Updates from the land of fire[d] "reforms"

Wow, it has been a while. In fact, a year and two months since I shared my speech at the opening ceremony from Forum 2000 last year. 

But that is not why I am here again. 

I thought I vent out and what not a better place, then here, on my good old blog. 

So, what has been going on in Azerbaijan? 

A lot, actually. And I find it hard to keep up, especially as I work on the book about Azerbaijan, and things keep changing, so I keep going back to my earlier chapters and adding footnotes to names, institutions, or legislation that changed, was replaced or sacked [in no particular order that is]. 

So, first things first, the Azerbaijan parliament has been dismissed or dissolved, by itself (or by the president) - which is still against the constitution so the general understanding is that it was dismissed by the president. The new election set to take place on February 9, 2020. And plus, no one really gives a damn about the constitution or laws in Azerbaijan, especially when they are always in favor of the government. On December 4, two days after the parliament voted to dismiss itself, the Constitutional Court in Azerbaijan ruled in favor of the decision approving the call for an early election saying it was not really against the country's constitution.

The official reason (or based on what Bahar Muradova read from her statement on the day the parliament was dismissed) to assist the government in on-going reforms (note: read between the lines, please, there are NO reforms). You would be surprised (or not) to hear 99 members voted in favor - so all those members who have "tirelessly" said yes, to everything that president has told them to say yes to were kicked out. 

Remember one of my first posts here about "flock of sheep"? In case you don't, here is a reminder. 

The president has also sacked some of his high ranking officials. Including Ramiz Mehdiyev (81), the head of the Presidential Apparatus or as he is known in more candid circles - Don Corleone - and a man known for his allegiance to the former president Heydar Aliyev. 

The president has also reshuffled the cabinet of ministers as well as the Presidential Apparatus. But please observers, don't be fooled by what you are seeing. It is the same family, the same mindset, and the same interests running the country. If anything, the new government is going to be rougher than the previous one.

Early parliamentary election

Not everyone is happy (not that there was a time when everyone was happy in the country). In just two months, candidates have to register, prepare their campaign and run for the parliament. Well, if these are going to be free and fair elections that is.

The opposition thinks the time allocated is not enough. Former leader of opposition party Isa Gambar told Azadliq Radio that the decision is nothing but an attempt to set up a designated parliament.  

Others are considering boycotting elections. 

Meanwhile, government representative Ali Ahmadov [Deputy PM] said, "The truth is, the people have boycotted the radicals [this is how he refers to the opposition]. And as a result, no one wants to hear their [opposition] calls [for boycott]. 

FYI, on December 23, Azerbaijanis will vote in Municipal Elections. 

The Central Election Committee says there are no issues with having two elections in such close time.

In my humble opinion, we can expect a few possible outcomes:
1. all newly "elected" parliament members won't be ideologically much different the previous ones, although they may be a few decades younger than the recently dismissed MPs;
2. a few opposition representatives may be "allowed" to enter the parliament but have very little impact given the majority is still going to be represented by the members of the ruling party (note: read between the lines once again, likely to be split between Pashayev and Aliyev fronts);
3. some concession and negotiations may take place between the authorities and the opposition where the latter will be allowed to be present;

Retirement plans and wages

You may ask what happens to the members of the parliament (and other high ranking government officials) who don't get elected in the next election? They retire, but not like any average pensioner in Azerbaijan. They get to enjoy a cushy pension. Which according to some independent economists is unfair, and so to make things fair, retired teachers, doctors, for instance, should be getting the same amount of pension as retired parliament members. Especially when you factor in the time spent in "active employment". 

Here is how it works: the minimum pension in Azerbaijan has been raised to 200AZN as of October 2019. A parliament member's pension is 80% of their monthly income which is about 4 times higher than the current minimum pension wage. 

And, in addition, even if you have been in the parliament for ten years an MP can get at minimum 1000AZN - compared to 20-30-40 and more years of work that teachers, doctors put in before they retire. 

Example: with a work experience of 40 years a teacher gets paid 256AZN after retirement, while a parliament member, who has been at the parliament even for one term [thats just five years], gets around 1100AZN. 

Parliament member Fazil Mustafa, says it's a fair recommendation to make all pensions equal, or at least improve those of the teachers and others but ensuring equal pensions may strain the state budget. 

It was only in October this year that minimum wages were raised [likely fearing more social unrest amid growing tension between the general public and the authorities]. As a result, monthly wages were raised from 180AZN to 250AZN [approximately 150USD]. While a monthly pension was raised from 160 to 200AZN.    

