afgan Sadygov; Zamin Haji, Ikram Rahimov, Fikret Faramazoglu, and Teymur Kerimov according to monitoring by press freedom watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists. 

In the meantime the country witnessed second devaluation and price hikes, which according to the country's independent economists are direct result of mismanagement of the country's economy including wrong economic policies of diversification, presence of monopolies, and rampant corruption. Just weeks ahead of the September Referendum, Bloomberg reported about a halt in foreign currency sales as local currency manat continued to depreciate while demand by businesses and households soared. 

Overall, given the circumstances, there is little space for positive projection for 2017 as restrained conditions remain across the country and regime in Baku continues to push for its personal gains over country wide and much needed and long time overdue reforms.

A note for the Queen

Its been a while since I have made an entry here.

Busy times, and depressing news lines with an exception of occasional good stories here and there have not been too motivating. Just because things are, to put it gently are shit.

Back home crackdown continues unabated. Money is laundered and no one is to take responsibility for what is going on only to blame "others" whoever those others are still a mystery to me.

But then, I stumbled upon a status update shared on Facebook. It was not really a status update but a letter to the Queen of England herself. Below you may find rough translation of the status that for Russian speakers you may find here.

"Thoughts of provincial biopolitics 8 or an open letter to the Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Her Majesty Elizabeth II. 

“Nobody tells me anything…” 

 James Galsworthy

You Majesty, Ilham Murtuzayev speaking here, from Azerbaijan. I would like to congratulate you albeit belatedly on your 90th birthday and wish you good health and well-being. However, in this regard, I have a delicate request to make. 

As far as we are allowed to know, our country, namely the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, has allocated a lump sum to celebrate your anniversary. 

I am 67 years old and I have about 50 years’ of professional experience. Currently, my pension is around 50-60GB pounds per month. One million pensioners in Azerbaijan receive approximately the same amount. 

I imagine it would be difficult for you to understand how one survives on this amount, and I won't even try explaining it to you. Perhaps, our president also does not know. 

That is why I hope you would understand my delicate request and refund this money to the poor Azerbaijani pensioners. 

Maybe you would want to donate this sum to a charity, but to paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, one can say “Good purposes cannot be reached by bad money”.

I understand that this will not affect my pension (and neither it will yours) and I may as well be accused of international terrorism, religious extremism, drug or weapon trafficking and so on. 

Thank you, Your Majesty. 

Using this opportunity and while I have access to Internet, I would also like to appeal to some of the countries which also receive our money, and ask them not to build various centres, parks, monuments and etc. with the money of poor Azerbaijani pensioners. 

Even religious structures do not recommend that one engages with charity to the detriment of one’s own interests. However, in this case I am not sure that personal interests are being hurt. 

For example, about a year ago, we, a group of citizens from Gusar city sent a letter to the Haydar Aliyev Foundation asking to save from destruction our very ancient city park which has a 200-year-old history. We never received even an answer. 

However, the same Haydar Aliyev Foundation built an entertainment centre in Paris. 

It is hard to stay happy in such cases. I am kindly asking world communities to stop organizing “Eurovision”, “Formula 1”, European and other Olympic games in Azerbaijan. Also, please do not send always-smiling OSCE and other observers to Azerbaijan during various referendums, election monitoring and etc. Or, at least, please choose those who are allergic to black caviar. 

The same smiling observers visited Syria many times. It would be great to send them there nowadays.  

Azerbaijan has a lifetime prime minister, and other ministers (who have privatized their ministries), deputies (who were elected by no one) and even an ombudsman has been here for a lifetime?! 

On 26th September we had the referendum (I even saw three people who went to vote) and now, to call things by their names, even Mr President is here for life. 

80-90 per cent of goods in our country’s grocery stores are imported from Russia, Iran, Belarus, Ukraine and even Georgia!? We don’t even produce plastic buckets. The Baku – Russian border highway (250 km long) has been under construction for almost ten years. One billion US dollars has been spent on it. All the people involved in it have already bought houses, villas in London, Istanbul, Prague and elsewhere. 

But the highway is still under construction. When one section of road is ready, they immediately start to repair the previous one. 

