Libel, honor and dignity

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History of Turan

After graduating from the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University, I work for the Russian-language newspaper "Youth of Azerbaijan", headed by the legendary editor Najaf Najafov. The editorial choice was deliberate - it was the only free-thinking publication in the republic. It was not by chance that in 1988, when the people came to the Azadliq Square to defense territorial integrity in response to the Armenian encroachment on Karabakh, it was Najaf Najafov who first among journalists wrote an article about the area and the demands of the people. It was the "Youth of Azerbaijan" that broke through the information taboos around the Karabakh issue. For this, he was dismissed. Following him, his supporters Arif Aliyev, Shahin Hajiyev, Gunduz Shabanov, Nazim Rahimov and others, also left the editorial office.

In 1989, Najafov became one of the founders of the Popular Front and the first editor of the "Azadlig newspaper."

I left the newspaper for the state information agency Azerinform, a branch of TASS in Azerbaijan, where I worked as a correspondent for the military legal department. I often was sent to Karabakh and the border with Armenia. After Soviet troops entered Baku on January 19 - January 20, 1990, I left the agency in protest, and I was the only one who did it. I went to work in the educational magazine "Khazar", headed by Arif Aliyev, and became the executive secretary of the publication. The magazine operated at the Center for Literary Translations, headed by the great turkologist Aydin Mamedov, famous in the USSR and beyond. It was the Center of free-thinking people and the place of consolidation of Turkic ideas. After some time, we set up the "Turan" information and publishing enterprise headed by Arif Aliyev. I was responsible for publishing.

In connection with the need to break through the information blockade of Azerbaijan, on May 5, 1990, the enterprise established the Turan Information Agency, which I headed. At first I worked alone - I wrote news by hand and read them on telephone to the foreign bureaus of the world media stationed in Moscow. By the end of 1991, funding was limited and the agency was on the verge of closure. However, by that time "Turan" got the recognition from the world media, and a stream of fees began. Monthly income totaled several thousand dollars, pounds sterling, Deutsch marks, French francs, Russian rubles. At that time, a high salary was equivalent to 50 dollars. In 1992, the agency employed five people. After independence, embassies and representative offices of foreign companies began to open. Revenues have grown by many times, and with them expanded the agency. All funds were invested in development. By 1997, the number of employees reached 45. We covered all areas and were practically the only main sources of textual and photographic information for the media. Our subscribers were dozens of newspapers and all TV channels. There was no Internet yet, and we were the only ones who created an intranet at the end of the 90s, a system that connected our customers to our basic computer, which allowed subscribers to read the news online. We were the first in everything. We had big plans.

But in 1998 was launched the policy of suppressing the media in Azerbaijan, which led to a serious crisis of the press. In the first years of the crisis, Turan was the only stable publication where workers were not laid off and paid wages in a timely manner and even raised them. In 2006, when many media were under the control of the authorities, they were forbidden to subscribe to Turan and use our news. It was a financial blow to the agency and its informational blocking. Our news is distributed only by subscription, which is our only source of income. And our news read ordinary citizens, listened through the media that they broadcast. Subsequently, our financial situation began to deteriorate against the background of the creation of alternatives and numerous state-funded media. The number of employees began to decline, which went to other media for higher salaries. Turan received support from the Soros Foundation to distribute free news and NED to create a site Contact.az open for regular readers up to 2014.

Here is one example. In 2001, media representatives met with President Heydar Aliyev in connection with the financial and economic crisis of the press. At that meeting, I publicly stated that the media"s debt to the agency was 40 thousand dollars for information services. Heydar Aliyev only expressed surprise and nothing more. A couple of days later, a meeting of the representatives of the Soros Foundation with editors at the Baku Press Club was held, that they said they could allocate 70,000 dollars for all. The editors offered to pay their debts to the agency. Representatives of the Soros Foundation said they could not do this, but could pay for the subsequent services of the agency to newspapers and magazines. That was done. For two years we supplied for free the press with information products.

A distinctive feature of the agency among the media was that Turan consistently held a civil position in the protection of the word, human rights, and public interests. And this was also the reason for the authorities' attacks on the agency.

It should be noted that over the past four years, the number of employees has decreased to 15 people, of which 8 are journalists, and the remaining technical workers. But we, nevertheless, were able to continue the work that the authorities also tried to stop in 2017 by fabricating a lawsuit against the agency. Turan survived thanks to widespread support from the local and international community. The fact that not a single organization, not a single person received such a consolidated powerful support in the entire history of the country, or even of the post-Soviet space, testifies to the degree of importance of the role and influence of a not large agency. And finally, if it were not for the policy of repressing the media, I can say with full confidence, that Turan would remain the information flagship of Azerbaijan.