Meanwhile, parliamentarian's wages have been on a steady increase. As of May 1, 2018 MPs in Azerbaijan receive 1,732AZN [approximately 1,000USD]. 

The cost of living in Azerbaijan was set at 180AZN in 2018. Also, it is worth noting that the cost of living between 2014 and 2018 increased by 48AZN.

It is not only the pension that sets officials apart from the commoners. Ramiz Mehdiyev was appointed the president of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (may I remind you that he is 81). Or, Novruz Mammadov who until he was "dismissed" served as the Prime Minister was appointed as the Vice-rector of Azerbaijan University of Languages. Or Heydar Asadov, former minister of agriculture was appointed the new rector of Azerbaijan State Maritime Academy.

In other news

*The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, published today the report on her visit to Azerbaijan, with recommendations on how to ensure freedom of expression, increase the number of lawyers and the quality of legal assistance in the country, and empower internally displaced persons (IDPs). 

 *PACE’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights has found that, on the basis of factual findings of the European Court of Human Rights, a number of individuals are “political prisoners” according to the Assembly's definition. Recalling the Court’s finding of a “troubling pattern” of politically motivated misuse of the criminal justice system, and the significant number of similar cases pending before the Court, the committee said that “fundamental reforms are necessary if Azerbaijan is to fulfill its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights”.

So in case, with all your good intentions and hope, you have been thinking there is a sudden wind of change in Azerbaijan, forget it, and I mean it. The only kind of wind you will see (or feel)- is the same iffy kind of wind that's been blowing away our future (and present). 

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. 

Azebaijan's foreign debt- truth behind government quoted numbers

As is everything else in Azerbaijan, information on the country's foreign debt is diverse with government quoting one set of numbers, and opposition saying something completely else.

I thought I put together the most recent indicators as quoted by the story on AzadliqRadio.

*Ilham Aliyev says it is only 20% of the GDP 

*Min.of Economy says it is approximately 12 billion manats 

* Independent economist Natig Jafarli says authorities leave out company loans taken on state guarantees. Take for instance SOCAR, whose debt is 8 billion manats. If loans of all state companies are added then the total of external debt would be around 60% of the GDP. 

There are also other projects like the Southern Gas Corridor for which Azerbaijan took out a 1 billion loan with 5.8% return rate. 

Feel free to send in more info so I can expand on this post. 

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?  

Who to blame when there is no one else to blame (part 2): my response to Emil Agazade

After posting this post yesterday, I received a response from Emil Agazade whose comment you can read below the actual post in the comments section. To clarify myself I wrote a response that I shared already in the comments section but also thought to post as a separate post, as I think it brings more clarity so to speak to my originally written post. 

"Hi Emil,

Thank you for reading my blog and taking your time to comment on the post.

In response to you, I am going to try and dissect both of your opinions. I hope this way there will be a tat bit more clarity.

I have read Hamilton's piece. While he might as you say be, "a dedicated campaigner who boasts about visiting Azerbaijan's illegally occupied territories and who does not pass on any opportunity to bash Azerbaijan" (I don't know him personally so I am taking your word for it) he did write credible and truthful things about Azerbaijan. None of the references he made are lies or biased and made up. And frankly speaking, while he might have visited the territories (illegally or not), its not about who he is, but about what he wrote and how he has written it. You see his piece as bashing, while others see it as a critical piece of someone's opinion who is listing known things and known events and naming real people who are currently under threat (and also gives some credit at the end too so he wasn't completely bashing the country).

You on the other hand, are saying that no one is perfect, so to say, and that there are little or no perfect democracies. But who is talking about perfection here? Surely you would accept the truth about the current reality of journalists in Azerbaijan, and many of its threatened journalists, arrested journalists, or journalists who are pending trial. Surely you would also not deny the mere fact that Armenia has nothing to do with the fact that our government is treating its citizens in such a way and ends up being criticized by the international community. Surely you would also accept that having Russia as our neighbor, shouldn't stop Azerbaijani authorities from being a true democracy. It is not about perfection, but it is about basic rights and freedoms.

I agree that quarter of a century is not enough, but something could have been done in a quarter of a century. Think of the number of parliamentary and presidential elections we have had since our independence. Why is it, that in the quarter of the century, we haven't had one single free and fair election. Or will you argue that all our elections were free and fair? Then why is it that we have mastered the principles of corruption and bribery so well in this quarter of the century, but failed profoundly in establishing a democratic state? Could you please explain, then, why is it that our education, healthcare and social care systems have suffered (despite increase in state funding though miniscule to say the least when compared to other sectors) while our ministers only got richer and richer in this quarter of a century?

