MIG-29 crash: more questions than answers

***

- The body of the pilot of Colonel-Lieutenant Rashad Atakishiyev and fragments of an Azerbaijani Air Force plane that crashed over the Caspian Sea on July 24 during a training flight were discovered 27-28 days after the incident. From the day of the incident, some information appeared in the media and social networks. There were versions of a downed plane. Do you think there are grounds for such allegations? Could this event be a provocation?

- First of all, I would like to say that, unfortunately, the number of such incidents in Azerbaijan is not small, and the corresponding conclusions should be made from this. I think that the reason for the many versions of the crash happened is the absence of transparency, poor public relations of the Defense Ministry, and the absence of a flexible information policy in this area. The information gap is extremely dangerous, especially in the case of such incidents; therefore often appear false information, rumors and, of course, deliberate misinformation to mislead public opinion. I have observed, collected and analyzed all the information about this disaster. I did not share the information collected in the media or social networks, not to affect public opinion. This was not accidental, since for the sake of populism or for some other reason, the dissemination of inaccurate and ill-conceived information could affect the army, military personnel and, ultimately, the country's security. I must admit that the version by military expert Uzeyir Jafarov seems more convincing. (Uzeyir Jafarov suggested that an Azerbaijani military plane could be disoriented through the Russian electronic warfare system). Despite this, I decided to wait for the extraction of the aircraft and decryption of the data. Only after collecting all the data, in my blog I published a version about the downed plane. Not only this, but also about other events around what happened. I must admit that a month of intense expectation left a heavy residue in my soul, because I was expecting a serious and professional statement from the Ministry of Defense. Unfortunately, these hopes were not justified; on the contrary, the Ministry of Defense complicated the situation.

- Do you think the Ministry of Defense is open to the public?

- Unfortunately, I cannot answer this question positively. I have already mentioned some points in my answer to your previous question. We are a war-torn country, our territories are occupied, and our geography is complex in terms of military, political and geopolitical realities. One of the most important components of modern warfare is the information war, so gaps in this area, lack of professionalism and negligence can cause more problems for any country than losing an army on the battlefield. In this sense, recent events have shown that it is necessary to review both the openness of the armed forces to the public and its analytical and informational activities, and urgent measures must be taken in this area. I understand very well that the Ministry of Defense cannot go beyond the erroneous policy of the Government of Azerbaijan in the field of information and public relations, but it should also be borne in mind that the inability to do this in the near future could cost us dearly if the conflict goes into an active phase. Except for specific points, the army cannot be closed to the public if it does not have special problems with confidentiality, since it is an army of the people and people should be aware of the situation in the army. To believe that such transparency can undermine the work of the army is either a sign of ignorance of the issue, or a desire to hide the negative aspects of the army, and sometimes-even crime. For example, if the army were open to the public, the military prosecutor's office and a number of its military officials would not be able to commit known illegal actions against members of the Ter-Ter garrison. In fact, this story undermined the confidence of the people in the army, its personnel, the state and the government, and the organizers and perpetrators of these criminal acts continue to go unpunished, even at high government posts. Impunity for crimes committed against the army during wartime not only undermines the authority of the armed forces, but also weakens the military capabilities of the army. I repeat that if relations between the military and society were up to standard, today we would be witnesses to a completely different mood both in the army and in society. Unfortunately, we observe opposite.

- The Ministry of Defense reported that specialists studied the black box of the MIG -29 and other technical documents related to the flight. The results say that the plane collided with an alien body (bird or flock of birds) before it crashed and the pilot was injured. This is widely discussed on the social network. Most are skeptical of this official information. Do you think this version is reasonable or is the ministry trying to hide the fact? If the Ministry is trying to hide the truth, then why?

