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16.01.2006

Azerbaijani Diaspora; realities and perspectives

   

Sargis Harutyunyan 

The Azerbaijani Diaspora as “a strategic resource”

In Azerbaijani national security draftings and, in general, in regulations concerning to the country’s development we come across the formulating that besides energy resources for Azerbaijan special importance acquires its own demographical resources, which by virtue of conditions peculiar to Muslims have a tendency of rapid growth.

However, because of the complicated social-economic conditions in the country Azerbaijan has lost almost half of its population in the period of the past fifteen years. According to the data represented by the Azerbaijani opposition as well as Russian and American experts Republic of Azerbaijan’s population is 4-4,5 million people. The country still faces emigration though it has slowed down a little. According to Russian law-enforcement bodies’ estimation, in fact only in Moscow live and work almost a million and a half Azerbaijanis, let alone the whole Russia where this number is doubled reaching to three million. In Kazakhstan there are 150 thousand of them, in Ukraine and Uzbekistan 100 thousand in each, etc. At the same time the Azerbaijanis have emigrated also to Europe, the United States and Turkey (the emigration to Turkey was especially active from Nakhijevan).

In such conditions the conception of “demographical resources” has lately definitely undergone transformations in the face of Azerbaijani authorities. Today by this term we first of all understand Diaspora, spontaneously formed during the past 10-15 years especially in Post-Soviet area and its optimal usage has become the component part of Republic of Azerbaijani’s ideas on strategic development.

Besides, in the presence of the certain scenario of development, 25 million Azerbaijani community inhabited in Iran (according to Baku) is also included in the conception of “demographical resources” and is considered to be “a strategic reserve”.

400 thousand Azerbaijanis inhabited in Georgia are also treated by this logic. For the last 3-4 years the Azerbaijan’s Ministry of National Security and The State Committee on Azerbaijanis Living Abroad (SCALA) under the Ministry’s virtual control have been actively communicating with them.

The forming of Azerbaijan-Diaspora common ground

Even in Post-Soviet period a union called “Vatan” (fatherland) was the only organization for Baku which kept ties with Azerbaijanis living abroad.

At the same time after the Second World War a number of Azerbaijani national and cultural organizations were established with the help of American and Turkish intelligence forces (Azerbaijani Cultural union, the organization of Azerbaijani emigrants, Azerbaijani National Committee) aiming at spreading Anti-Soviet and in some cases Anti-Iran propaganda. “Musavat” party is among these organizations formed after the Soviet regime was established in Azerbaijan in 1920, and was settled down mainly in Turkey.

Thanks to these organizations, in the middle of 1980s, American, Turkish and West-European special services actively penetrated into Azerbaijan establishing relations with the activists of national movement and especially with “Azerbaijan’s National Front”. According to some information at the end of 1980 with the help of “Azerbaijani National Committee”, established in 1979, the Turkish special services “processed” some well-known politicians today: Isa Gambera, Etibara Mamedov, Zurdusht Alizade, the late Abulfaz Elchibey and the others.

At the period of Karabakh war the same organizations in Azerbaijani Diaspora played essential role fostering Turkish power structures in rendering assistance to Azerbaijan. They also played an important role in functioning military education centers in inhabited localities of Gyuzdek, Nasosni, Shikhovo situated not far from Baku and Belokan.

The main structures of Azerbaijani Diaspora

Only in the beginning of 2000 the Azerbaijani Diaspora was seriously treated by Baku. On the 23rd of May 2001 Heidar Aliyev signed an order on “holding the world Azerbaijanis first congress”. The Congress was held in November 9-10 by the participation of Azerbaijan’s president and 1150 delegations from 36 countries. Though at the end of the congress was discussed the issue of establishing “World Azerbaijanis united council”, which would primarily aim at creating Azerbaijani lobby in the global power centers, however, as a result of discrepancy, the idea of “the united council” reduced to establishing SCALA. The committee was established on the 5th of July by Heidar Aliyev’s order.

According to data represented by the committee, in the past a considerable part of work was done directed at systematizing the Azerbaijani communities in different countries and strengthening the efficacy of already existing structures. Thanks to the SCALA support more then 80 Azerbaijani social structures have been established in Europe and the Middle East during the last three years. The first congress of Azerbaijani communities’ leaders was held in April 2003, in Germany and in May 2004 in Berlin was established the organization of “Azerbaijani congress in Europe”.

If summarizing, the main mission of the committee is the systematization of Azerbaijani structures in Diaspora, and its main goal is creating international Azerbaijani lobby network and managing it successfully.

