Even if Musavat is not registered, the party will continue to fight - Arif Hajily

The oldest Azerbaijani political party "Musavat" may be outlawed if the verification process initiated in accordance with the new law "On Political Parties" in the Ministry of Justice ends with the defeat of "Musavat". The analysis of the list of party members in the Ministry of Justice ended with the official statement of the inconsistency of the declared list with the results of the audit.

According to the law "On Political Parties", political parties in Azerbaijan must register with the Ministry of Justice. As part of the registration process, parties are required to provide the names, addresses and contact details of 5,000 of their members, as well as information about their local party organizations.

Here is an interview with Arif Hajili, the chairman of the “Musavat” party.

Question: "How does “Musavat” react to the letter of the Ministry of Justice about the discrepancy between the results of the audit to the party lists?"

Answer: Yesterday, the deputy chairman of the “Musavat” party, Razim Amiraslanli, met with officials at the Ministry of Justice and clarified the data on citizens who allegedly refused membership in the party, about party members whose data were not on our lists. We took the names of these people and began our investigation.

Question:  What are the initial results of your investigation?

Answer:  A letter received from the Ministry of Justice assures that the given names of 2766 party members on our list are incorrect. We do not believe this because the figure of 2766 is close to the same indicator that was presented to the Popular Front Party (PFPA). We believe that official data on the discrepancy of every second musavatist to our list is unrealistic. There may be several hundred errors, but not nearly three thousand. We believe that  it is not our mistake, but there is a problem in the control system of the Ministry of Justice.

More than 2 thousand names in our lists have been confirmed as members of Musavat. 250 people said by phone that they were not members of Musavat. We have submitted a list of 5212 party members. This is only a part of the party members; it is just that the law requires only 5 thousand party members to submit a list. In fact, the party has many more members.

Question:  The Ministry of Justice calls party members and asks about their party affiliation. And who checks the Ministry of Justice, is it possible to believe the statement of this organization?

Answer: We are told that 250 people told the inspectors that they were not members of “Musavat.” But leaving the party does not happen on a call from the Ministry of Justice. These people were accepted into the party in accordance with the procedure in the district offices of “Musavat,” they applied for admission, answered questions, and a collective decision was made on admission. Withdrawal from the party is also conducted procedurally, on the written application of a party member, or in connection with the death of a person. That is, it is impossible to say about the absence of these people in the party on the basis of phone calls.

Question:  Are you considering going to court to prove your case?

Answer:  While we are busy working on checking our lists submitted to the Ministry of Justice and correcting technical shortcomings in them. The amendments to the "Law on Political Parties" are reactionary, nevertheless we will fulfill all the comments of the Ministry of Justice. Only after that, if the ministry does not register “Musavat,” then we will go to court.

Question: Is illegal work of “Musavat” possible if the party is not registered in the register after all?

Answer:  The government's policy is aimed at destroying the multi-party system. Every citizen knows that Musavat is one of the two parties that should be recognized. If the "Musavat"  party is not  registered, it will create a new political reality in society. But I hope and think that our party will be registered even under the reactionary law.

The “Musavat” party operated illegally for about 70 Soviet years. The Stalinist regime could not completely eliminate “Musavat.” Of course, we will continue to work if the authorities refuse to recognize us. We are already acting semi-legally. Party members working in state organizations are forced to hide their political affiliation in order not to lose their jobs. We have to hide the partisanship of some of our members. But still, the time is different now, the world is changing and I think that the current government will not be able to aggravate the difficult anti-democratic reality of Azerbaijani society. I hope that the “Musavat” party will not have to switch to illegal activities.