The Voice of Mirza Xazar

Mirza Khazar (Michaeli)

Date of Birth: November 29, 1947

Place of Birth: Goychai, Azerbaijan

Family Status: Married, 3 children

Professional Experience: 1987-2003 Director, Azerbaijani Broadcast Service, Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, Inc., Prague, Czech Republic 1985-1987 Chief, Azerbaijani Service, the Voice of America, Washington, DC, USA 1976-1985 Deputy Chief Editor, Azerbaijani Service, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc., Munich, Germany 1973-1974 Attorney at Law, Baku, Azerbaijan

Education: June, 1973 LL.B., Faculty of Law, Azerbaijan State University, Baku, Azerbaijan 1975 Special courses for lawyers from The USSR, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel 1979 Hunter College, special English Courses, New York, USA 1981 Living English School, Folkstone, Great Britain 1986 Fundamentals of Equal Employment Opportunity for supervisors and Managers, Washington, DC, USA 1989 Management training seminars, Boston University, Munich Campus, Starnberg, Germany

Publications: Published translation of the Old And the New Testament into modern Azerbaijani language. The New Testament was Printed in Stockholm, 1983. Re-printed five times.

Research Work: Published many research papers on Social, economic, political, and Cultural developments in Azerbaijan, as well as other Former Soviet republics. Research Papers and articles appeared in The Bulletin of the Research Institute, RFE/RL, as well as in Azerbaijani, Turkish, Russian and Czech Press

22 May 2001 NEWS BRIEFS A Fight Between Clans In Baku, Or A Sign Of Aliev's Weakness? Recent commentaries and reports in the Azerbaijani press suggests that a real political struggle is underway between the so- called "clans" represented in upper echelons of power in Baku. The fight between those "clans" intensified last week when another group representing Western Azerbaijanis (Azerbaijanis from Armenia) created the new "Erivan Birliyi" (Erevan Unity) society. The founders of this new entity insist that their society has no political goals and pursues only "public goals." But in spite of this insistence, most political observers in Baku, as well as most commentators in the Azerbaijani press, believethat the main goal of the "Erivan Birliyi" is to become a sort of "center of power" in the event of Heydar Aliev's demise. Both arguments seem to be sincere, but an attempt by Western Azerbaijanis to hold on their influence within the upper leadership in Baku suggests that after Aliev's departure they might fail to retain that influence or to maintain the grip on power in the long term. Local observers suggest that the haste in creating this "unity" is a clear sign of the weakness of the Western Azerbaijanis and suggests that they fear for their own future. Another indication is that Western Azerbaijanis in the upper echelons of power are seriously preparing themselves for the power struggle which will erupt as soon as Aliev departs the political scene. But even if this is true, there are many obstacles restricting the ability of Western Azerbaijanis to actively play a role in the transition of power. One of the obstacles is, as the local press suggests, deep differencies and even hostility between "Erivan Birliyi" and another Western Azerbaijani society, called "Agridag" (the Turkish name for Mount Ararat). Azerbaijani papers identify as the moving force behind "Erivan Birliyi" Ramiz Mehtiev, who heads the presidential staff. The main player in "Agridag" is Health Minister Ali Insanov. The rivalry between the two is no longer a secret in Baku. There is another sign that the alleged power struggle will turn into struggle between "clans." According to some reports, the "Alindja" society which was formed in the early 1990's in Baku by elite groups from Nakhichevan, constitutes another influential group within the top leadership. Hostilities between these two "clans" have deepened since Aliev came to power in June 1993. The Nakhichevanis claim that they played a major role in bringing Aliev to power. They complain that despite having done so, they did not receive as much attention as the Western Azerbaijanis did. One can not exclude the possibility that the rivalry between the Western Azerbaijanis and the Azerbaijanis from Nakhichevan will increase as rumors about President Aliev's health and his upcoming departure from power continue to spread. And as long as those rumors continue to spread, and as long as President Aliev's image on TV continues to worry his close allies, the fight between the "clans" will continue to intensify. As long as the struggle for power continues, it is likely to impact on other political forces and the public in Azerbaijan. RFE/RL Azerbaijan Report (Mirza Xazar)

The UN Report: Negative Assessment Of Azerbaijan's Economy The United Nations Development Agency has released its annual report on economic development in Azerbaijan, which notes the nostalgia of most of the population for Soviet-era economic "stability." It is a strange assessment for a country with huge oil reserves and huge foreign investment in its oil industry. Despite years of heavy foreign investment in Azerbaijan's oil sector, according to the report, most people in Azerbaijan say they were better off when their country was part of the Soviet Union. Foreign investment now accounts for about 70 percent of all foreign capital moving into Azerbaijan, up from less than 16 percent in 1994, the report said. Independent economists and opposition too have criticized the government policy of paying attention only to the oil industry, neglecting other sectors of country's economy, which in turn is the main reason for the closure of many enterprizes and the elimination of a huge number of jobs. According to the UN report, aid from foreign governments is also a source of capital. But like many former Soviet republics, Azerbaijan is plagued by sluggish bureacracy and corruption that holds up investment, the UN report said. This assessment has been proven by cases of mismanagement of foreign humanitarian aid sent for Azerbaijani refugees. The UN assessment of the economic situation in Azerbaijan differs widely from Azerbaijani government statistics on economic development. For example, the annual UN study showed high unemployment of 69 percent among nearly a million refugees driven from the Armenian- occupied territories. The report does not mention overall unemployment among ordinary citizens of Azerbaijan, but according to an independent account, the percentage of people without jobs among non-refugees is also high. Furthermore due to the few jobs available in Azerbaijan, around 2 million Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their homeland to seek employment in Russia and other CIS states. Contrary to the Azerbaijani government's claims of economic "achievements" last year, the UN study ranked Azerbaijan 90th in standard of living among 173 countries from around the world. RFE/RL Azerbaijan Report (Mirza Xazar) 4 May 2001