By Ivan Gharibyan

Yesterday, the central Azerbaijani mass media were in ecstasy over happy news: a membership card was issued to the 5000th member of the ruling party Yeni Azerbaijan (New Azerbaijan). The “great” event was held on the occasion of Young People’s Day marked in Azerbaijan on February 2. The celebrations afforded another opportunity for a wild propaganda of “the care for the young generation” by the “national leader” Heydar Aliyev and his son Ilham.

Speaking on the occasion, Ali Ahmedov, Vice-Chairman of the Yeni Azerbaijan Party, stated that the reason for “the policy formulated by the great leader Heydar Aliyev is an aspiration for turning Azerbaijan into one of the most powerful and wealthy states of the world.” Of course, nothing was said about more than million young people that emigrated from Azerbaijan only to market in Russia in awful conditions. On the other hand, too much was said about the power of the ruling party, which is leading the country to a bright future.

However, unlike the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), with such corrupted particrats as Heydar Aliyev unfortunately among its prominent members, Yeni Azerbaijan has not any clear ideology, “confidently” leading the country to nowhere. On the one hand, market relations are rapidly developing in the country – the residents of old Baku are thrown out of their flats for elite housing to be constructed, etc… On the other hand, the Azerbaijani economy is under full control of the monopolies owned by the Aliyev clan. The country’s cultural and spiritual life is following only the worst traditions of the Soviet time, leaving all the fine ones in the “damned Soviet past.” To make sure, one has just once watch a news program of one of the Baku TV channels – the brainwashing situation is worse only in Turkmenistan.

One of the glaring examples of Azerbaijan’s upholding the worst Soviet traditions is that numerous people are indiscriminately admitted to the ruling party. The present situation in Azerbaijan is that, without being a member of the Yeni Azerbaijan Party, a person cannot hope for “promising career.” Tens of thousands of young people are joining the governing party in their own career interests.

The fate of such parties is sickeningly familiar to everyone: they get corrupted within, transforming into huge bureaucratic systems incapable of adequately responding to the developments inside and outside the country. The result is an inevitable – and unexpected — collapse! Well, for the present, let the Aliyev clan be happy that 10% of Azerbaijan’s voters are members of the ruling party.

T.P.