Today is 28th October 2016. We are in Gusar city. There has been no gas since this morning, and at 5pm just when our residents were looking forward to getting their gas back, the electricity went down as well. It is exactly the same like it was 20 years ago…"

I think this letter sums up pretty well the shit show taking place in Azerbaijan right now or shall I say, taking place for the last 20 years? 

12 million for branding but only 275 euros for a family who lost their home

So here is the deal, president Aliyev love to splurge. Yes, we all know that by now. He loves to splurge for himself, for his family and of course, for his country. And splurging comes in various amounts, shapes and forms. You need a museum, lets splurge. The State Oil Company needs a new glass building, lets splurge, you get the picture. 

The other kind of splurging comes in a package titled "image branding". That kind of splurging takes a whole lot of $$$€€€ and Azerbaijani Manats. We have done a lot of this kind of splurging too. The Eurovision, the Flame Towers, the Flag Pole, the European Games, the F1. We have hosted a whole series of conferences and summits that only our part of the world seems to know about although rarely gets to hear about it. 

The most recent image branding activity took place not long ago in Baku as part of the 42nd Chess Olympiad. The government reportedly spent some 12million EUR covering all costs of international competitors. If you don't remember, we also picked up the tab during the European Games. In fact, this is becoming just like an old Azeri habit of picking up the bill when you are out with guests. 

How generous of us. 

And while over 300 guest players got to enjoy lavish opening on September 1, kilometers away from the capital a family in Serek village struggled to grab attention of local media as well as the government officials as they were forced to sleep outside when their old home got heavily damaged as a result of a heavy rain.  

The family has asked pretty much every government institution for help but so far they have had little success. In fact, all they have been promised was 275eur to buy some construction material. The mother of three and the owner of the house is not happy. "What can you buy with that? We lost everything, what kind of treatment is this?" 

She has a point. But will anyone budge? 

The opening of the chess tournament featured glitz and glamour as per usual. Image branding was a success this time as well but what about the people?  

Your first name is Free, Last name is Dom but not in a country where you will perform

I enjoy Pharrell William's music. It is on my running play list. His songs have a tendency to impact you and generally put you in a good mood. 

But now I am asking myself whether I should continue listening to him since he is scheduled to "perform" in Azerbaijan for the opening of the European Grand Prix on June 19. 

The announcement came today. The local online news outlet Report, said Pharrell will be taking stage together with other stars such as Chris Brown, and Enrique Iglesias. I don't really care about those two but Pharrell was certainly a disappointment. 

The concert is closed to public by the way and only holders of Formula 1 race tickets will be able to attend. 

Such a fall for Pharrell especially when you tune in into his "Freedom" song. 

"Your first name is Free,

Last name is Dom"

he sings, and all is left for me to add "but not in a country where you will perform".

Seeing these names appear on the line up for the opening is not surprising. My country and its leadership have a tendency to spend big money to get big starts come and perform. Last year, people watched Lady Gaga perform rendition of Imagine of which she left some parts out and was allegedly paid 2millionUSD for 10 minutes of stage time. Maybe it was her revenge for keeping her locked inside a hotel room for 3 days prior to her performance. 

Keeping people locked up is something the government of Azerbaijan is well accustomed to do. You all know the stories of activists, rights defenders, journalists who end up in jails of Azerbaijan. And trust me, they are not paid 2million$ for sure. 

I wonder now what Pharrell is charging for his performance in an authoritarian state and will he too stay locked up inside his hotel room?

p.s.: the list of stars goes on including Shakira and  Rihanna who performed at FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2012. 

Let's get married... At the Olympic Stadium!

For a while now, we have known much too well that some of the decisions made by the authorities in Azerbaijan aren't always the brightest and are not always [or shall I say not at all?] intended for the people. 

Now, take of instance the Olympic Stadium the government spent over $640million for unnecessary European Games which neither the people nor the country with devalued currency really needed to host. Now that the faith of the next Games hangs by a threat [not that there was much hope anyway from the start] and following second devaluation, and crisis in the country, there has been a decision to use the venue for weddings. "You can hold smaller banquets and weddings", reads the announcement on the official website.  

