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Viewing cable 08BAKU415, EU PROGRESS REPORT ON AZERBAIJAN INTENTIONALLY

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08BAKU415 2008-05-01 07:01 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Baku
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKB #0415/01 1220701
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 010701Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5243
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 2803
RUEHLJ/AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA 0007
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0517
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0932
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000415 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2018 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM PHUM AJ
SUBJECT: EU PROGRESS REPORT ON AZERBAIJAN INTENTIONALLY 
"SOFT" ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
REF: A. BAKU 135 
     B. BAKU 404 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse per 1.4 (b,d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  According to European diplomats, the 
European Commission's first report on Azerbaijan's 
implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy Action was 
intentionally "soft" on Azerbaijan's democracy and human 
rights record.  EC Head of Delegation Alan Waddams chalked up 
the soft approach to a "massively" pro-Armenian bias among EC 
officials, while the French DCM said the EC intentionally 
softened its criticisms in hopes of ensuring greater progress 
in coming years.  To this end, France as incoming EU 
President, seeks to begin a structured EU-Azerbaijan dialogue 
on democracy and human rights issues.  European diplomats and 
independent Azerbaijani commentators believe the EC's 
relatively tougher stance on Azerbaijan's human rights record 
- in contrast to language in the EC's reports on Georgia and 
Armenia - will strengthen the GOAJ's belief that it is 
subjected to "double standards."  Azerbaijan's relationship 
with the EU has been testy since the February Troika visit. 
End summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) In April, the European Commission released its 
first report on Azerbaijan's implementation of the European 
Neighborhood Policy action plan.  The report contains mild 
but balanced criticism of Azerbaijan's democracy and human 
rights record and also lauds the GOAJ for making significant 
progress in bringing many of Azerbaijan's laws - particularly 
in the economic and trade arena - into compliance with EU 
standards.  However, the report notes that implementation of 
many of these laws has been lacking. 
 
"Soft" Language on Democracy and Human Rights 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C) European Commission Head of Delegation Alan Waddams 
told the Ambassador that he was pleased by the report's 
overall tone and assessment.  He pointed to the report's 
statement that "there was limited tangible progress towards 
meeting the Action Plan objectives in democratic governance" 
and "the Azerbaijani government has not exploited the 
opportunities by the ENP Action Plan to carry out political 
and economic reforms" as a fair assessment of Azerbaijan's 
record.  He also said that RELEX Commissioner Benita 
Ferrero-Waldner had personally softened that statement. 
Waddams bemoaned the lack of coordination among EC officials 
on South Caucasus policy, noting that the reports on 
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia had been drafted separately, 
by different offices without coordination.  The language on 
Azerbaijan's democracy and human rights record was 
considerably harder than language contained in the parallel 
reports on Georgia and Armenia's EU action plans, despite 
realities on the ground.  Asked why, he responded that EC 
officials are "massively pro-Armenian." 
 
4.  (C) French DCM Philippe Wieber (representing the Slovene 
EU Presidency) separately told us that the Commission had 
intentionally sought to include a positive spin on 
Azerbaijan's human rights record in the report.  Wieber noted 
that this is just the first of five annual reports that will 
be produced over the Action Plan's five-year life span. By 
taking a somewhat "soft" approach in this first report, the 
EU hopes to encourage greater GOAJ progress on democratic 
reform in coming years. 
 
EU Plans Structured Dialogue 
---------------------------- 
 
5.  (C) To that end, French Charge d'Affaires Jean-Yves 
Berthaud told the Ambassador that France, as EU President 
from July-December 2008, plans to support launch of an 
EU-Azerbaijan structured dialogue on human rights and 
democracy, under the auspices of the EU Action Plan. 
Berthaud said he would like the dialogue to also focus on 
corruption, as he did not think the issue could be separated 
from broader democracy and human rights issues.  As an aside, 
he commented that he had never seen corruption like he sees 
in Azerbaijan noting that government officials seem almost 
"proud" of their corrupt activities.  Berthaud emphasized 
that he does not want the new dialogue to be burdened by too 
much representation and hopes to engage an individual close 
to the presidential level. 
 
