Expert on Azerbaijan Tatev Hayrapetyan noted that Azerbaijan is trying to devalue the importance of the latest political events in Armenia. “Several Azeri deputies and politicians said that the parliamentary elections were rigged and that the level of voter participation was low, but members of the opposition wrote interesting things on the Internet. They emphasized that Armenia has finally had democratic elections,” Tatev Hayrapetyan told reporters.
She quoted an Azeri opposition member who said that the Artsakh conflict negotiations process will be a process between democracy and authoritarianism.
According to Tatev Hayrapetyan, Azeri opposition members understand that Armenia has an opportunity to effectively present its position on the Artsakh issue. As far as whether or not the latest events in Armenia will serve as an example for the Azeri opposition to unite, Tatev Hayrapetyan noted, “As of right now, I do not see any possibility of unity among the opposition, since the positions of many opposition members contradict one another. There is competition as far as who will take on the leadership role if developments take place.”
The expert used the example of opposition member Ali Karimli, who tried to start a socialist uprising in November but was arrested. “This is the Azeri authorities’ way of saying that no one should to use a socialist protest for political gains.”
Luiza Sukiasyan