Now for glitz and glamour drive some very wealthy Azerbaijanis this is wonderful news. Because not many could afford a wedding celebration that would cost 100-150AZN per head [this just makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time thinking about struggling families, men and women barely making a minimum wage and managing to survive]. 

So basically the rich will party, and what not a better way to party than on the Olympic Stadium- imagine the stories you can tell your friends years later- we got marred on the stadium! 

One of the officials to embrace the idea was the Minister of Sports who said he has actually seen this happen in Madrid. So curious me went on Google to find out the lucky couples who have tied the knot in Madrid. Unfortunately I didn't find anything. Wonder if the Minister could share some of the examples. 

For those making profits out of this, this might mean good cash. Who knows who is behind this "wonderful" idea?! 

And here is another recent development lacking any common sense. At least to me. Remember the Formula 1 race Azerbaijan is to host this June? Well, turns out it isn't just a one time thing. Apparently, there is a contract Azerbaijan signed and it ought to comply for the next five years with all the requirements and if need be host as many races because that's part of the deal. And that if it refuses to comply it will have to pay a hefty fine! 

Just a small reminder that officially these games are costing Azerbaijan $12million. Unofficially there is a talk about 150million.The minister of Youth and Sports was quick to dismiss the latter saying soon there will be official reports on all of the spending [please bring me popcorn when and if that happens] and that there is no way it can cost 150million but failed to provide any sensible breakdown of all expenditures [because apparently it would be very difficult for him to sight all the figures- haha! humor me place!] 

In the meantime, the government found ways to "save" on other things like for instance cutting off electricity after 10pm. 

Of course, who cares about the homes where there is no heating and the only heating there is comes from electric heaters and so on. Who cares about homes where there are babies. Who cares that there are elderly people. Who cares! And thats the whole logic of this country. Because nobody cares. Not one decision maker on top does not care or has something else in their heads instead of brains. 

I wonder if this curfew also would extend to Olympic Stadium weddings...

Who needs Formula 1 in Azerbaijan?

The answer is simple- because Aliyev wants to have it. Full stop. 

All the talk about the image, obligations, modernity is all bla bla and nothing more than a caprice of a leader (or his teenager son). 

So I just want to make it clear, that this is the only reason Azerbaijan is hosting Formula 1. 

According to the State budget of 2016 193.3million manats were allocated for international activities and fees to international organizations. This includes 71.3million maintenance costs for the country's diplomatic corps; 32million for the payment of the country's share in international financial and loan organizations and fees for membership to social and political organizations [???]; 90million for costs of other international activities. 

But nowhere in the budget we are told what these "international activities" are and which social and political organizations Azerbaijan is a member of for which it pays its dues.  

But turns out it is ok. Because Azerbaijan needs this. Or President does. Vakhid Akhundov thinks it is not a bad idea to spend some of the country's currency reserves on games- because who the hell cares about the fact that people are hungry and that we really do not need another event of such proportions for which we have no clue how much we are paying because the government is refusing to fully disclose its expenditure.

Like here, where the sports minister Azad Rahimov makes a claim that the budget is less than 150million but how much it is exactly he also does not say because apparently to recite the whole budget is "too difficult". He does mention however the 12million manat spent for the roads, and 30million spent on the pit stop. The rest is a mystery. Just like every other big international event where budgets were kept under strict control.

But the problem at the end of the day, isn't about how much we are spending on this event or any other thats in the pipeline. The problem is that we should not be hosting it in the first place. Not when we should be channeling all our financial resources in making lives of average Azerbaijanis easier amid the on-going crisis.

Australian politicians join the caravan, unable to resist the "lure" of Azerbaijan caviar diplomacy

What could be better than an all-expense paid trip to Azerbaijan in return for a little praising, shoulder patting and love?! 

Nothing, not in the case of Australian politicians at least. 

Reading this piece titled "War of words over shuttle diplomacy in Azerbaijan" I was not really surprised that Australian politicians have joined the caravan of other international folks who give in to the sweet-talk of business class flights, dinners and so on in return for a few favors.   

And looks like they don't even mind it.

