"Officials serve the system, not society"

After the self-immolation of war veteran Elvin Jafarov in front of the administrative building of the Sabirabad District Executive Power, topics related to the arbitrariness and procrastination of officials have come to the fore. Among the society, they think that the officials representing the executive structures push people to such a point that ordinary citizens see the way out in demonstratively killing themselves. Even the numbers show that the picture is direr. For example, according to unofficial estimates, after the end of the 44-day war, 36 war veterans committed suicide, and more than 50 war veterans attempted suicide.

Why is there no one who says "stop!" to officials’ arbitrariness? 

Human rights defender Asabali Mustafayev answered ASTNA's questions about the issue of public interest.

* * *

Question: Asabali Bey, people set themselves on fire and kill themselves in front of various government bodies in protest against carelessness and procrastination. Despite all this, why is there no one who says "stop!" to officials’ arbitrariness? 

Answer: In our country, the appointment of officials to all levels of state structures is based on the principles of personal loyalty to the leader, unconditional execution of the tasks of the superior, and personal effort to support the government's policy in all areas. According to the opinion of the public, every official is also a pillar of the corruption system. Therefore, if the mistakes made by the officials in their work do not seriously harm the interests of the government, they are not held responsible.

Historically, it is known that in countries where corruption is strong, official arbitrariness always prevails, and institutions that should prevent this (law enforcement, judiciary, public sector, independent media, etc.) adapt to this system.

Question: It is interesting that the officials whose behavior has caused various forms of protest, dissatisfaction, and even suicide do not resign themselves. What is the reason for this? Why don't those officials resign?

Answer: Despite serious public criticism and discontent against some officials, they are not dismissed and do not resign themselves. The reason for not being fired is that these officials serve the system, not the society, and as long as the system does not see them as a threat to itself, these officials remain in office. This factor is the reason why officials criticized by society do not resign themselves. That is, if the system is not dissatisfied with him/her, the dissatisfaction of the society, the people as a whole, is of no importance. Because it is the system, not the people or their elected representatives, who appoint officials.

Question: In many cases, we witness that those officials or government bodies who caused protests try to purify themselves by making statements after such events, thereby further irritating the protesting people. What are those officials or government agencies fall back upon?

Answer: In cases where an event that occurred in a branch of the administrative system causes serious dissatisfaction and comments in the society, sometimes the head of that structure makes the attitude to that event even more acute with their statements. Although those officials know that the result will be like this, they do not consider public opinion. Because they are sure that the system expects such statements from him/her for its own interests.

Question: Why are the circumstances leading to the protest not investigated? Why do the officers come out unscathed from the criminal cases opened with the article of bringing to the point of suicide? Why don't the investigative body investigating the case, the state prosecutor demand that those officials be temporarily removed from their jobs in order to properly investigate the case?

Answer: Unfortunately, there are no boundaries between the legislative, executive, and judicial powers, including mass media, which are considered the fourth power, these power structures have become a single institution by integrating with each other. That is why the incidents of suicide and other serious crimes that threaten statehood (for example, corruption, arbitrariness, etc.) are not effectively investigated, do not receive a legal evaluation, and measures are not applied to eradicate them.

Question: The authorities form such an opinion that the activities of the management staff of government bodies are under control. From time to time, we even witness noisy arrests. But where is the result? Why don't officials learn from such cases?

Answer: In some cases, high-profile arrests of officials are made, and these events are discussed by the public for some time. These events are aimed at preventing the increase of discontent in society. These arrests are mainly related to corruption. However, despite these arrests, the corrupt activity of officials does not stop. This is expected. Because radical measures to fight corruption are not applied. For example, according to the law adopted 20 years ago, officials are supposed to submit income declarations; however, the entry into force of this paragraph of that law has been postponed for an indefinite period. However, in the neighboring countries around us, this rule has been applied for decades and has given certain results.

Question: What can be done to normalize officials’ management? What can be done so that officials act as "servants" of the people rather than as "masters" of the people?

Answer: In order to prevent officials’ arbitrariness, it is important to implement the following measures by legislation:

- to ensure free and democratic parliamentary and municipal elections;

- to obtain parliamentary approval for the appointment of high-ranking officials;

- to limit the powers of officials and bodies;

- to implement complex measures to eliminate the corruption system;

- to create conditions for the activity of independent media and civil society.