- The statement of the Ministry of Defense was not only skeptical; it increased tension in society in connection with the loss of our pilot and aircraft. The hasty and unprofessional preparation of the statement seems obvious, and the evidence presented is not only inconclusive, but even undermines the credibility of this organization. Anyway, this is what I noticed. First of all, the collision of an airplane with a bird flock over the Caspian Sea during a period at around 22:00 sounds very unusual. Secondly, let's see if this is so, and whether the pilot was injured during the collision and lost control of the aircraft, and what was the reason that the plane was broken into fragments? Because of the birds? Can you believe that a fighter with such a powerful body like the MIG-29 can break apart when it collides with a flock of birds? Especially these days, when the Internet has countless photos and videos, expert opinions and other sources. In addition, there are images on the Internet that show the scene of the crash in 2008 in the Caspian Sea, people compare it with shots from the latest incident. I also shared this material on my blog, and it turned out that the MIG-29, which crashed in 2008 and was removed from the sea, was intact, despite the fact that the frontal part was broken. I"m not saying yet that in countries such as the USA, Russia, and Great Britain that have experience and relevant scientific and technical capabilities, decoding the "black box" takes 5-7 days, but we did it in 2-3 days. Despite the fact that the "black box" was under water for 25-26 days, it must be restored before being examined. Suppose it was possible, but then the question arises, whydid not the Ministry of Defense respond in a timely manner when the media repeatedly discussed the absence of technical means to decrypt the "black box" in Azerbaijan? As I mentioned above, the attempt to fill the gap created by the misinformed and unprofessional information policy led to the opposite result.

- The funeral of Rashad Atakishiyev also raised a lot of questions. The media were not allowed. His father-in-law, Ghalib Huseynli, said that participation of the opposition in funeral was undesirable. Why do you think all this happened?

- May Allah have mercy on Rashad and give patience to his family, relatives and all of us. The death of Rashad Atakishiev is a very hard and irreplaceable loss for all of us. Gabil Huseynli did not mention the opposition parties, although it was clear that they were meant. Of course, the most accurate explanation could be given by Gabil Huseynli, but, he will probably say his word later. Maybe the parties wanted to take a collective part in the funeral in the form of an action, and then it is possible that state bodies could react inadequately and aggressively. In any case, an attempt by an organ to hold a farewell ceremony or use it as political PR is contrary to moral standards and therefore unacceptable. On the other hand, political discrimination at weddings, or other celebrations, funerals undermines the foundations of society and its centuries-old system of values. I must also regret that, in the political circles of the country, the political attitude to mourning and joyful events is a fact, regardless of how unpleasant this tradition is. Therefore, it is a matter of personal responsibility and personal morale of participants. The fact that people who have not known for years and have not been close to those who are in the center of the ceremony, tend to be with them on that day, shows how our political environment prevails over moral values, and I don"t see anything joyful here. The transformation of Gabil Huseynli into a target for abusive treatment testifies to the deepening of unhealthy trends in the political environment of the country. The fact that the media cannot attend the funeral is probably due to the widespread resonance of the incident, which worries the authorities. That is why they took such an unusual step to remove the problem from the agenda.

- On 17 August one of the country's television channels showed a video of a collision of a MIG 29 plane with birds. (Https://www.facebook.com/realtvxeber/videos/vb.1564050067038839/1939180709516225/?type=2&theater). Two days later, a black box was found. Then the same version of a bird collision is launched. This caused many to suspect that a pre-prepared script is being implemented. How did all this happen?

- When investigating the incident, I have not met in the media or Internet resources the fact that the MIG-29 plane collided with birds. If there was such a report, then there was a goal in its demonstration, and we saw it in a statement by the Ministry of Defense. Personally, my suspicions that the plane was shot down dissipated after the statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I wrote it on my blog. Today I can say with great certainty that the MIG-29 plane of the Azerbaijani army was intentionally eliminated by the enemies of our country. Law enforcement agencies must identify this state, which has hostile feelings towards us.

- What does this event teach Azerbaijan? What lessons should Azerbaijan learn? And what steps should be taken to prevent such situations?

- I think that from this case the same lessons will be learned that the country received from the political and economic failures of the country. The crisis in the country is at its peak, but there is no sign that this is upsetting anyone. The growth of economic monopolism under the guise of economic development, even more rapid impoverishment of the population, the collapse of the political system of the state, the growth of violence in society and a moral decline - against this background, reforms are imitated. Azerbaijan is a country under occupation, and in such a country such an attitude towards the army is unacceptable, but I do not expect this attitude to change, since in a country where the interests of a person, family, group and clan are clearly higher than the interests of the state, expecting lessons from what happened look frivolous. Therefore, I think that some time later we will forget this story.