Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he has not passed a decision to run for a third term in office at the election in 2013.

President Aliyev said in an interview with Qatar-based Arab TV channel Al Jazeera that his decision depends on the will of the people.

"If the people continue to support me and the work I am doing, I will consider this option," he said. "But, once again, this will depend on how the people assess my activity and the level of their support."

A two-term limit on the president was removed according to a 2009 nationwide poll on constitutional amendments.

Analysts say Aliyev is likely to easily win if he decides to stand in the 2013 election.

In his interview, the president also spoke of democracy in Azerbaijan. He noted that the country has been a member of the Council of Europe for ten years, and is about to become a partner of the European Union.

"Democratic reform is part of the agenda of cooperation with these institutions. If we didn’t want to continue pursuing democratic reform, we would have stopped doing so. Before 2001, we survived without the Council of Europe membership.

"Today, Azerbaijan takes care of itself. We are not in need of anyone’s financial aid…To the contrary, sometimes we are the ones who provide financial support to our partners. Therefore, our commitment regarding democratic development is a thought-out choice based on our values and views on how we can change the country," Aliyev said.

Asked about the European Parliament’s accusing Azerbaijan of human rights violations in a resolution adopted this year, the president said: "In most cases we ignore such unfriendly steps. But we are substantively discussing this with our partners in the organizations making such allegations. Such facts result from double standards. Unfortunately, the European Parliament has never passed such a resolution on neighboring Armenia where the government in March 2008 dispersed peaceful protesters [during the protests following the presidential election], and the army killed more than ten people, and many politicians were arrested. Why? Probably, because there is a strong Armenian lobby in European countries. But once a minor incident occurs in Azerbaijan, some of them seek to embellish the issue."

The EP resolution, passed in May, condemned what it called the worsening human rights situation in Azerbaijan. It expressed "deep concern" over the alleged crackdown on opposition protests and blamed the authorities for "increasing harassment and intimidation" of journalists and political activists.

"There should be a single standard policy toward all South Caucasus countries [Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia] -- with regard to both unresolved conflicts and democratic development," Aliyev said. "Unfortunately, attempts to attack Azerbaijan, undermine our country’s image and interpret issues in an absolutely false manner -- all these are issues that are on the agenda of some circles in international organizations. I repeat, we are not affected by this. Perhaps, we are a little irritated."

Terse criticism of opposition
President Aliyev also criticized the opposition and termed it as "very week".

"The fact that the opposition is very week is not our fault. We are not imposing any restrictions for them," he said.

According to him, the work done in Azerbaijan in recent years "just narrows their space, as there is nothing serious they can argue about".

"The most important issue is that our government is a more ardent supporter of our national interests on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict [with Armenia]. Sometimes we receive information that during private communications with foreign representatives, some opposition leaders express their intention to surrender, hand over Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia if they get support from international forces.

"Azerbaijan has made unbelievable achievements in economic development in past years. So, they have no reason to argue with us…Of course, there are shortfalls, too. But if the government works well, it is natural that the opposition is left with few opportunities for maneuvering. Therefore, it is their business how to find a place in a new Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, the leaders of today’s opposition are the same people who were leading the country toward a civil war in 1992-1993. The same leaders have been holding the same posts for 20 years and are unwilling to resign."