The new WikiLeaks report discloses the diplomatic cable from the US Embassy in Baku to the US State Department dated March 31, 2008. The diplomatic cable reflects the policy approach of the US Embassy to Azerbaijan on human rights and democratization shortly before the presidential elections of 2008 in that country. The lack of concrete benchmarks to assess the progress in the field of human rights, pervasive vagueness of the policy approach, and taking the position of the Azerbaijani government at its face value is strikingly descriptive in the report. Below is the full text of the cable:
“C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000302
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
FOR DRL A/S KRAMER FROM AMBASSADOR DERSE E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2018
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, KIRF, AJ
SUBJECT: U.S.-AZERBAIJAN DEMOCRACY DIALOGUE
REF: BAKU 231
Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse
1. (C) David, I would like to congratulate you on your appointment and invite you to Azerbaijan at your earliest convenience to continue the bilateral dialogue on democracy and human rights that Barry Lowenkron initiated in December 2006 at President Aliyev’s suggestions. This forum, led on the Azerbaijani side by Foreign Minister Mammadyarov, is an important vehicle to address government-to-government both short-term problems and the longer-term, systemic changes needed to ensure Azerbaijan’s lasting stability and prosperity. The dialogue supplements our advocacy, public diplomacy and technical assistance efforts. Intensifying our work in this critical area of our bilateral relationship is especially important in the run-up to Azerbaijan’s October 2008 presidential election.
A High USG Priority
2. (C) The human rights situation in Azerbaijan remains poor and in some areas has worsened over the last year. The GOAJ continues to exercise unacceptable levels of pressure against independent and opposition journalists. Although President Aliyev pardoned five journalists imprisoned on criminal libel charges in December 2007, three journalists – including editors of two of the most prominent independent and opposition newspapers – remain imprisoned on charges seemingly unrelated to their work. The March 13 stabbing of opposition Azadliq journalist Agil Khalil sent a further chilling message to Azerbaijan’s media.
3. (C) The GOAJ continues to exercise tight control over freedom of assembly, restricting peaceful protests to a handful of remote locations that the opposition and civil society deem unacceptable. The GOAJ has promised that this problem will be addressed through changes to the law on freedom of assembly, but it has not yet presented the new draft legislation to parliament. These issues will figure prominently in the international community’s assessment of Azerbaijan’s October presidential election, a point we have underscored with senior GOAJ officials in recent discussions. We believe that resuming and intensifying our government-to-government democracy dialogue is essential to encourage the GOAJ to address these problems.
4. (C) Since December, we have been engaged in a dialogue with the GOAJ on the conditions necessary for a free and fair election. In a December 2007 letter to Foreign Minister Mammadyarov, EUR A/S Fried outlined specific steps in the areas of media freedom, freedom of assembly and freedom of association, the electoral process, and civil society that we believe would help create the conditions necessary for free and fair elections. I shared these steps with Presidential Chief of Staff Ramiz Mehdiyev earlier this month, and briefed him on the nearly USD 3 million in election-related assistance that we plan to offer to help support the GOAJ’s democratic goals (reftel). Mehdiyev was receptive to our message and welcomed the planned assistance. He also affirmed that the GOAJ seeks to hold a free, fair and transparent election in October. Continued engagement with Mehdiyev and other GOAJ officials will be necessary to help move our democracy agenda forward.
The Role of the Dialogue
5. (C) In order to further strengthen the dialogue, we believe that we need to work with Foreign Minister Mammadyarov to broaden the format and representation of the democracy dialogue, expanding it to include key Azerbaijani decision-makers working in some of the most challenging reform areas. Presidential Chief of Staff Ramiz Mehdiyev – arguably the most powerful man in Azerbaijan and a Soviet apparatchik who oversees nearly all of Azerbaijan’s internal political developments – needs to be brought into the process formally if possible, informally if not, to ensure that the relevant line ministries such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice and Prosecutor General’s Office, also come to the table.
6. (C) While Foreign Minister Mammadyarov has been a good interlocutor and effective in pressing for progress in some areas controlled by the Ministries – such as the appointment of 55 new judges and the long overdue registration of the USAID-funded Election Monitoring Center (EMC) – he will be unable on his own initiative to push his less reform-minded colleagues for the broader and far-reaching reforms so desperately needed in, for example, the judiciary and within the police force. We would like to work towards a format in which Mehdiyev conducts high-level discussions in Washington on an annual basis, complemented by regular quarterly discussions, as agreed in 2006 with President Aliyev, between U.S. and Azerbaijani experts from relevant USG and GOAJ entities, chaired by you and Foreign Minister Mammadyarov. We note that regular meetings in Washington could be particularly important for Mehdiyev, who has never traveled to the United States. If you agree with this approach, we suggest that you could present it to President Aliyev during your visit to Baku.
7. (C) We believe that a results-oriented, realistic and discreet government-to-government dialogue that underscores democratic reform as an integral part of our bilateral relationship is essential to continued progress in this difficult area. Azerbaijan’s human rights record over the last year has deteriorated in key areas – notably media freedom and freedom of assembly – and Azerbaijan faces a daunting array of reform challenges generally to make progress toward its stated democratic goals. We will need sustained, high-level engagement from Washington to reinforce our work here and ensure progress in the run-up to the October election and beyond. We believe that our existing agenda, organized around five key areas — rule of law, political process, media freedom, respect for human rights, and an engaged, empowered citizenry – covers the core areas in which reform is needed to promote Azerbaijan’s development as a modern, secular, market-oriented democracy. With your engagement – and an intensified, agreed, strategic framework for change that we could discuss and review with the GOAJ on a regular basis – I am confident that we will be able to press effectively for the long-term changes needed to protect U.S. interests in this strategically important country. We are due for another round of discussions in the second quarter of this year. I hope we can find a date soon that is convenient for you so we can begin to work here to make this session as productive as possible. I look forward to welcoming you to Azerbaijan. DERSE”
(Azerireport)