Well hell ya?! Who would not be impressed when they are shown only what their hosts want their guests to see which probably was nothing by luxury and prosperity as well as "tolerance, economic development, political stability".

But my favorite part of the story was this line: 

Hmm... because these countries are surely just as "tolerant"?

Ay ay ay... and all of this to support Azerbaijan's calls to liberate Nagorno Karabakh and recognize illegal occupation of its 7 adjacent territories.

But instead of having other countries do the recognition, the blaming and so on, it would be so much better if all this "effort" was put in practice by the Azerbaijan authorities to actually do something about liberating the territories. "international recognition" won't change anything unless genuine efforts are made on behalf of the government of Azerbaijan. And that is that.

Ah Mallory from Huffington Post...

What does a board-certified nurse practitioner in psychiatry and founding partner of BabyNames.com have to do with parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan? In a normal world nothing but in a world where glitz can blind some people the connection isn't hard to find. 

Ms. Mallory Moss visited Azerbaijan and not just once mind you. In fact she wrote about her first visit to Azerbaijan here where she describes at length about her fears of visiting a muslim country, her prejudices and her pleasant surprise upon arrival to Azerbaijan that all her fears were unsubstantiated.  

Turns out, Moss's perception of Azerbaijan pleased the two sides so much that she received a visa to travel back to Azerbaijan this year to "observe" the parliamentary elections as Trend.az reports. 

I tried really hard tracking down the "US Foreign policy news website" where the article originally was "published" but all I was able to find were websites with references to the original story, which all pointed to Trend. 

I even checked Moss's HuffingtonPost profile but couldn't find anything there either.

I hope it is just my inability to find the original article and not Trend.az making up a story that was never written. 

But just in case it was indeed published on some "US Foreign policy news website", here are some of the quotes I wanted to highlight here: 

“Azerbaijan has a well-earned reputation for its progressiveness, tolerance of religious and ethnic groups and as pro-Western strategic outlook, the author wrote. “The voters were calm and genuinely interested and involved in the process. Fail safe measures were undertaken, including identification requirements, ink spray, and ballot tracking.”

“In fact, according to my sources, the government of Azerbaijan was willing to allow OSCE to observe, but wanted to simply know why the stringencies of the system would surpass any other country in the world.”

“There was transparency, both internally and externally. Gerrymandering is non-existent and the Azerbaijanis genuinely wish to have a free and fair election process,” the author wrote.

Can someone please explain to me how a nurse from US arrives in Azerbaijan to observe elections and has all of a sudden"sources" that advice and inform her on such matters as OSCE ODIHR mission decision to withdraw? 

Can also someone explain to me how an observer who doesn't speak Azerbaijani concluded that "voters were genuinely interested and involved in the process"? 

And finally can someone please explain it to me why Moss would write something as fictional as this, despite the country having over 70 political prisoners, its best people in jails, no space for any kind of freedoms? 

Perhaps Ms.Moss herself could explain this to me?  

*The original link to the foreign policy news website was found. I thank everyone who sent me the link to the original source. It is here. Bud doubts remain on how "well known" and "well respected" this news outlet really is.

Azerbaijan on mute

In Azerbaijan, the judicial system is a black hole. Rarely do cases get resolved. The judiciary is a corrupt institution with its judges scoring golden stars by their mere ruthless behavior in courts. And this is more so the case when it comes to Azerbaijan's political prisoners or as many international rights watchdogs call them, prisoners of conscience. 

Having a fair trial as a political prisoner in the country is unimaginable. They make you feel helpless no matter how many lawyers you have, no matter how much evidence there is that proves clearly you are innocent. 

Turns out there is more they can actually do to silence you. 

Recently the Ministry of Justice installed "glass cages" as opposed to normal holding cells installed inside the court rooms. The defendant has a microphone but its control is in the hands of the presiding judge.

And so, when the voice of Khadija Ismayil was "muted" during her preliminary hearing on October 15 it was not at all surprising. The judge clearly was not interested in her commentary and perhaps he was not interested in her case at all. Not only have they silenced her by putting her in jail on bogus charges, preventing her from doing her job as a journalist, but now they are trying to mute her completely, not even let her speak at the court. 