Agent of the Ministry of National Security (MNS)

I really know businessman Babek Muradov, who was a friend of Najaf Najafov, and my first editor introduced me to him. This is a worthy person and citizen. But for information, I will add that the offer to work for the MNS came not when Mahmudov headed it, but in 1995. This happened after I informed the country's leadership about the impending assassination attempt on Heydar Aliyev. Then I was offered to head the analytical department of the MNS. I refused this offer.

Even earlier, in 1994, I informed Heydar Aliyev about attempts to disrupt the signing of the "Contract of the Century", which was a crucial project for the country. After that, he held a meeting and publicly demanded to submit the contract in a short time, which was done. I think there is no need to speak about the role of this contract in the events of October 1994 and subsequent events. After that, I was offered high posts, from which it was not possible to refuse, but I again refused.

There were other important issues that Turan settled for the interests of national security, and which should not be publicly discussed.

Sahib Mamedov

I don"t think that Sahib Mammadov could say that I persistently asked him for money to make a film about Sumgait. We were not familiar with him at that time, although I was the deputy press secretary of the president and the head of the public relations sector. In my supervision there was also the Karabakh direction. I think that everyone who worked at that time in the Elchibey"s administration knows the level of work we carried out then and achieved the neutralization of the Armenian disinformation machine. This work was highly appreciated not only in Baku, but also in Yerevan. In April 1993, the press secretary of the Armenian President phoned Arif Aliyev, the press secretary of President Elchibey, and offered to declare a moratorium on the information war. We replied that we were not conducting an information war, we were simply doing our job - we tell the truth.

This work was also highly appreciated by Heydar Aliyev, who headed the parliament after the change of power in June 1993; through his representative, H. Aliyev offered me to head the presidential press service. I refused this offer, and did not even go to work. I was also offered the post of director of Azertaj, which was kept vacant for two years. I again refused. I will not speak about motives. All these topics require more detailed explanation.

Soros Foundation

I became the last chairman of the Board of the Open Society Institute - Azerbaijan (Soros Foundation) in 2009. This was the time when Soros decided to close the representative office in Azerbaijan.

The Soros Foundation came to Azerbaijan in the second half of the 1990s and made a great contribution to the development of a civil society, a country's NGOs. In fact, most non-governmental organizations, well-known figures became high-level specialists in their fields thanks to the support of the Foundation. The Soros Foundation laid the basis for the development of civil society. The Foundation has made a great contribution to the development of applied science, education, medicine, law, legislation, the media and others. No one can provide evidence that the foundation was preparing a revolution in Azerbaijan. If the idea of an open society, which Soros recited, is a revolutionary idea, then this is unhealthy fantasy.

Rustam Ibrahimbekov

A letter to Putin asking to deprive Rustam Ibrahimbekov of his Russian citizenship in order to remove obstacles to his nomination for presidency, was written by me, but on behalf of the National Council. And this was the right decision, because history does not know other way out of citizenship. I supported the National Council and Ibrahimbekov, and do not repent of it. By the way, the informational machine of the National Council with minimal resources outplayed the government propaganda information system; and one of the leading experts of the government propaganda team admitted it in a conversation with me.

As for my claims to the presidency, they never existed. Groups and people came to me asking for the nomination of a presidential candidate after the participation of Ibrahimbekov became impossible; I did not accept it, because I have never seen myself in the role of a politician, or a president. Such proposals and wishes regarding me were put forward more than once, but, I repeat again that I have never had such ambitions.

Ilham Aliyev

The author is positioning himself as a defender of President Ilham Aliyev. In fact, presenting himself in the role of defender of I. Aliyev, he is trying to use him to attack me and Turan. I do not think that Ilham Aliyev needs the support of such dubious people as Shahsuvarly, who did much to discredit the image of the president himself. Aliyev and his relatives have never been subjected to such insults on the social network that they have been subjected to lately. This culture was introduced into the information space by black trolls such as Shahsuvarly and his "benefactors". This libel written by Shahsuvarly testifies to his dubiousness; and has become a reason for my answer in order to clarify the history of Turan. Each of his paragraphs are the Articles 147 and 148 of the Criminal Code.

Yes, I have always been a critic of Ilham Aliyev, but not unfounded. I have repeatedly put forward various proposals and initiatives in various fields. He took into account some of them, and even supported, others were left without attention and response.

And this is my position not only as a journalist, but also as a citizen who has rights and obligations to the constitution. And I will keep to it in the future. Once I was asked if I had information about the impending assassination attempt on Aliyev, what I would have done. I replied, just like 1995. But I am not sure that Shahsuvarly would also do that. Because it requires courage, honor and dignity.