US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, human trafficking, murder

by **Rigorous Intuition** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:15 am

Can't find this story anywhere but Pravda, and Pravda's a little light on the rigour sometimes. Anyone know more about this?  US Ambassador to Azerbaijan recalled after prostitute scandal 20.04.2006 The day before yesterday the USA’s Ambassador in Baku Reno Harnish was conversing with Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Safar Abiev as if nothing had happened, discussing the strategic nature of the two countries’ partnership and speculating over what President Ilkham Aliev’s upcoming visit to America will achieve. But at the same time everyone already knew that Reno Harnish is a “lame duck”. It all started with information that had leaked to the press saying that the ambassador is apparently returning to his homeland. “What’s the reason for that?” the local media asked all at once, having easily calculated that the state department is recalling the senior diplomat before the stipulated end of his tenure. “It was nothing other than his failure over the “orange revolution” that betrayed poor Harnish,” the opposition press sympathetically supposed. After all the ambassador worked tirelessly for the victory of the Azerbaijani “Orangeists”: he took part in zonal confrontations with them in the provinces, forced through the registration of opposition leader Rasul Guliev, even though he is on the wanted list, and helped with meetings… Actually the FBI was on the tail of the major mafia which trades in “living” goods. FBI agents turned up in Harnish’s lobby, embassy officials began to be called in to speak with them. It is known for certain that the enlistment and transfer of young people from sunny Azerbaijan to no less sunny Florida were organized on a truly American scale and brought large profits. There turned out to be a large demand for scorching brunettes in the USA, and so joint business between American diplomats and Baku prostitutes, which had lasted for many a year, flourished. Baku has been more successful with its integration into the Western sex industry, than in its NATO partnership. At the very moment when rumours began to emerge about American agents being interested in the arrangement for issuing visas, another scandal broke out: a former translator for the American embassy Zarifa Dzhabieva was found murdered in her own home. Detectives, this time Azerbaijani ones, soon informed the press: an unknown killer had inflicted 50 knife wounds on the woman, none of the victim’s valuables had been touched, but the criminal had clearly been looking for something. At the same time the translator’s involvement in the secret business of American diplomats was investigated, she was mixed up in aiding and abetting the issuing of visas and forged documents to girls who had agreed to become prostitutes in the dollar-haven of America. It cannot be said that the American embassy was particularly embarrassed. “The uncovering of the crime linked to the sale of Azerbaijani girls to the USA, and the punishment of the guilty parties merely shows the high level of American-Azerbaijani relations,” Jonathan Henick, head of the Public Relations Centre for the US Embassy in Azerbaijan, commented on the situation, without a trace of embarrassment. But anyway Reno Harnish is packing his bags. They are now guessing in Baku whether he will be leaving the Caspian shores forever or, like his predecessor, Stanley Escudero, having left the diplomatic field, he will reappear in Baku in a few months in a new position – as a senior consultant for one of the oil companies. This is possible, as the corruption scandal which Escudero was implicated in has still not died down, yet this does not stop him rolling around Baku in his jeep and being accepted at the very highest level. <a href="http://english.pravda.ru/world/ussr/20-04-2006/79381-azerbaijan-0">english.pravda.ru</a>

by **Et in Arcadia ego** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:43 am

Can't find any information anywhere else regarding this. Nothing turns up on google for Zarifa Dzhabieva either. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=etinarcadiaego@rigorousintuition>et in Arcadia ego</A> at: 4/21/06 8:45 am

by **tigre63** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:02 pm

This article doesn't mention any scandal, but it does shed light on what he will be doing next. <a href="http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=7500">en.apa.az/news.php?id=7500</a> The US ambassador Reno Harnish leaves Azerbaijan [ 22 Mar. 2006 20:22 ] The US ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish’s authority time is expiring. Diplomatic sources told APA that Reno Harnish will leave Azerbaijan in April. It is said that he will be appointed to a post in the US Ecology and Ministry and will be engaged in global problems as well as fight against bird flu. The new US ambassador is expected to come to Azerbaijan in April. The name of the new ambassador is unknown so far. Azerbaijani embassy in the USA also confirmed the information that Mr. Harnish’s authority time is expiring. The embassy has informed APA that Mr. Harnish is considered to return to his own country in spring months. But who will be appointed to Azerbaijan as an ambassador is unknown to the embassy either./APA/