During Leyla Yunus and Arif Yunus preliminary hearing which also took place yesterday, their microphone was not even on so the couple had no idea what is being discussed inside the court room at all.

So where is tolerance in that? The tolerance that Mehriban Aliyeva was proudly boasting about just few weeks ago in Paris? Where is democracy in that? The one that President Aliyev talks about all the time? Where is respect for your own citizens?

There isn't one. The government of Azerbaijan has no tolerance or respect for its very own people. It treats them like animals, keeping them on a leash and feeds them propaganda and gets away with it just fine in an unjust system that only benefits those who are ready to suck up and lose their humanness or throw it down the toilet for comforts of life and Aliyev- style security.

Welcome to muted Azerbaijan ladies and gentleman.

So where is the development you all talk about?

I came across this photo series on AzadliqRadiosu earlier today as I was browsing news.

It is terrible, it is sad, and it is a reminder and stark contrast to what President Aliyev always LOVES talking about- Azerbaijan's development on all fronts. 

Aliyev often says Azerbaijan is great. Or that Azerbaijan succeeded at this or that. And all too often his minions love to say its because everyone is jealous of Azerbaijan that they keep criticizing the country. 

Well I am pretty darn sure, that noone in Europe or the Western world will be jealous of these pictures.  Or the state of this clinic that supposed to help people in need.

So where is this amazing, wonderful, over the top development that Ilham Aliyev likes to talk about? I do not see it in these pictures, that is for sure.

I dare President Aliyev and his lovely family of fashionistas come and get treated at this clinic

Yes, this is what Europe is jealous of!

Forget about sanitary just think for a moment, we boat of Haydar Aliyev Cultural Centers, Flame Towers, Highest Flag Poles but our Ministry of Health can boast about rotten medical buildings

I dare Azerbaijan's Minister of Health to come and get his teeth done here!

Aliyev is suing French channel for calling him a despot

But President Aliyev is forgetting that France isn't Azerbaijan and while in Azerbaijan he can hire and buy out a whole court and prosecutor office to do as he pleases, things don't work the same way in France.

Last week, French TV aired an investigative piece (to me also work of art) about President Aliyev, his by now mastered caviar diplomacy, the country's corruption levels and poor rights record. Cash Investigation- the brain behind the show and its host, French journalist Elise Lucet was able to attend the opening gala of a photo exhibition ironically titled "Azerbaijan- the land of tolerance". Not only Lucet was able to attend the opening but she also was able to ask few questions to Mehriban Aliyev who was there (of course how could she not!) as the head of Heydar Aliyev Foundation who also happened to be the chief sponsor of the event.

Here is brief conversation:

Elise Lucet: Is your country really a land of tolerance?

Mehriban Aliyeva: Land of tolerance? Of course, it is. 

Elise Lucet: Because you have many political prisoners in jail right now in Azerbaijan.

Mehriban Aliyeva: It is not true. Just get correct information.

Elise Lucet: Do you know Leyla Yunus [repeats the question twice] or Khadija Ismayilova? They are in jail! They have been sentenced from 7.5 to 8.5 years in jail.

Needles to say, Lucet shortly after [like within seconds] was kicked all the way to the back of the crowd because security [of course] didnt like the questions. Even if Lucet tried explaining to the security that she is French journalist and that this was France the security was quick to say "This was not a press conference". He then asked her to "Please be silent [repeating it a few times] Be quiet!"

Anyhow, you can watch the whole show, and you are in luck especially if you are French speaker.

Turns out, the ruling family was unhappy about this encounter and the show so they hired Olivier Pardo to represent Azerbaijan. Padro turns to be the right person for the job. He already said the program while accusing Azerbaijan of being "strictest dictatorship" failed to present evidence. Looks like Padro also missed the whole episode or maybe didn't listen to the facts in the show. But then it is not surprising, because Padro also represented Equatorial Guinea in France in a case known as "ill-gotten gains" when anti-corruption NGOs managed to launch an investigation into the cases of three African leaders' names mentioned in large- scale fraud. Representing that case, Pardo said, "the case of the "ill-gotten gains" violated international law and that he would contest the case and pursue France through the international courts".  

