Azerbaijan: Obama Campaign Manager in Baku

Just weeks before a controversial referendum will likely remove a constitutional two-term restriction on the presidency, Barack Obama’s campaign manager yesterday visited Baku, capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan. With foreign broadcasts recently banned in the oil-rich former Soviet republic, the trip has not been well-received by most online political commentators.

Letters in Bottles explains why the visit by David Plouffe has caused concern in some circles.

Azeri President Aliyev, fresh off a crooked win in the November presidential race, is seeking to cement his power by putting through a constitutional amendment to end presidential term limits […]. As a good democrat, Aliyev has blocked opposition access to the media, while he uses his his cronies to push the measure:

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The US embassy there claims he will be acting as a “private citizen,” but Plouffe would have to be hopelessly naive not to realize that his talk will be used by the regime as a further piece of evidence that this referendum is a perfectly legitimate form of democratic expression.

Before the visit, Jemal Public Affairs urged Plouffe not to go.

Barack Obama’s Campaign Manager David Plouffe’s impending trip to Azerbaijan is inappropriate and should be cancelled. I hope that the President and Sec. of State Clinton dissuade Plouff from traveling to an authoritarian county to promote the government’s undemocratic ambitions.

This kind of trip is dangerous and represents the worst of American foreign policy. It’s anything but a break from the past 8 years. Cozying up to a government not because they share our values of liberty and freedom, but because of oil revenues.

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