by **anotherdrew** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:17 pm

from: <a href="http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060421-101527-7145r">here</a> US recalls ambassador to Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department is recalling U.S. Ambassador Reno Harnish from Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani media is rife with speculation that Harnish is being recalled because of a burgeoning human smuggling scandal which came to the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Moscow newspaper Trud newspaper reported on Thursday that FBI agents began interviews with embassy officials about the smuggling of Azerbaijani prostitutes into the United States and the issuing of visas. As the investigation proceeded, Zarifa Dzhabieva, a former translator for the American embassy was found knifed to death in her own home. Whoever killed Dzhabieva ransacked her dwelling looking for something, even though none of the victim's valuables had been touched. Dzhabieva was under investigation for aiding and abetting the issuing of visas and forged documents to girls destined for the U.S. sex trade. The head of the Public Relations Center for the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan Jonathan Henick said only, "The uncovering of the crime linked to the sale of Azerbaijani girls to the USA, and the punishment of the guilty parties merely shows the high level of American-Azerbaijani relations." here's our man: <img src="http://www.trend.az/images/small/Rino%20Harnish210406-small.jpg" style="border:0;"/> also: http://www.trend.az/?mod=shownews&news=18580&lang=en Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=anotherdrew>anotherdrew</A> at: 4/21/06 11:21 am

by **gotnoscript** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:22 pm

Just this, which is a rehash of the Pravda article: <a href="http://www.regnum.ru/english/615727.html">www.regnum.ru/english/615727.html</a> I found this on Lexis-Nexis Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation All Rights Reserved BBC Monitoring Trans Caucasus Unit Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring March 27, 2006 Monday LENGTH: 678 words HEADLINE: Daily says outgoing US envoy failed to establish democracy in Azerbaijan BODY: Excerpt from Rauf Mirqadirov's report in Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo on 25 March headlined "Reno Harnish leaves an unenviable legacy" Reno Harnish is very satisfied with his work as the US ambassador to Azerbaijan. His mission had to expire in the summer. However, in connection with his appointment to a higher post in the State Department, he will end his mission before the due date, the head of the embassy's public relations department, Jonathan Henick, has told APA news agency. [Passage omitted: about former US envoys to Azerbaijan] As for Reno Harnish, one can assume that most likely he has failed to "live up" to the expectations. The diplomat tried to be on both sides of the fence, which is impossible in countries with "transition democracies", just as it is impossible to be "half-pregnant". As a result, [he] has often been caught in the "crossfire". From the point of view of the global geopolitical interests of the USA, the launch of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline can be regarded as his achievement, even though to be precise, the implementation of the project is rather the achievement of the untiring Steven Mann [US envoy on Caspian issues]. And now more details about, let us say, shortcomings. First, Reno Harnish failed to realize the idea of establishing democracy in Azerbaijan through evolution. Both the 2003 presidential election and the 2005 parliamentary election ended in a post-election confrontation between the opposition and the ruling elite with very harsh consequences, that is with an ordinary brawl. It must be mentioned for the sake of justice that the 2003 events cannot be entirely "credited" to the incumbent US ambassador because he came to Azerbaijan literally on the eve of the presidential election. But the 2005 parliamentary election which practically all international organizations described as "wasted opportunities" is fully Harnish's "achievement". The US ambassador was one of the active and extremely interested political players on whose "advice" mass rallies were scheduled and cancelled. Before the [6 November 2005 parliamentary] election representatives of the ruling elite criticized him bitterly and some members of parliament even proposed to declare the US ambassador persona non grata. Subsequently, the opposition also decided to "boycott" its former "patron" but it did not last long. In a nutshell, Azerbaijan did not set an example of an evolutionary development of democracy to the whole world. Democratic processes in Azerbaijan following the parliamentary election turned out to be at the same level or most likely even at a much lower level than at the time when Reno Harnish took the helm as US ambassador in Baku. Second, attempts have failed to involve Azerbaijan fully in the US sphere of interests. On the contrary, during Harnish's tenure, Azerbaijan's foreign policy became more "balanced", that is more pro-Russian. What is important is that efforts have failed, at least for now, to convince Baku to sign a peace agreement on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagornyy Karabakh, which is the main obstacle to achieving Washington's geopolitical aim of bringing the South Caucasus under complete US control. Third, plans to establish a powerful pro-American, pro-democracy lobby within Azerbaijan's ruling elite have completely failed. Harnish's "protege", [former] Minister of Economic Development Farhad Aliyev, who was "put in charge" of this role, is on "lengthy leave" [jailed] now. Therefore, it is a bit surprising that "Mr Reno Harnish is fully satisfied with his work as the US ambassador to Azerbaijan". Briefly, Reno Harnish has left an unenviable legacy to his successor. But we should note for the sake of justice that Harnish is one of a few US ambassadors who was very open for the press. He, unlike Escudero, at least tried to explain Washington's actions and statements, including those that were highly unpopular in Azerbaijan, even though most often he tried to behave like a real "governor-general". Source: Zerkalo, Baku, in Russian 25 Mar 06 pp 6, 7 Also schema-root seems to have links to news on him: <a href="http://schema-root.org/region/americas/north_america/usa/government/officials/ambassadors/reno_harnish/">schema-root.org/region/am...o_harnish/</a> His "promotion"? <a href="http://www.azernews.net/view.php?d=8082">www.azernews.net/view.php?d=8082</a> Outgoing US envoy to tackle space exploration Deputy US ambassador to Azerbaijan Jason Hyland will take over as head of the US diplomatic mission in the country until a permanent replacement for ambassador Reno Harnish is approved, a source from the US embassy said. Harnish will leave Baku on April 24 and on the following day he is expected to start working as principal deputy assistant secretary of state for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs. His normal term of ambassadorial duty would have ended in August, 2006, but he has been asked to depart Baku on April 24 and assume his new duties on April 25, as the officer he is replacing left the job in December 2005. In his new post, Amb. Harnish will be responsible for managing 200 Department of State employees that lead in the foreign policy aspects of such issues as global climate change, the reaction to avian influenza, and space exploration. And apparently, Azerbaijan is to be used as a launching base against Iran... Copyright 2006 Financial Times Information All Rights Reserved Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire Copyright 2006 BBC Monitoring/BBC Source: Financial Times Information Limited BBC Monitoring International Reports April 19, 2006 Wednesday ACC-NO: A2006041919-10C4D-GNW LENGTH: 469 words HEADLINE: AZERI POLITICIAN WARNS OF "SECRET US PLAN" ON IRAN, KARABAKH BODY: Excerpt from E. Mammadli report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat on 18 April headlined "Azerbaijan is face-to-face with terrorism" and subheaded "PCC says new situation is threatening Karabakh" A round-table conference "On the influence of the regional situation on Azerbaijan and changes expected in the Karabakh issue" was held yesterday [17 April]. The Political Coordination Centre (PCC) organized the conference. Farac Ulusoy, leader of the National Revival Movement which is a member of the PCC, said that the political situation in the region might require changes in Azerbaijan's approach to the Karabakh conflict. "A new idea has emerged - let the war start regardless of who will eventually possess Karabakh. We would like to know the current stage of the Karabakh talks and the government policy on how to settle the conflict. On the other hand, we demand that the government account for prophylactic measures taken to resolve a possible humanitarian disaster in the event that plans against Iran are implemented," he said. [Passage omitted: MP Nasib Nasibli urged the Azerbaijani authorities to revise their foreign policy] Isgandar Hamidov, chairman of the NDPA [National Democratic Party of Azerbaijan], said that Azerbaijan's foreign policy was at the level of "blind optimism" of the 1970s. "If Azerbaijan had a foreign policy, it would not be in this situation. The invitation of the Azerbaijani leadership to the USA is the biggest threat to Karabakh," he said. The USA has drawn up a plan to return Zangilan, Qubadli and Cabrayil districts [along the border with Iran, currently controlled by Armenia] to Azerbaijan. "Because America needs this area as a foothold to hit Iran. They want to deploy peacekeeping forces in Karabakh if the Azerbaijani authorities do not agree to this option. The danger is that the peacekeepers will be stationed not on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but between Agdam and Askaran [town in breakaway Nagornyy Karabakh]. Therefore, we demand that the Azerbaijani authorities disclose their position to the public," Hamidov said. Azerbaijan's economy will be dealt a big blow if there is an attack on Iran, he said. Measures must be taken now to prevent a humanitarian disaster. "America wants to topple the mullah regime in Iran and create a confederation with the leaders of the Persian and Kurdish communities," Hamidov said. It is also beyond doubt that many terrorists from organizations controlled by Iran will come to Baku, Hamidov said. "We must be ready for that. Azerbaijan is face-to-face with terrorism," he said. "All of this is bound to affect Karabakh," Hamidov said and announced that the PCC plans to stage a rally devoted to the threat to Karabakh on 6 May. Source: Yeni Musavat, Baku in Azeri 18 Apr 06, p 11 BBC Monitoring LOAD-DATE: April 19, 2006

