Azerbaijan's Neft Dashlari oil field has been active since the 1950s. (c) Sergei Grits / AP / Press Association Images. All rights reserved.Azerbaijan is the little brother of Turkey, culturally and politically speaking. And so, no surprise that while Turkey is undergoing one of the gravest undemocratic turmoils for years, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev is poised to consolidate his hold on power by changing the constitution.
In late July, Aliyev announced that a referendum on the new constitution would take place on 26 September. Given Aliyev’s track record, we can safely assume that this referendum will be a facade to anaesthetise European observers.
These are the tactics of Europe’s worst regime: lulling possible foreign critics with oil contracts, fancy sport and cultural events, and glossy inflight magazines published as Conde Nast “specials”, Meanwhile, citizens of Azerbaijan are denied fundamental rights, there are no independent media and political prisoners await freedom in deplorable conditions. Azerbaijan’s judiciary seems to be manually steered by the president and the parliament rubber-stamps whatever Aliyev wants.
