The law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan continue to investigate the YouTube channel Toplum TV. The case, especially in the Armenian media, is, as one would expect, being painstakingly labeled as political: oh, “independent television”, “arrests of journalists”, “an attempt on freedom of speech”, and so on. In reality, the accusations against the employees of Toplum TV are purely financial. More precisely, Article 206 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan: smuggling. Yes, it is not without a political tinge, but it is still smuggling. That is, deliberately illegal activity.
Contrary to the hysterical outcries of well-known circles, no one is arrested in Azerbaijan for “freedom of speech” and journalistic activity, even with an opposition bias. Financial and tax violations are another matter. Especially when organizations are established under the guise of mass media to fulfill someone else’s political order: to “sway the situation” in the country, to provoke unrest, and so on.
As it turns out now, the “independent TV channel” Toplum TV was very actively used as a facilitation link for the illegal financing of numerous projects and “events” in Azerbaijan by well-known Western circles. At least half a million US dollars were pumped through this channel. As the materials seized during the searches in the office of the “independent TV channel” show, this relatively new Western project played the role of a “financial center” for a whole network of entities that aimed to provoke internal tensions, unrest, etc.
The scheme, to be honest, is familiar. In the not so distant past, starting in the nineties, similar schemes were carried out through such organizations as USAID or the National Democratic Institute, whose Baku office was headed by the well-known Alex Grigorievs. At that time, as you may recall, substantial funds were also funneled through the NDI to be used, among other things, to finance the “campaigns” in Fountain Square, where Molotov cocktails were used as well: in many European countries, making this flammable mixture is already considered a criminal offense. Moreover, the investigation even then had irrefutable evidence that many young people were recruited to join, or rather, to be complicit in these campaigns for money.
And now the old schemes are back in action. Persons like Akif Gurbanov, who was one of the executives of Toplum TV, headed the Institute for Democratic Initiatives, and also led the “Third Republic” political movement, received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Western institutions, while the young “recruits” received only a pittance. Another déjà vu.
And the most remarkable thing is that both then and now the illegal schemes of financing the subversive network created in Azerbaijan by Western institutions were conducted through Georgia.
As practice shows, illegal financing schemes regularly emerge when attempts are made to create various kinds of organizations under the guise of the mass media that are tailored to fulfil someone’s political order to destabilize the situation in the country. This is quite understandable. As the old proverb that was once popular in the American Wild West says, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” Translation: you can rant all you want on YouTube about “human rights violations” and call for “revolution,” but the potential for revolution must grow from within. And if there is no discontent at the required level, the only thing left to do is to hire “revolutionaries” for money. Which has to be delivered to the country. That is why they have to resort to smuggling schemes. Mainly through Georgia.
One can guess why this is happening. Georgia has announced its aspiration to join NATO and the European Union, Western institutions on its territory are essentially given carte blanche, and as a result these organizations are very actively using Georgia as a springboard to work against its neighbors, including, or rather, primarily against Azerbaijan. Moreover, organizations like Abzas Media or Toplum TV are not the first incident of this kind.
Suffice it to recall the controversy around the arrest of Afgan Mukhtarli, who was also portrayed as a major “investigative journalist” and who was detained precisely for moving large sums of money across the border without proper paperwork. That is, for smuggling. Now the old schemes are back in business, and hardly only because the activities of the scandalous Toplum TV were managed by Khadija Ismail. However, the schemes at work here are more clever than just crawling across the border on the belly with pockets full of cash.
Accounts are opened in Georgian banks and anonymous bank cards are issued for these accounts, which are then handed over to “trusted partners”. The Hawala system, through which heuristic groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS were once financed, is also widely used.
But here is the thing. Obviously, many people in the West are not happy with the independent policy of our country, and they would like to see in place of the current Azerbaijan a dependent and malleable state with controlled figures at its helm, so that they could “tweak” the policy of Azerbaijan to suit their own, not Azerbaijani interest and, if necessary, turn the country into a bargaining chip. As the events around Ukraine show, the odoriferous traditions of Daladier’s diplomacy have not yet been forgotten in the West. Of course, Azerbaijan will block and disrupt these schemes. And as practice shows, our country combats this kind of provocative agitation quite effectively and will not allow itself to be turned into an analog of Syria or Libya.
However, the security services of Georgia itself cannot fail to notice all this monkey business. They are hardly unaware of what accounts are opened in Georgian banks, how anonymous bank cards are issued, how ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Georgia get involved in provocative schemes… Akif Gurbanov himself is a native of Georgia, he regularly visits the country, but he does not only meet with his family and friends, but also with his Western supervisors. The Georgian authorities know nothing about this, do they?
Yes, Tbilisi is eager to build closest possible relations with both the United States and the European Union, and they understand perfectly well that any attempt to get in the way of the Soros Foundation and similar organizations will cause discontent and hysteria. But dare we remind them that Azerbaijan is hardly less important for Georgia than Europe and the United States. Especially given the economic realities and bitter lessons of August 2008, when the Western allies simply betrayed Georgia. And if now the West demands that Georgia provide its territory for, shall we call things by their proper names, provocative activities against Azerbaijan…
Once again, Azerbaijan is a strong, able and independent state. Our country is quite capable of putting up reliable fences against provocateurs. As recent events show, Azerbaijan has dealt a crushing blow to the network that tried to play against the fundamental interests of our country and prevent the historic victory in Karabakh. We know very well who is executing such plans and why. But Georgia, our close neighbor and partner, should not allow itself to be dragged into these plans.