by **Rigorous Intuition** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:48 pm

I feel like I can blog about this with confidence now. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)">

by **Et in Arcadia ego** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:01 pm

Check this out, Jeff(from the DU thread): Reno Harnish's current appointment (so rudely interrupted by these, uh, events) began in 2003. Prior to his gig with the State Department, Reno was with the American Enterprise Institute. Does that ring a bell? The AEI is a right-wing think-tank. Wikipedia lists AEI "personnel" as including Lynn Cheney, Newt Gingrich, Richard Perle, Lee Raymond (the retired-rich ExxMob CEO), David Frum, Michael Ledeen (of Iran-Contra infamy) and a host of others. Prior to the AEI, Harnish worked as an aide to GOP Congressman Dave Martin of Nebraska. Yes, we can pin Harnish directly to the right wing of the GOP. The appointment as ambassador would have come from the White House. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Enterprise_Instit...">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ame..._Instit...</a> <a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/24387.htm">www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/24387.htm</a> _________________________________________ Looks pretty well-connected..

US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, human trafficking, murder

US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, human trafficking, murder

Re: US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, human trafficking, murder

Re: US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, human trafficking, murder

expelled in Azerbaijan, recalled in the US - lovely spin

Re: US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, human trafficking, murder

thanks all for your imput

Re: thanks all for your imput

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