The ruling regime wants to return Azerbaijan to the one-party system

The ruling regime in Azerbaijan is  purposefully and methodically  destroying the multiparty system in order to establish the full dictates of a political force. To counteract this process, the opposition parties can only work together,  said the participants of the conference  held on Tuesday: "AMIP - 20:  from one-party system to a many party system."

    The forum was dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the AMIP, the  first political party registered in independent Azerbaijan. It was founded in October 1991 by  one of the leaders of the national movement, Etibar Mammadov.

  On  July 3 – 4, 1992  a Congress was held, and on July 17, the party was registered.

    "This event  paved the multiparty system in Azerbaijan 20 years ago," said the current chairman of the AMIP Yousif Bagirzade. He emphasized that the  course  of AMIP remains the  same: the struggle for strengthening the independence of Azerbaijan, and the reign of democracy in the country.

    Member of the Political Council of the AMIP, Rashad Bayramov, told about the history of the party and its contribution to the achievement of the independence of Azerbaijan; he said that as a result of pressure from the authorities, the  AMIP, as well as other opposition parties,  has considerably weakened. The only way to preserve and develop a multi-party cooperation is the opposition forces.

     The head of the "Adalat" party, MP Ilyas Ismailov , also shares this view. When he was a Minister of Justice, it was he who signed the document on the registration of AMIP.

    Ismailov pointed to the need for critical evaluation of the leading opposition parties,  and  the elimination of their mistakes.

    Another reason for the weakness of the opposition , according to Ismailov, is the  pressure  of authorities and the limitation of financial resources, persecution of those who support the opposition.

    Ismailov also called for a struggle for the restoration of proportional system of elections to the parliament.  After the abolition of this system, the parties have  weakened considerably.

    A member of the Forum of Azerbaijani Intellectuals, Firudin Jalilov,  called on the opposition to rely on youth. The current generation is more informed about global processes, and  is more creative. "I believe in its ability to fight for the  change," said Jalilov.

    The  greeting of the International Democratic Union (IDU), which includes the AMIP, its allies on the  IDU, the British Conservative Party, the Swedish Party of Moderators,  and others, was read at the  conference.  -06C--