Azerbaijan.US
Azerbaijani political figure Ilgar Mammadov has commented on the international response to the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, arguing that on the one hand, opposition reliance on external intervention is a dangerous illusion and that on the other hand, sovereignty is tied to how states treat their own citizens.
In a Facebook post, Mammadov questioned why the UN Security Council should convene now, noting that international institutions remained largely passive when, in his view, opposition candidates were barred from elections in Venezuela and state security forces were used to intimidate citizens.
“If you choose to resolve political issues through force and the abuse of state power, you implicitly accept that others may later deny your rights in a different form,” he wrote.
Mammadov argued that sovereignty is a time-bound political construct rooted in the ethics of how power is exercised. According to him, leaders who hide behind claims of sovereignty while suppressing their own societies misunderstand its nature.
He also reflected on the typical trajectory of rigid political systems, which initially appear stable and efficient.
Such systems, he said, can seem convenient for external partners and are intimidating enough domestically to suppress dissent. However, this apparent stability can collapse abruptly when the interests of at least one major global power shift.
As an example, Mammadov recalled the fate of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, noting with irony that once an external actor takes decisive action, local people opt to not intervene in the “great leader”s affairs.
Turning to Azerbaijan, Mammadov said that countries known for the freedom of their citizens, rather than the perceived greatness of their leaders, are far less vulnerable to such scenarios.
In this context, he argued that the 2024 elections represented a critical opportunity in Azerbaijan’s modern history to avoid such a trap, but that this opportunity was ultimately not used.
Mammadov also cautioned against drawing simplistic parallels between Venezuela and Azerbaijan. He noted that just days before Maduro’s arrest, former U.S. President Donald Trump publicly praised President Ilham Aliyev’s style of governance, suggesting that expectations of sudden American intervention in Azerbaijan are misplaced.
“Instead of waiting for outside forces, citizens should focus on participating in elections and defending their political rights,” Mammadov wrote.