How come we have mastered fraud in this quarter of the century instead of mastering honesty? 

Given our historical past that you touch upon in your piece- the brief independence, the rights granted to women- we should have been an example by now. But look at where we are. You think I enjoy reading critical pieces like the one by Hamilton, that it gives me pleasure? I am looking forward to a day when my country, your country, our country is actually a place when none of this is happening. Where rights are respected and where no one can say or write any of such things. But, things are different. And not even another quarter of the century is going to change this as long as we have corrupted minds running the country for their own benefit.

I don't care if elections in the UK were rigged, but I do care that elections in Azerbaijan were rigged are rigged to this day. Just because elections elsewhere are rigged, it doesn't give our authorities rights rigging our elections.

I am pretty sure, that having Azerbaijani territories occupied doesn't serve as basis for any rights abuses.

As to the Council of Europe and PACE- if Azerbaijan had a straight human rights record and impeccable history of elections and free society none of these institutions would focus on Azerbaijan this much. You know this as well as I do.

And do you honestly and wholeheartedly believe in this extra powerful Armenian lobby. Alas I am not defending it, but really? Its their fault? Its their fault that we have rigged elections? or its their fault that we have such poor situation with human rights?

Azerbaijan, is capable of doing so much better. And if things were really different at home, I would too promote Azerbaijan but not now, not today, and not tomorrow. Not until there is a real change.

There will always be people like Hamilton. It is our job to make our country a better place so tomorrow people like Hamilton have no arguments left with to criticize our country for. But as long as we find someone or something to blame and not take a responsibility, Hamilton and many others like Hamilton will continue criticizing Azerbaijan... "

All hail the King!

Just before New Year, the ruling party of Azerbaijan- YAP- needed one last event to praise the king and praise they did. It was a grand New Year present from Santa YAP. On December 24th, YAP organized an event "Azerbaijan 2013: new targets, new victories". Ruling party members were there, parliament members were there, but just to add a bit of diversity, representatives of international organizations were invited too. I guess without them it would have been a little all- YAP- party. 

You wont be surprised what the guests talked about at this event. Well, if you are reading state newspapers and watching state TV you didn't miss much- a lot of praise here and there and there you have it: another "successful" event of the year in the pocket, ticked, and filed (though I am doubtful about filing). So the usual "toasts" were raised- health, strength, wisdom to the all-mighty king Aliyev and his father. Without them who knows where Azerbaijani would have been today. 

Ali Ahmadov, deputy chairman and executive secretary of the ruling party spoke of a successful year both for the people and the government. Something was mentioned about economic and social progress though not much was said about what that progress specifically was. Then a bit more about success of 2013, all of course under the guidance of the king. As always, Mr. Ahmadov, took the liberty to make a decision on behalf of Azerbaijani people on the subject of elections- every single Azerbaijani will vote for the president therefore, its going to be a 100% victory, just wait and see (sorry folks but you can't decide on your own, nor you are entitled to have an opinion and don't worry even if you decide not to head to the polls, your vote will be used anyway). In another interview Mr. Ahmadov also was quoted saying "It is in the interest of every family and every citizen" that Ilham Aliyev is re-elected in 2013 elections. Oh boy, I guess this is as explicit as it can get- for all those citizens and families who choose not to vote or vote for someone else (if there will be a someone else that is) this can only mean one thing- "winter is coming".

Another member of the ruling party, and the first deputy prime minister Yagub Eyubov, also spoke of social- economic progress, though once again, what that progress was about remained unexplained. Oh, almost forgot, Mr. Eyubov too said none of the progress would have been possible without the all mighty king. He said something about "precise scientific predictions" too, which confused me even more as I didn't know that the late president was Nostradamus or secretly possessed the power of "precise scientific predictions". There is so much to learn from the members of the ruling party. 

Similarly, first deputy speaker of the parliament, Ziyafet Asgarov, mentioned the progress achieved in the country too under the rule of the second kingdom and something about genes, wisdom and more success. This time however, we finally learned more about the achieved progress- democracy, secular state, formation of civil society and protection of human rights.

Shamsaddin Hajiyev, the chairman of the parliamentary committee for education and science didn't forget to hold the king responsible for all the great achievements in the field of economy.

Interesting that the article didn't mention any words of praise from diplomats and internationals attending the event. Perhaps, their opinion was not worth mentioning or maybe not interesting...

