Ibrahimbekov refuses honorary chairman title

The screenwriter Rustam Ibrahimbekov decided to withdraw from his title of honorary chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces of Azerbaijan, to narrow the differences between its political forces and ensure the continuation of this public institution, established on his initiative on 28 May 2013.

On Friday, December 26, he issued the following appeal:

To the National Council of Democratic Forces

Interparty disagreement that escalated in the ranks of the democratic opposition immediately after the presidential election distracts public attention from the main problems of the country. I do not want to go into the analysis of the motivation of those who questioned the results of the National Council, but there is no doubt that their actions are aimed at destroying the unity of democratic forces and coincide with the interests of the power, which is very concerned about the international acceptance of the existence of the National Council.

I want to note that the critics of the National Council cover their destructive actions with "concern" about the "purity" of our organization, but they forget how consistently they prevented the creation of the National Council and the nomination of a single candidate in the presidential election, Jamil Hasanli.

And today, achieving some goals understandable only to them, the critics of the National Council deliberately downplay the historical significance of this broad coalition of democratic forces, separated for twenty years because of the mutual claims and accusations. The international democratic community perceives the National Council as a new stage in the development of the democratic opposition in Azerbaijan and sees the National Council as a representative organization that can effectively interact. It also bothers the power and those, who by their actions, are trying to turn the National Council into a union of two or three parties.

Realizing all this, and given the fact that the debate launched by the leadership of the party Musavat around electing me an honorary chairman of the National Council is a part of an overall campaign against the National Council, I nevertheless feel compelled to abandon the post of honorary chairman of the National Council. I hope that my decision will at least temporarily relieve tension in the inter-party relations and will help keep the National Council.

Again, I express gratitude to those who wanted to pay tribute to my humble efforts to unite the democratic community, but please consider this letter an official statement about my resignation.

Sincerely, Rustam Ibrahimbekovю--0--