EU-GOAJ Relations 
 
----------------- 
 
6.  (C) According to French DCM Wieber, the EU Action Plan 
report was received positively by Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign 
Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev, who oversees Azerbaijan's 
relationship with the EU.  Mammadguliyev also is receptive to 
French ideas for a new structured dialogue on human rights. 
However, Wieber noted that DFM Mammadguliyev's positive tone 
was not reflective of the GOAJ's overall relationship with 
the EU, which has been frosty since the Troika's February 
visit to Baku (ref a).  Wieber said the GOAJ is still 
smarting over the European Commission's rejection of 
Azerbaijan's proposal to hold a head-of-state summit on 
energy issues, and that GOAJ's anti-EU (and specifically 
anti-French) feelings were strengthened by EU members' 
abstentions during the recent vote on Azerbaijan's UNGA 
resolution regarding Nagorno Karabakh and the Occupied 
Territories.  (MFA First Territorial Department Director 
Rahman Mustafayev confirmed Wieber's assessment, telling us 
that the EU report is "nothing" and that the EU had 
demonstrated its true colors during the February troika 
visit.)  Wieber, like Ambassador Waddams, fears the report's 
relatively stronger criticism of Azerbaijan's democratic 
record - in contrast to more positive statements about 
Georgia and Armenia's democratic records despite the reality 
on the ground - will worsen EU-GOAJ relations and lend 
further credence to GOAJ beliefs that Azerbaijan is subjected 
to "double standards" by the West with respect to democracy 
and human rights. 
 
Limited Public Reaction to Report 
--------------------------------- 
 
7.  (C) The EU report has received very little notice in the 
Azerbaijani press or among Azerbaijan's political analysts. 
Independent political commentator Ilgar Mammadov admitted 
that he hadn't read the full report, but only the "Background 
and Overall Assessment Summary."  He did not believe that the 
content of thereport was particularly important and noted 
thathe would be much more critical of Azerbaijan's progress 
than the EU had been.  According to Mammadov, it was more 
interesting to compare the report on Azerbaijan to the 
reports on Georgia and Armenia.  While Azerbaijan is credited 
with only "limited tangible process," Armenia and Georgia are 
both said to have made "progress," and in some areas "good 
progress."  Mammadov stressed that this demonstrated the bias 
in the international community in favor of Armenia and 
Georgia over Azerbaijan.  He was particularly critical that 
the report on Armenia did not contain harsher language, given 
the violent crackdown on protesters in the wake of the 
Armenian elections.  He commented that Armenia seems to avoid 
criticism from the international community. 
 
8.  (C) Independent analyst Zardusht Alizade also had not 
read the full report, but criticized it as a soft and very 
polite evaluation of Azerbaijan's record.  He said that the 
EU does not want to provoke Azerbaijan, particularly since it 
has only weak instruments to pressure the Azerbaijani 
Government.  Zardusht claimed that the EU's weakness with 
regards to influencing Azerbaijan is exacerbated by the lack 
of a free press and the existence of a weak and ineffectual 
opposition. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
9.  (C) Following the EU Troika's February visit to Baku, 
GOAJ officials have repeatedly expressed their frustration 
over the EU relationship, particularly with respect to energy 
issues.  The EU's criticism of Azerbaijan's human rights 
record - mild though it may be - will not help.  The GOAJ 
increasingly believes that, in comparison with neighboring 
Georgia and Armenia, Azerbaijan is subjected to harsher 
standards on democracy and human rights by the West; it also 
is increasingly less willing to accept international policy 
prescriptions.  We expect that the EU may face difficulties 
in seeking to establish the new structured dialogue on 
democracy and human rights, particularly given GOAJ ire over 
France's perceived role in "orchestrating" the Co-Chairs no 
vote on the UNGA resolution (ref b). 
DERSE