The secret part of the committee’s activities is conducting espionage for Baku. According to some information one of the elements of Azeri-Israeli special services is to share the experience of European lobbyist and intelligence structure with their colleagues from Baku (in particular in intelligence activities against Iran Israeli “Mossad” organization special importance attaches to infiltrating into the Iranian Azerbaijani community with the help of Azerbaijani intelligence bodies).

A few years before the imitative undertaken by official Baku larger-scale attempts were made to systematize Azerbaijani Diasporas in the Middle East, Post Soviet Union area, Europe and North America. In 1997 was established World Azerbaijanis Congress (WAC). In the same year its first congress was held in Los Angeles. The Azerbaijanis emigrated from Iran in different period of times prevail in the ruling circles of this organization. The WAC’s chairman is Javat Deryakhty.

According to a number of publications issued in Azerbaijan, the American special services had their share in the organization’s foundation and current funding. In the middle of 1990s the Iranian issue regains the top-priority importance in Washington’s foreign policy, that’s why the new means of pressure on Teheran couldn’t but be favorable for the US.

From another hand the Iranian special services aren’t indifferent to WAC either, but they don’t aim at reducing the possible danger running from WAC but at taking the organization under Iranian control. There were cases when this or that member of the ruling body was accused of cooperating with the Iranian intelligence. It is obvious that disunity within WAC in autumn 2003 should be considered in this light. Under the direction of the organization’s former head of Baku’s department and later on WAC Press Secretary Teymur Eminbeyly several members of WAS ruling council carried the seventh congress of WAS from January 30 to February 1 2004, as a result of which Rza Kheshtin was elected WAC chairman. However the official Baku accepts only the organization headed by J. Deryakhty.

From the very beginning the Azerbaijani community in Turkey was considered as the primary intent of activities carried on the issues of Diaspora. It is reasoned by the fact that millions of Azerbaijanis are inhabited in that country and they are culturally identical with the ones living in Azerbaijan (for example, in comparison with Iranian Azerbaijani community).

From another hand, since 2000s the policy carried by Moscow to CIS countries was directed to use the communities inhabited in Russia as leverage. Azerbaijan was not en exception.

On the 4th of October 2001 in Moscow was carried the constituent assembly of All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress (AAC) with the participation of the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan: Vladimir Putin and Heydar Aliyev. In the ruling body of the congress are included a number of figures of Azerbaijani nationality representing Russia’s business, cultural, legal fields (the president of “Lukoil” oil giant Vagit Alekperov, the chairman of “International Filmmakers Union” in Moscow Rustam Ibrahimbekov). The chairman of the organization is the corresponding member of Russia’s medical science academy, doctor of medical science Mamed Baghir Javad-oghlu Aliyev. In spite of the fact that today there are many organizations in this country representing the Azerbaijani community, AAC is the main one among them.

According to some information, by the order of the late Heidar Aliyev in 2002 a special accumulation fund was established in Azerbaijani presidential administration the financial means of which should be spent on carrying appropriate “activities” together with Russia’s social-political, cultural influential figures to organize PR actions in Russian mass media, neutralize dangerous information for Azerbaijan, etc. Thus AAC must have undertaken the effective mechanism. It’s not by chance that short after the foundation, AAC formed its own informational-analytical structure, which was actually carrying activities specific to special services. It’s worth mentioning that, as Russian mass media have it, AAC is funded by the efforts of the representatives of the first department of Azerbaijani’s national security Ministry (responsible for intelligence) and the considerable part of this finances are allocated by the Azerbaijani criminal groups in Russia.

Conclusion

As the ideas uniting the Azerbaijani Diaspora today are represented the tenets of being a divided nation (as a result of Turkmecha agreement in 1882) and Karabagh “liberation”.

On the whole the Azerbaijani Diaspora is on the first stage of forming. In this sense there is a clear cut dividing line between the Post-Soviet Azerbaijanis and the ones who have no historical ties with Soviet Azerbaijan.

On the ground of above mentioned we can say that today the official Baku may achieve some success only in relations with its “own” Azerbaijani Diaspora. From another hand among the Azerbaijanis of Iranian origin Teheran’s influence is more then Baku’s.

If we accept the standpoint that there are 35-49 Azerbaijanis all around the world and the reality that today Azerbaijan is in the focus of many international processes if strategic importance, the fact that many great powers desire for ruling over “the resources” called Azerbaijani Diaspora is not strange.

For today’s official Baku it is important to be included in the processes relating to Azerbaijani Diaspora not only for the sake of “presence” or ruling over “the resources” but also for neutralizing the possible dangers streaming from there (Especially from Russian community).


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