I guess at the end, the event guests, all completed a ritual raising their fists up in the air, shouting "All hail the King!"

Azerbaijan's syndrome of "positive developments" vs. negative reality

"Lets also look at the positive developments. Not everything is so bad in Azerbaijan". I have been hearing these words over and over again and especially more so lately. For obvious reasons, proponents of the Azerbaijani government dislike anyone who voices criticism when it comes to the situation with the human rights, freedom of press, social services, and pretty much everything that concerns average Azerbaijani citizens. And these are the magic words of "wisdom".

But lets be real here. What I am about to say kind of goes back to the post I wrote yesterday about what Roland Kobia, the head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan said about the President and the upcoming elections- "he has done a good job". Yea, well, I hate to disappoint but he hasn't really. And here is why. 

Yesterday, I spoke at the European Parliament, on the present day of Azerbaijani political plurality, freedom of expression, women rights and more. While much of my focus was on the situation from a perspective of a blogger, and I chose to cover only some of the pressing issues at home. But it was really a question from the audience that prompted me to write this post and address this issue of "positive development". 

Lets start by looking at some numbers and indicators:

Internet 

- 73% of daily Internet users in Azerbaijan are male;

- 72% of Facebook users are male;

- 17% of women ever used the Internet

Women

- 16% of parliament members are women (all of them members of the ruling party; there are no opposition representatives in the parliament as of last parliamentary elections);

- 0% of women head ministries (minus the Committee for Family Women and Children Issues);

- 14% of judges are female;

- 26% are members of the local governments

And this is in a country that likes to bring up the facts about its history and the place of women. Like a right to vote that was granted to women in Azerbaijan in 1918.

Economy and social condition (see this report for further statistical data by the European Commission)

- 151.9AZN is average pension;

- much of economic growth is generated through oil and gas sector;

- the share of agriculture went from 15.9% in 2000 to 6.4% in 2009;

- indicators for manufacturing, and non- oil activities all dropped in the last several years;

- increased public expenditure is not directed toward human development especially if you look at heatlh and social care services not to mention education (and the rate of corruption, especially in education);

- if in 2003, expenses for social security stood at 18.2%, according to available statistics of 2009, it dropped to 9.7%;

- similarly education expenses dropped from 23.7% to 11.6% in 2009 and etc.;

- while in absolute terms, social expenses have increased, in relative terms they have decreased;

- the employment rate is low for age groups 15- 19; 20- 24; 

I wont link to the international reports about the situation with regard to the human rights and the freedom of press, or Azerbaijan's yet another "amazing" performance on the corruption index of the Transparency International. This was just to put things into a context especially for those who say things in Azerbaijan are not that bad and there is progress and development.

When are you people going to understand that your audience 90% of the time knows the real facts and that its completely inappropriate (not to say inadequate, unrealistic, and delusional) to speak of 2003 elections as democratic and that such remarks only make you look like fools. 

 

And so, when I am told or asked to speak of the positive as well, my only response is that only once we resolve and deal with some of our pressing issues as we should be I will speak about the positive. We, an Azerbaijani nation, of some 9.2 million inhabitants, deserve a future that is not mocked or criticized. Our government is accountable for acting within the principles of our constitution and our laws. Our political leaders who consider themselves mighty Gods need to look beyond their noses and narrow- minded vision. The future is not about Shakiras, Rhiannas, Flame Towers, Eurovision concert halls and what not. The future is what we do today. And you, and your cronies around you have done nothing positive for the people.

So lets cut to the chaise, and instead of talking positive, deal with the negative...

Azerbaijan and Freedom two distant concepts?!

Source: http://indexoncensorship.org/azerbaijan-interent-censorship-free-speech/

Azerbaijan's ENP progress report

This is from a recent progress report released by EU on European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and the country progress evaluations. You can read full report here.

Azerbaijan's never ending insane development projects

If Azerbaijan was a place where people lived in full equality, where journalists had their full rights, where social welfare was at its best and everything was just fine, I would have probably applauded this project. But in a country where minimum salaries can't cover living costs and where freedom of expression, human rights, social protection programs, education, health care and other services are literally collapsing this is for sure a waste of money. And don't tell me Azerbaijani people need this- what Azerbaijani citizen living in a a village in Lenkoran needs, is a proper sewage system, heating and electricity, not to mention a salary and conditions good enough to keep his/her family happy and healthy. Perhaps instead of commissioning these over-the-top initiatives, our respective bodies of governance should channel this money to at least some of the multiple problems that actually are more important at this point than building an Olympic Stadium?!