March 3, 2015 at 6:28 p.m.
U.S. needs to strike right balance
Editorial
A couple of weeks ago, this space ran a hopeful letter from a young journalist being detained in Azerbaijan.
It was inspiring and upbeat and heartening.
But things haven’t gotten any better.
On Dec. 27 and 28, a dozen employees of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty were detained for questioning for several hours by Azerbaijani authorities.
Other current and former employees of what is known locally as Radio Azadliq have been summoned by prosecutors since that time.
Khadija Ismayilova, the young woman who wrote that hopeful letter, remains behind bars, along with perhaps as many as 15 other journalists and bloggers who have run afoul of the authoritarian post-Soviet regime in power.
Why should this matter to you?
These people are your employees.
Their salaries are paid by your tax dollars.
Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty and Voice of America have combined to be one of the most effective tools this country has when it comes to bringing about positive change in the world’s remaining dictatorships and less-than-democratic countries.
These people are not Americans.
They are true patriots for their own country, getting an assist from Uncle Sam in their efforts to bring about positive change.
And the strategic nature of Azerbaijan makes their job even more difficult.
Part of that has to do with its geographical location.
Located on the Caspian Sea, south of Armenia and Georgia, it’s near the edge of Moscow’s influence. It’s also an oil producer, which complicates things.
And as if that were not enough, though it’s a Muslim country it happens to be secular, along the lines of Turkey, and is actually Israel’s closest Muslim partner.
In other words, none of this is simple.
Azerbaijani president Aliyev continues to exert draconian authoritarian power in his country, and he’s putting pressure on folks we pay and should care about.
But at the same time, his country is strategically and politically important to the interests of the United States.
The challenge, diplomatically, is to continue to press for the release of Khadija and her colleagues and press for an end to harassment of Radio Liberty as it goes about its mission but, at the same time, not press so hard that our ability to be a positive influence on the regime is compromised.
That sounds like a mouthful, but it’s just one more reminder that diplomacy is incredibly complicated. —J.R.
It was inspiring and upbeat and heartening.
But things haven’t gotten any better.
On Dec. 27 and 28, a dozen employees of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty were detained for questioning for several hours by Azerbaijani authorities.
Other current and former employees of what is known locally as Radio Azadliq have been summoned by prosecutors since that time.
Khadija Ismayilova, the young woman who wrote that hopeful letter, remains behind bars, along with perhaps as many as 15 other journalists and bloggers who have run afoul of the authoritarian post-Soviet regime in power.
Why should this matter to you?
These people are your employees.
Their salaries are paid by your tax dollars.
Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty and Voice of America have combined to be one of the most effective tools this country has when it comes to bringing about positive change in the world’s remaining dictatorships and less-than-democratic countries.
These people are not Americans.
They are true patriots for their own country, getting an assist from Uncle Sam in their efforts to bring about positive change.
And the strategic nature of Azerbaijan makes their job even more difficult.
Part of that has to do with its geographical location.
Located on the Caspian Sea, south of Armenia and Georgia, it’s near the edge of Moscow’s influence. It’s also an oil producer, which complicates things.
And as if that were not enough, though it’s a Muslim country it happens to be secular, along the lines of Turkey, and is actually Israel’s closest Muslim partner.
In other words, none of this is simple.
Azerbaijani president Aliyev continues to exert draconian authoritarian power in his country, and he’s putting pressure on folks we pay and should care about.
But at the same time, his country is strategically and politically important to the interests of the United States.
The challenge, diplomatically, is to continue to press for the release of Khadija and her colleagues and press for an end to harassment of Radio Liberty as it goes about its mission but, at the same time, not press so hard that our ability to be a positive influence on the regime is compromised.
That sounds like a mouthful, but it’s just one more reminder that diplomacy is incredibly complicated. —J.R.
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD