Armenia and the information war

[Federate]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Իրանական կայքը ԼՂՀ–ն ներկայացրել է որպես անկախ պետություն



Իրանական իշխանամետ կայքերից մեկը՝ «Parsine.com»-ը, ԼՂՀ–ին վերաբերող մի հրապարակում է տեղադրել «Տաս երկիր, որի մասին դուք չգիտեք» խորագրի ներքո։ Հրապարակման մեջ նշվում է.

«Կան երկրներ, որոնք այնքան փոքր են, որ դուք դժվար թե լսած լինեք դրանց մասին։ Այդ երկրների բնակչությունը նույնպես մեծ չէ, այդ պատճառով էլ դուք ոչինչ չգիտեք այդ երկրների մասին։ Այնուամենայնիվ, նրանք գոյություն ունեն։ Ներկայացնում ենք ոչ մեծ 10 երկրները»,–որից հետո սկսվում է այդ երկրների նկարագրությունը, և առաջին իսկ գրառումը վերաբերում է ԼՂՀ–ին։ Նկարագրված են երկրի դրոշը, բնակչության թիվը, մայրաքաղաք Ստեփանակերտը և այլն։ Ապա պարսկերենով գրված է.

«Լեռնային Ղարաբաղ։ Հանրապետությունը գտնվում է Հայաստանի ու Ադրբեջանի միջև, չի պատկանում նրանցից որևէ մեկին։ Բնակչությունը մեծ մասամբ հայ է (95 տոկոս), մնացածը հույներ ու քրդեր են»։

Տեղեկացնենք, որ այս հրապարակումը ծավալուն քննարկումների առիթ է տվել Ադրբեջանում։ Ըստ ադրբեջանական փորձագետ Մուբարիզ Ահմեդօղլուի՝ Իրանը նման կերպ փորձում է համոզել հայերին, որ Մինսկի խմբի առաքելությունն անարդյունավետ է, և որ Իրանն ավելի արդյունավետ միջնորդ կարող է հանդիսանալ։

http://7or.am/archives/76851

[Tigranakert]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Armenia's ties with Russia cause regional instability, says Baku
Tue 11 October 2011 07:17 GMT | 9:17 Local Time
Text size:

MFA of Azerbaijan
'At the recent meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents Armenia withdrew from the agreements reached within many years.
The co-chairing states had to ignore the subjects of the international law,' second secretary of the Security Problems Department of Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elchin Huseynli said while addressing the international conference entitled 'Establishing relations across borders' organized by GUAM Parliamentary Assembly and Baltic Assembly.

Elchin Huseynli said Armenia commits illegal actions in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

“Armenia conducts the so-called elections, events in the territories of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani cultural monuments are destroyed. They even attempt to involve the companies from the co-chairing countries. Baku will never allow this,” he said.

According to him, the European Union has double-headed approach to the conflicts in the region: “The European Union recognized the territorial integrity of one country in the region and shows different approach to another one. It doesn’t honor anyone when they recognize the territorial integrity of one country, but turned a blind eye to the violation of territorial integrity of another one”.

The diplomat said that Azerbaijan could play a role in energy supply of the European Union: “Otherwise, more dramatic situation can appear, Europe can fall into position of dependence from another country in the energy supply. The developments in August, 2008 were a great danger for the region. Everybody must draw a lesson from it”.

Reminding that Azerbaijan and Georgia participated in the establishment of GUAM, Huseynli noted that Armenia was a member of Collective Security Treaty Organization:

“Armenia’s relations with Russia cause the instability in the region. Armenia, which is the smallest country in the region, has important military and political agreement with Russia. The conflicts in the regions seriously interrupt the development of the region. If these conflicts are settled, the South Caucasus will turn into developed region from the economic standpoint. Azerbaijan’s position is known - the joint projects are out of the question until the conflicts in the region are settled”.

For all the Russophobes, even the enemy admits that it fears Armenia just because of our relationship with Russia! Isn't it clear to anyone that Russia is suppling us with billions of worth of weapons for almost free-of-charge? Isn't it clear they are the ones who are keeping the Turks at bay for the past twenty years? Isn't it clear that the potential advantages of having good relations with the Russian Federation are IMMENSE? Especially if we unite and organize lobbying organizations as the Armenians are deeply penetrated in all atmospheres in the Russian Federation, be it economical, political, military, sports, and media?

No, the only thing Russophobes can say is that it's a disgrace Armenia doesn't get +- twenty million dollars of rent for the Russian military base. You stupid *#** idiot morons, why don't you mention that we get more than that, the base is a de-facto military transfer base, as we get BILLIONS worth of weapons through the Russian base in Armenia, isn't that clear? Isn't it clear that it's not a base which only serves Russia's interests (as American bases serve only theirs), but it serves Armenia's interests aswell, as it is a shared base whose major goal it to protect the border from the Turks.

Anyways, to keep the story short. Long live the Russian Federation and the Armenian-Russian alliance. Long live our Republic!

[Vrej1915]

Re: Armenia and the information war

JUST FOR FUUUUUUUUUUUN



Azerbaijan describes conditions of its consent for construction of new
NPP in Armenia
10 October 2011, 21:46

Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 10 ; Trend I.Islabalayeva

Azerbaijan may give consent for construction of a new nuclear reactor
in Armenia, director of the Radiation Problems Institute of Azerbaijan
National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) Adil Garibov told Trend on Monday.

According to him, to get Azerbaijan's consent for construction of the
reactor, Armenia must necessarily develop and submit to Azerbaijan the
environmental impact assessment of the reactor's operation.

At the same time, Armenia has to inform the Azerbaijani side of all
details of the reactor's operation: from where it will take water for
reactor's operation, how it will purify water, at what temperature the
water will drain back into the river, how safety will be ensured. The
Armenian side will have to answer to some other questions of
Azerbaijan.

According to Garibov, before building a new reactor, it is necessary
to prepare environmental impact assessment and submit to countries of
region a report on this issue.

The results of environmental impact assessment of the reactor may be
not to be reported to Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan may not to accept
them, said Garibov. According to him, Armenia may explain its refusal
to submit assessment to Azerbaijan with that it is in condition of war
the country.

Azerbaijan also can not to accept the results of assessment if the
Armenian side does not follow certain rules for the organization of
reactor.

"At the annual meeting of the IAEA, ANAS President Mahmud Kerimov
said that Armenia is weak from an economic point of view, it may not
to be able to contain the reactor with a capacity of 1,000 MW. So,
this issue should be on the focus of international attention," said
Garibov.

Armenia plans to build a new nuclear power plant more powerful than
Metsamor NPP. Presumably, the project will cost $1 billion.

The service period of Metsamor NPP expired in 2010. However, Armenia
and IAEA experts have agreed to continue operating the plant until
2016.

THEESE GUYS NEED MENTAL TREATMENT AT STATE SCALE!
FRIGHTENING
EUROPE MUST COMPENSATE US, FOR SERVICES

[Vrej1915]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Fresno Bee , CA
Oct 9 2011

The Buzz: Sen. Joe Simitian not losing sleep over blacklisting
Sunday, Oct. 09, 2011 | 03:31 PM


Simitian isn't losing sleep over Azerbaijan blacklisting

State Sen. Joe Simitian, blacklisted by the Azerbaijani government
after traveling to a separatist region while on a diplomatic visit,
was back at his Palo Alto office Thursday, not entirely crestfallen.

"Let me put it to you this way," he said. "It's a disappointment I can
live with."

Simitian was among a group of California senators visiting Azerbaijani
officials in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital city, when he went on his own
to Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian area and the center of a
long-standing dispute.

The visit violated Azerbaijani rules restricting travel in the region,
and Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan's consul general in Los Angeles, said
Tuesday that Simitian was "basically blacklisted (and) will not be
allowed back."


No one in Azerbaijan told Simitian, apparently. The news, first
reported by local media, reached the senator via Google alert.

Simitian said that after listening to Azerbaijani officials' concerns
about Nagorno-Karabakh, he felt compelled to hear from the other side.

"I was trying to get a better sense of the dynamic," the Democrat
said. "Fundamentally, my view is that the public is better served by
elected officials with a broader world view rather than a narrower
world view."

http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/10/07/2567666/the-buzz-sen-joe-simitian-not.html

[Vrej1915]

Re: Armenia and the information war

PS: Le Monde is the most respected daily in France.
It is the best informed and its sources are within the administration, in this case the Quai d'Orsay.


Le Monde, France
7 oct 2011


Quelle issue pour le Haut-Karabagh ?


Point de vue | LEMONDE.FR | 07.10.11 | 13h13 - Mis à jour le 07.10.11 | 13h13


Depuis quelques mois, l'espoir renaît au Haut-Karabagh. Après la
reconnaissance du Soudan du Sud aux Nations Unies et la demande
officielle d'adhésion de la Palestine à l'ONU, la visite de Nicolas
Sarkozy dans le Caucase du Sud les 6 et 7 octobre remet sur le devant
de la scène ce conflit gelé.

