Guest Posted August 23, 2000 Report Share Posted August 23, 2000 Ex-Azerbaijan President Dies By Selcan HacaogluAssociated Press WriterTuesday, Aug. 22, 2000; 9:12 a.m. EDT ANKARA, Turkey -- Abulfaz Elchibey, Azerbaijan's first president after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, died Tuesday of prostate cancer and a lung infection. He was 62. Elchibey had been hospitalized in Ankara since July. He had undergone prostate surgery in April. A former dissident who spent 1½ years in prison for anti-Soviet activities, Elchibey became the first elected president of the oil-rich Caucasus republic in 1992. He was forced from office in June 1993 by current President Geidar Aliev, who took over after a military mutiny. During his year in power, Elchibey tried to end fighting between Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Artsax, a conflict for which Azerbaijan's military was poorly prepared. Elchibey ordered a temporary cease-fire in 1993, but the move proved to be unpopular. Azeri troops suffered major defeats at the hands of the better armed and trained Armenians, who took control of the enclave and seized parts of Azerbaijan itself. Disgruntled officers accused Elchibey of bungling the war and he was forced from office after rebels marched on the capital, Baku. Aliev, who led the region during the Soviet era, later took power. "I felt great sorrow over Elchibey's death," a sad-looking Aliev said, in a televised message that was aired by Turkey's private NTV television. After his ouster, Elchibey returned to his home province of Nakhichevan, an enclave cut off from Azerbaijan by Armenia. He later became chairman of the main opposition group, Azerbaijani Popular Front. He was charged in 1998 with insulting the president's honor, after alleging that Aliev was involved in creating the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. The PKK has been outlawed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, which has close ties with Azerbaijan. Aliev, an autocratic but widely popular leader, urged the Baku city court to drop the proceedings last year. Elchibey was close to Turkish nationalists, who call for the union of Turkic countries. Azerbaijan shares close ethnic bonds with Turkey and the Azeri language is easily understood by Turks. "He was a lover of the Turkic world," Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said. "He was a valuable politician raised by Azerbaijan." Elchibey's body will be flown to Azerbaijan for a state funeral, said Memed Aliev, Azerbaijan's ambassador to Turkey. The ambassador is not related to the president. Elchibey was married and had two children and a grandchild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 24, 2000 Report Share Posted August 24, 2000 Elchibey Wanted Artsax Back with Blood ISTANBUL (Marmara)--The late president of Azerbaijan, Abulfaz Elchibey, in his last interview discussed the Artsax issue, saying that Artsax must be "reclaimed by blood," reported Marmara Tuesday. In his interview with the Ankara-based Zaman newspaper Elchibey said, "The land, which was given by blood, must be reclaimed by blood. The OSCE has been wasting our time for years with its diplomatic games. We cannot allow our Artsax to be given to others." Elchibey explained that the reclaiming of Artsax was the impetus for the union of 329 organizations which came together to create the National Opposition Front. "The purpose of this organization wasn't political, but rather to prepare the minds of our people for war," Elchibey told Zaman newspaper. The late president said that certain circles wanted to establish a second Armenian republic in the region, claiming that Armenia was already in Russia's pocket and "it is an unheard thing the world for a nation to have two republics next to each other." Elchibey said that "Armenians can only be given cultural autonomy in Artsax." The late president believed that Turkey and Azerbaijan should create a federation and sign military agreements in order to elevate the relations of the two countries to a military cooperation. His aim was to create a federation which would counter balance Russian-Armenian cooperation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 24, 2000 Report Share Posted August 24, 2000 I think you mean Azeri ex-President dies. Last I checked, Azerbaijan is still a political entity sorry, couldn't resistGayane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 31, 2000 Report Share Posted August 31, 2000 quote:Originally posted by Gayane:I think you mean Azeri ex-President dies. Last I checked, Azerbaijan is still a political entity sorry, couldn't resistGayaneI wish it was "ex-Azerbaijani" ... If serious, I just did copy and paste from source site. Some times CNN or RFE/RL also making this type of mistakes. I want to apologize for them too [This message has been edited by Ararat (edited August 31, 2000).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 31, 2000 Report Share Posted August 31, 2000 MArdik en Mahanum isk Shner@ satkum en !!!tarosn el ir m@natsats barekamnerin metsits poker. !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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