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US democracy group distances self from alleged coup plot in Azerbaijan
BAKU - A prominent US non-governmental organization on Friday vehemently denied allegations that it was linked to an alleged plot to overthrow the Azerbaijani government.Azeri prosecutors announced Thursday they had arrested the leader of a youth group, saying he was plotting to launch a peaceful popular revolution during parliamentary elections in November at the instigation of the National Democratic Institute (NDI). "The allegations that we are funding a revolution just aren't true," NDI's director for Azerbaijan, Christy Quirk told AFP. In a statement the NDI said it cooperates with "all political parties" to promote free and fair voting. "All other allegations contradicting this position are not realistic," it said. The organization, which has faced criticism from regimes in other former Soviet republics accusing it of promoting revolutions that swept Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan recently, did not mention any specific allegations in its statement. Prosecutors also alleged that Yeni Fikir youth opposition movement leader Ruslan Bashirli allegedly accepted funds for a revolt from operatives of Azerbaijan's longtime foe Armenia. Bashirli told the Armenians he represented forces "acting on the instructions of the National Democratic Institute of the USA," and had received "specific instructions from representatives of this organization to prepare a revolution in Azerbaijan," according to a prosecutors' statement. Yeni Fikir denies Bashirli is guilty of charges of attempting "to take power by force," adding that Bashirli made the comments about NDI "because he was drunk and bragging," according to Said Nuriyev, a Bashirli deputy. Yeni Fikir leaders claim the allegations are a government smear campaign, and come amid increasing government pressure on opposition political parties ahead of parliamentary elections in November. Within Azerbaijan tensions between the opposition and the authorities have been on the rise in Azerbaijan ahead of the parliamentary vote. Azerbaijan's previous national vote, which saw Ilham Aliyev take the country's top post from his ailing father Heydar Aliyev in 2003, ended in two days of rioting and hundreds of arrests. Arrests of the opposition continued throughout this year, notably in May, when police arrested and beat dozens of protestors at an unsanctioned rally in Baku. Posted by: Steve White 2005-08-07 |
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