To
President Ilham Aliyev:
This
is written not by the opposition or power, not elderly or young, not the poor
nor rich, not by a conservative or liberal. This is written to you by me, the
People of Azerbaijan. I, the people, am who hired you to serve me
full-heartedly, as you vowed. I am writing this neither as a call for a
revolution, nor as an expression of my support. I am writing this as a gesture,
so you are mindful of my concerns in regards to the implementation of the
social contract I have with you, the Constitution. I am extending this gesture
perhaps with a naive pondering in my mind - may be you have not been made fully
aware of how I feel.
You
promised me that no part of people of Azerbaijan, no social group or
organization, no individual may usurp the right for execution of power (Article
6) and you swore to guarantee free business activity, prevent monopoly and
unfair competition in economic relations (Article 15). I am very disappointed
to find myself in the modern age Feudalism where a limited group of people have
been granted rights to certain businesses and in turn swore as vassals to
provide their services to you. As in medieval ages, in the absence of rule of
law, the relationship between the lord and vassals has become the glue that
holds this feudal system together. I am aware of entitlements for trading,
importing, exporting, constructing, and transportation, and etc. I would like
to request that my rights under these Articles are restored! I want you to
protect not the rights of the vassals to take what they want from me, but to
protect my right to business activity from the vassals (Article 59). Do you
honestly and genially think that I believe the comedy you are putting up as
part of your anti-corruption campaign? You underestimate me. I laugh at these
pitiful efforts and curiously await.
Even
worse than in feudal system, this privileged group acts as spoiled patricians
with public displays of their exuberant wealth and immoral behavior, busy with
their palace intrigues they disgrace me! I do not want Azerbaijan to show up in
the bottom of all possible indicators in the world for corruption and
transparency. This takes my pride away from me, and I want my pride restored!
You cannot restore my pride only by winning the sporting events and musical
contexts. The wealth spent to buy this entertainment and for spoils of your
patricians belong to me. But I am not plebes anymore, I have moved far away
from ancient mentality and my thirst for human happiness cannot be filled by
spectacles and gladiators.
President
Aliyev, you swore to protect my right to take part in political life of society
(Article 54), you promised to ensure the freedom of information (Article 50),
freedom of thought and speech (Article 47). I will not even dwell into more
popularly contested aspects of these that have been altered under the pretence
of stability. But you need to understand that cutting the red ribbons as a
public blessing of various businesses and sites by you and your televised diary
is not really meaningful information for me, to say the least. You need to find
another way to demonstrate your every day work, and find other means to issue
your personal blessings to various businesses – which seems to be a necessity
for survival, in the absence of rule of law! For a long time I have not been
paying attention to the communications that you have allowed, delivered in the
best traditions of the Soviet Union. They carry no intellectual information or
stimulate any opinion. No need to try to keep Azerbaijan asleep and in
stagnation. Don’t cheat yourself that I am leaving a phantom life where I
believe everything you tell me. I need a platform to discuss my current and my
future; I need the space to understand my current self better – am I a conservative,
am I am liberal, am I pro-western or pro-eastern. I have many questions and
need to form an opinion about them. I need the space for formulating these
opinions restored!
President
Aliyev, you had agreed that I possess inviolable and inalienable rights and
liberties (Article 24). My rights and liberties cannot be overshadowed by
purchased entertainment, and cannot be sufficiently satisfied by booming
infrastructure that is fueled by well-oiled kick-back and corruption machinery.
I need to believe in myself, I need to have a dream, I need to believe that I
can achieve my dream with my efforts and not with condescending hand-outs or
favors or connections. By threatening this belief, you are endangering my
future. This belief is my right!
I
need to look at enforcement agencies as my brothers and sisters that protect
the order and protect me and my property and my freedoms. I do not want to be
intimidated by them, I do not want to be worried about planted drugs and guns
and illegal arrests and persecutions. I want to have a fair trial in the court.
I am tired of these deficiencies and humiliated for having them. I am asking
you to ensure my right of not being humiliated and intimidated and worried!
President
Aliyev, you need to understand how important these are for me. I cannot remain
in mistrust with empty soul, with little pride and bigger humiliation. I am not
an irrelevant party to a little game you are playing, and you cannot decide
that the longest boulevard and highest flag-posts in the world should be enough
for me to be happy. That is not why I hired you. I live in 21st century and
want to be part of my times, along with other nations. I want to understand the
debates about the future of the world, evolution of economic systems, role of religion,
globalization and its fall-outs. Instead, you have separated yourself and your
surrounding into an obscure reality show and want me to watch and enjoy it.
These fairytales and lies; the broken hopes and unfulfilled dreams; the
meaningless speeches disenfranchise me. I have turned my face away from you as
from an estranged son. The divide between you and me, people of Azerbaijan, is
cosmic, and you are forcing me to search for an identity that is fit for our
times without a leader.
I
am not praising you, but not blaming you either – at the end, you have been
acting within the circumstances bestowed on you and you took what I gave,
though sometimes you never asked but just took. I am making this gesture as I
am kind and patient, law obedient and respect authority. I have not yet decided
to deliver my concerns in streets as an ultimatum. So I am making this gesture.
You can choose to ignore it, counter it, or get upset with it. In fact, I gave
you the powers to do so. But I have retained one inalienable right to
myself. It is the power and selectivity
of my memory. President Aliyev, I will decide your immortality. I will put you
on the pages of my history in the length and tone I decide to, as only I write
those pages and no one else, as I, people of Azerbaijan, will live until end of
days. I am extending this gesture to you so you consider, on your own, how much
space and what connotation you want to claim in my ever lasting memory.
..................
At
the end, no one remained, and no sound was made. Dede Gorgud sighed and wept,
and saw that a young guy in black trousers is digging up the earth.
- Young man - called him Dede Gorgud –
what are you digging?
The
young man looked askance at Dede Gorgud:
- Digging your grave, Dede. You
realized now that you cannot escape the death? Grave is ready, common, get in!
Dede
Gorgud got off the horse as had no strength left in him to run from death. He
saw a snake, but did not move. He caressed the strings of his instrument and
spoke to the music:
