Alwaght- Azerbaijan Democratic Party led by Sardar Jalaloglu is one of the leading opposition parties in the country. The Party’s leaders struggle for broader political freedoms in modern Azerbaijan, which was once a Soviet republic. Alwaght has arranged an interview with Mr Jalaloglu and asked him about the current political developments in the country and the role of the foreign interference in the nation’s domestic affairs.
Touching on political parties condition Azerbaijan, Mr Jalaloglu said situation is worrisome, adding the government was trying to check the moves made by the opposition body, something that will impair the political position of political opponents of President Ilham Aliyev. He also complained about the nation’s process of elections, arguing that his party and other opposition parties repeatedly participated in the elections, and made successes; however, foreign powers' meddling has changed the elections results. He went on to talk about the government’s mistreatment of opponents, saying they repeatedly were detained and tortured for their legal political activities. “The government blocks our activities. That has kept us excluded from the governing process for years,” Jalaloglu told Alwaght.
He went on to say that the main objective behind activism of the opposition parties was to create a democratic political structure in a bid to protect civil rights and freedoms. Secretary General of Azerbaijan Democratic Party also suggested that the government should be "from the people and serve the people.” Equality of growth for all parts of the country and all of the citizens, along with the developed and Islamic nations, is also one of the most important aims striven after by the opposition body, Mr Jalaloglu continued.
“We in Caucasus region are neighbors to two Christian countries and if we fall behind and remain underdeveloped in comparison to our Christian neighbors, then this would be harmful to our Muslim state,” he maintained.
The Azerbaijani politician pointed to the need for the country to cut off the foreign hands, including the Westerners, who are interfering in the country’s affairs. “Achieving a genuine independence is another important goal for us. Because the real remedy to all of the challenges and crises of Azerbaijan is the real independence. A country without independence will not obtain development nor will it successfully manage to settle its own social issues."
The Secretary General of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party also highlighted the foreign efforts to gain a toehold in the country’s political and social affairs, including those made by the Israeli regime. “In addition to Azerbaijan, Israel is now working hard in Qatar and Turkey where the majority of the Muslims, unlike in Azerbaijan, are Sunni Muslims. Israelis want to destroy the unity existing among the Muslim nations and consequently prevent the development of the Muslims, or at least keep the Muslim countries weaker than the Christian ones,” he noted.
"Before we had any tensions with the Jews, the Europeans and the West as a whole had the most escalated tensions with them. In the 16th century, the Europeans massacred the Jews, in the 18th century they were confined to a limited region without any right to move out, and in past century Adolf Hitler attempted to uproot them," Jalaloglu said, stating "The Europeans and the West who are now supporting the Jews for centuries were their staunchest enemies. In the past, a Turkish sultan asked the West to avoid massacring the Jews. In the Second World War, it was Muslims who received them with open arms. As long as the Jews made problems for the Muslims, they lived in the Muslim nations like other people. Even now there is a city in Azerbaijan called Quba, part of whose inhabitants are Jews and are living in best conditions. This is because Islam calls for people to avoid oppressing others. However, later, some groups under Israeli ideologies broke with Torah and the humanity’s teachings."
The politician slammed Israeli regime as "a threat not only to the Muslims but also to the whole world."
" The Israeli actions in the West Asia have pushed the region to the brink of the third world war. Israel seeks to damage the peace and wage a huge war in the West Asia in an effort to materialize its plan to dominate the regional nations,” he said.
Jalaloglu also called on Azerbaijan's government to confront the increasing intervention of Saudi Arabia in the country's internal affairs over the past few years.
"At the time being, all are busy competing for influence and it is our duty to guard against the meddling and save our independence and sovereignty. We also need to strongly repel the Saudi-promoted Wahhabism and at the same time be conscious of the Israeli policies and conspiracies," the Azerbaijani Opposition leader concluded.