Sadly that investigation didn't lead to concrete results as French Court stopped short of making a ruling saying an NGO Transparency International "could not itself bring a complaint against three African heads of state". 

Pardo's list of clients is full of "murky" figures. He also represented Imad Lahoud, computer specialist whose name popped up in an corruption investigation in France; Carlos Vejarano, the manager of the Arros Island in Seychelles, and used as tax heaven- and these are just a few based on a short google search.

So Pardo has a record of representing a certain kind of clients so it should come as no surprise he also took on the case of Aliyevs, who also fall perfectly well into this category. 

The question now is will this case actually receive any attention in France? So far French TV channel has not responded and many see this as a "warning". But warning to whom? To all international investigative organizations and independent television? 

Aliyev must really have forgotten what independent journalism is having silenced his own journalists...

Azerbaijan the land of fake and stuffing

If there is one thing Ilham Aliyev's cabinet is really good at its stuffing and fake [there are many other things its good at as well but I will stick to these two this time for the sake of the argument]. I know, sounds strange and unrelated but if you bear with me you will get the point shortly. 

So those familiar with Azerbaijan's cuisine, are probably also familiar with a dish called "dolma". It's a dish popular in the whole geographical region - Greeks have it, Turks have it, Armenians have it - stuffed vegetables/grape or cabbage leaves with a variety of stuffing. But thats not the topic of this post. 

We like stuffing in general. In fact we have many other delicious dishes which include stuffing too. Our government likes stuffing too. But on a whole other level. If you haven't heard or experienced "political stuffing" then you should come and visit Azerbaijan [if you can that is]. 

We have an excellent record for instance with stuffing ballot boxes - government's obedient slaves stuff ballot boxes with fake votes, generating fake results and therefore staging fake elections. 

The government of Azerbaijan also excelled at stuffing its people's heads - by taking away privileges of good education the Ministry of Education and its obedient staff have been stuffing its pupils with god knows what contributing to fake education [although there are some exceptions of some really smart young Azerbaijani men and women, which unfortunately are the minority]. 

There is one thing that many Azerbaijanis are as good as the government of Azerbaijan itself and that is stuffing pockets - giving bribes, buying favors, and so on. Unfortunately none of it is done with fake money but while the money is real, its sources are questionable. 

We stuff pro-government rallies with people with stuffed heads and faked believes. 

Stuffing is all around and in the air. Its a political skill and the better you are at stuffing, the higher you can get in the government.

More recently however, we have been seeing a different kind of stuffing. You will never guess what it is unless I tell you. Yes dear readers, we can also stuff court rooms with fake attendants who pretend to be fake relatives of real political prisoners (but who don't know the names of their "relatives" of course only because they are super "excited" or "nervous"). This was the case during the most recent hearing of rights activist Leyla Yunus. According to local reporters while it was extremely difficult for journalists, diplomats and acquaintances to attend the trial, this wasn't the case for a group of "court employees" who entered the court room from a different door, without any scrutiny and carrying their mobile phones. 

I bet, if there was a category in recently held European Games in Azerbaijan which involved stuffing, Azerbaijan would have gained another gold medal for sure. 

I expect many more stuffed hearings...

How European Games were covered abroad or how Azerbaijani leadership failed to gain "golden stars" abroad [Timeline]

click here to go to the original timeline

How Azerbaijan government is lying about the costs of the games

Back in November, Azadliq Radiosu published an article on the costs of the European games. It referenced an article in a publication called Business New Europe. There, speaking on the costs of the games, the article noted an $8billion estimate in total costs of the upcoming games. This estimate was based on October 2013 projections for state budget actually noted by the authorities themselves. 

Since then, the article is not accessible. However, the issue is still available if you visit the Business New Europe website. 

 

By the way, the "sponsors" of this issue are TEAS (lobby organization with headquarters in London and run by the son of the Ministry of Emergency Situation). Pasha Bank, has links to the ruling government.

What is interesting that the government of Azerbaijan still denies the costs. It says the total costs of the games is EUR960mn [AZ] and that all final costs would be announced once the games are over. The opening alone of the games cost $95million. 

