Italian TV channel Rai 3 reveals secrets of Azerbaijan’s “Caviar diplomacy”
Paolo Mondani - journalist of the Italian TV channel Rai 3 - prepared a TV program dedicated to Azerbaijan’s so-called “Caviar diplomacy,” as well as human rights situation in that country.
In an interview with Mondani, Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova said that according to international organizations, there are from 84 to 100 political prisoners in Azerbaijan, including 8 journalists. It is highlighted that even the mark “like” under the oppositionists’ posts in the social media can become the reason for imprisonment in the country.
It is noted that in January 2013, during voting in PACE, the report on 85 political prisoners in Azerbaijan was vetoed. German deputy of the council of Europe, Christoph Strässer, introduced the report for discussion.
According to Strässer, the Azerbaijani government knows how to “make friends” with politicians, who are not against the “luxury lifestyle,” for example, receiving caviar from the Caspian Sea as a present. This was the reason the parliamentarians of the Council of Europe declined the German deputy’s report, which condemned human rights violations in Azerbaijan.
Strässer notes that the hall, where the report was discussed, was unusually full on the voting day. There were Russian and Turkish parliamentarians and many representatives from Spain and Italy. However, Italian politician Luca Volontè’s activity contributed to the rejection of the report.
Italian politician Luca Volontè - former head of the European People's Party faction in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe - received bribe from the Azerbaijani government in an amount equal to 2 million and 390 thousand euros for conducting activities in the interests of the Azerbaijani authorities.
Armenian MP Naira Karapetyan remembers that day very well. “I saw the parliamentarians, who were present at the meeting on that day, for the first time. After the voting, they disappeared,” she told Mondani.
It is noted that students of the non-profit organization European Stability Initiative prepared a report named “Caviar Diplomacy,” which reveals Azerbaijan’s lobbying activities in the Council of Europe. According to ESI's founding chairman Gerald Knaus, the Council of Europe has always spoken “very positively” of Azerbaijan. “It is the result of the ‘caviar diplomacy.’ This is how the Azerbaijanis work in the Council of Europe. This is how they achieve the necessary amount of votes in favor of their country,” Knaus said.
According to him, the parliamentarians visit Azerbaijan, receive expensive presents, and vote in favor of that country at the right time.
In its turn, mainfatti.it reports that according to the TV program, the country rich with hydrocarbon and caviar has been Italy’s business partner for many years. These countries are linked with the energy project Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which is designed to transport natural gas, starting from the second stage of the Shah Deniz gas field from Greece via Albania to Western Europe. However, the project has caused many ecologists’ dissatisfaction on several occasions.
Meanwhile, Repubblica.it reports that on December 1 of the current year, comic book named “Azerbaijan’s Ally” (L'Alleato Azero) will be launched in Italy under designer Claudia Giuliani’s editorship. http://espresso.repubblica.it/foto/2016/11/18/galleria/l-alleato-azero-la-graphic-novel-1.288821#1 Khadija Ismayilova - the symbol of repressions in Azerbaijan - is the main hero of the book. All the heroes are images of real people. Journalist Andrea Ulivieri is the only fictional character. It is not a coincidence that all the other characters are members of the “No to TAP” committee. In general, it is noted in the comic book that the TAP project is a fraud, and Azerbaijan is a country, which suffers from democratic decline, and where human rights protection is ignored. The story of Khadija, who fell victim to the Azerbaijani authorities’ repressive policies, is the evidence of that.
Earlier, it has been reported numerous times about the bribery of foreign politicians and lobbyist organizations by the Azerbaijani authorities for promoting their interests abroad. According to the American journal Foreign Policy, the registration documents of the Azerbaijani government and its American lobbyists show that in 2014, the country and those acting on its behalf spent $4 million on efforts to win influence among think tanks and lawmakers. It was noted that in February 2015, the Azerbaijani embassy increased the monthly fee of its main lobbyist, Podesta Group, from $50,000 to $75,000. The Podesta Group registration documents exposed hundreds of contracts with the Congress, executive authorities’ agencies, media, and investigating centers. Later,
Azerbaijan managed to win influence in Washington, and many congressmen started to make statements in Azerbaijan’s favor. At the same time, the documented violations of the president Ilham Aliyev’s regime against its own citizens were not mentioned in those statements.
http://www.panorama.am/en/news/2016/11/23/Italian-TV-channel-Rai-3/1682080