Mexico City orders removal of statue of Azerbaijan’s late dictator

Mexico City orders removal of statue of Azerbaijan’s late dictator
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/11/24/274292/mexico-to-remove-statue-of-azeri-dictator/
Sat Nov 24, 2012 1:38PM GMT

Mexico City’s decision to take down a monumental statue of Azerbaijan’s late dictator Heydar Aliyev from the city’s iconic Reforma Boulevard has led to Baku’s threat to sever diplomatic ties with the Latin American nation.

The decision to take down the statue came on Friday following the recommendation of a special city committee appointed to resolve what has become an unusual controversy in Mexico’s capital city, The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

According to the report, at issue was a controversial decision by the city government to allow Azarbaijan to erect a bronze and marble statue of Aliyev at the prime location of the city, “especially among a stretch of leafy parks where monuments have long honored the likes of [India’s former leader Mahatma] Gandhi.”

The move reportedly generated protests and a persisting debate among local media outlets. Critics, the report says, argue that a figure of Aliyev’s tarnished background did not deserve a monumental statue on Reforma.

Azerbaijani government, which has paid as much as $10 million to erect the statue, is reported to be furious over the decision. Its ambassador to Mexico, Ilgar Mukhtarov, was quoted in Mexico City newspaper, La Razon, as “threatening to break diplomatic relations with Mexico if the statue is removed.”

According to the report, Mexico City’s Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, for whom the entire episode has been a huge embarrassment, said he would study the recommendations. This is while his term is due to end in a few days. Ebrard reportedly inaugurated the monument over the summer “with great fanfare, ignorant of, or unconcerned by, Aliyev’s past as a KGB chief and his corrupt regime’s poor record on human rights.”

Mukhtarov has also reportedly stated that Azerbaijan would cancel $4 billion in investment projects for Mexico.

“If Ebrard decides to remove the monument, we will cancel the projects, close the embassy, it would hurt the relationship between the two countries, and it would not be good for his image to be the person who prevented a $4-billion investment,” Mukhtarov was quoted as saying.

However, the report adds, he later sounded much more conciliatory, telling reporters at the Azerbaijan Embassy that his government was prepared to negotiate with the city and find a “friendly” solution to the dispute.

MFB/SS