The government of Azerbaijan in the meantime is trying to lower the importance of the costs while emphasizing the image boosting side of the games. But to me looks like Azerbaijani government just spent billions to highlight the crackdown, the human rights issues and everything that is not working in the country.

And the winner in the category of ass kissing in these European Games is...

Ali Hasanov and his wife are a match made in heaven. No no, I wont be talking about their love life - disgusting. But I will talk about their "blinded love" for their "Aliyev God". Their fanatic behavior has no boundaries.

Why? Well because it is only the lowest of the low like them (and pretty much every other official working for this government) who can republish Khadija's letter written from prison and published in the New York Times on the eve of the European Games in a "slightly" readjusted wording.

In this so called letter from prison to the editors at the NY Times Khadija writes that she has been instructed by the US and that she is part of a large scale anti-Azerbaijan campaign. That she is in jail for her crimes and etc. 

But this is not surprising at all.

You see, Aliyev's minions, have done a lot to the journalists, activists, rights defenders and advocates in this country. Readers of this blog know by now well about it. From intimidation, to beating, to threats, to slander and defamation to even blackmail with sex tapes and last but not least arrests, and murder.  

But there is always room for progress. Ali Hasanov's wife, a woman of many faces, one of which calling herself an editor-in-chief of some cheap online portal publication did her best and will now get a bright golden star from President Aliyev, or from her husband, or perhaps she wont get anything at all as this line of work is part of her duties.

As if this cheap and dirty attempt was not enough, News.az- another ass kissing platform calling itself media outlet republished that letter but this time in English. Absurd! Outrageous! But hey, news.az is good - they always praise the government, write only about wonderful things that do not exist in Azerbaijan and claim to be a professional network. Professional ha! These people are disgrace to journalism.

Every day, I am baffled by how low some people are ready to fall. Just today I tried, no, I really tried, to have a conversation with my trolls. I wasted good two hours on them. But yet again, I proved myself that these are worthless creatures who do not give a spat about anything, having no respect for themselves or for this country.

Ah good old bashing methods

So an outlet from Azerbaijan, known as AzerNews.az decided to bash at BBC. In their piece published today "Why Islamophobia - source of anti- Azerbaijani campaign on BBC?" the publication claims that "BBC is nothing but a propaganda machine, with groundless, cheap accusations. This propaganda mouthpiece has already gained popularity with its Islamophobic and anti-Turk policy [what is anti-Turk policy I wonder, anti-Turkey maybe?]". It also says, "Experts suggest that the BBC should have investigated the claims of British NGOs about the fact that actual expenditures of the Olympics exceeded the initial budget by three times". It also calls into questioning the spending for the Pan American Games, hosted by Canada. 

AzerNews forgets to mention who are the so-called "experts" are who suggest that BBC should investigate claims of British NGOs. 

AzerNews also forgets to mention the GDP of the UK or Canada. 

But the most important thing AzerNews seems to forget to mention is Azerbaijan's ranking on the Global Corruption Index where Azerbaijan is placed 126 among 175 while UK ranks 14 and Canada 10. 

It is a bit funny and ironic when a pro-govt. media outlet bashes an international media outlet and thinks its going to cause a bang. 

This incident brings to mind President Erdogan's claims against foreign outlets like the New York Times, the Guardian and others. Authoritarian leaders use some of the same bashing language and this is clearly visible. But that is normal since they are not used to it at home where independent voices are increasingly silenced. But its even more ironic, because Azerbaijan and Turkey often mention and pride themselves in their symbolic "brotherhood" connection. Well looks like the two brothers might be more alike than they know. 

Azerbaijan striving to be world's tallest - literally at everything it can

There were many attempts before this one, like the world's tallest flag pole with Turkmenistan outdoing us by just few meters in few months time (here is a great story by VICE on the construction company that actually builds these things in many other authoritarian regimes); then I believe it was SOCAR's new building (although I am not sure of what) but this is something even better. 

I hereby share with you a video by The Daily Conversation about Azerbaijan's tallest building project. And if you want to freshen up your memory a bit, here is a story from the New York Times that would give you some background on the building (this is not new, the news of this project were already circulating in the media circa 2012).

The voice over is just great. No need for extra comments.