Ancienne région autonome, arbitrairement placée sous l'autorité de
l'Azerbaïdjan en 1921, le Haut-Karabagh a déclaré son indépendance
voilà vingt ans sans jamais être reconnu par la communauté
internationale. Aujourd'hui, le petit pays peuplé d'Arméniens peine à
se relever des quatre années de guerre qui ont fait dans les deux
camps près de 30 000 morts, plus d'un million de réfugiés et laissé le
territoire en ruines. Mais pour exister, se développer et espérer, un
jour, être reconnu, le pays s'est doté de tous les attributs des Etats
officiels : du président de la République aux tribunaux, en passant
par le drapeau, l'hymne national, les ministères, la police, la
Constitution, l'armée, ou encore les représentations étrangères. Un
dispositif lourd mais symptomatique des efforts fournis pour adhérer
aux normes internationales. Parallèlement, les négociations menées
depuis vingt ans par le groupe de Minsk sous l'égide de l'OSCE sont
restées vaines et l'arrivée des prochaines élections présidentielles
d'Arménie et d'Azerbaïdjan en 2012 et 2013 offre une nouvelle occasion
de radicaliser chaque position sur cette question d'envergure
nationale.

Pour autant, le Haut-Karabagh aurait-il tort d'espérer que l'agenda
international joue en sa faveur ? Rappelons qu'en mars dernier, Alain
Juppé, le ministre des affaires étrangères français, déclarait : "le
principe du droit à l'auto-détermination des peuples constitue le
principe fondamental de tout règlement de ce conflit ". Cette
position, beaucoup moins neutre que celle adoptée habituellement par
le quai d'Orsay, sonne comme un désaveu pour Bakou. De plus, le
Printemps arabe a prouvé que les pays occidentaux étaient prêts à
soutenir les élans populaires en faveur de la démocratie et de la
liberté, par-delà les concepts juridiques. En Libye notamment, la
France, suivie par l'Union Européenne puis par l'assemblée générale
des Nations Unies, a reconnu le Conseil national de transition avant
même la chute du colonel Kadhafi. La reconnaissance simultanée du
Soudan du Sud est un nouvel acte fort de la communauté internationale
qui s'aligne sur la volonté du peuple, à l'instar du président
soudanais.

Conflit gelé, conflit ouvert, il semble que les Etats membres de l'ONU
ne veuillent plus entretenir ces vieilles poudrières, quitte à prendre
une décision unilatérale, en désaccord avec les Etats parties au
conflit. Certains n'ont ainsi pas attendu l'aval de la Serbie pour
reconnaître le Kosovo voilà cinq ans.

Pour autant, les Etats occidentaux, soucieux de conserver leur libre
arbitre, soutiennent que ces positions se lisent au cas par cas et ne
peuvent constituer une doctrine en soi, comme le rappelle le chercheur
Bruno Coppieters. Mais au vue du contexte général, cette rhétorique
s'avère de plus en plus difficilement défendable. Comme
l'universitaire le souligne, seul le président russe soutient que
"dans les relations internationales, on ne peut pas avoir une règle
pour certains cas et une autre pour d'autres". Dmitri Medvedev invoque
donc l'affrontement de son armée avec celle de la Géorgie en août 2008
pour justifier sa reconnaissance de l'Abkhazie et de l'Ossétie du Sud.
Cet épisode, le président russe Dmitri Medvedev l'a rappelé cet été à
son homologue azerbaïdjanais, lors d'une récente rencontre bilatérale.
Une sorte d'avertissement à Ilham Aliev qui a multiplié le budget de
son armée par vingt en six ans. Un budget qui dépasserait à présent le
budget total de l'Arménie. Or la stabilité dans la région reste
fragile. Elle repose sur un simple cessez-le-feu signé en 1994 et
violé chaque semaine depuis quelques mois. L'an dernier, 25 soldats
Karabaghtsis ont été tués aux frontières selon les sources
officielles. Le retour de la guerre en 2012 est bien l'une des
hypothèses désormais avancées par les analystes. Mais personne n'y a
intérêt. De même que personne n'a vraiment intérêt à trancher
directement en faveur de l'un ou de l'autre.

Les équilibres géostratégiques de l'Occident et de la Russie sont en
jeu. Pas question de se fcher avec l'importante diaspora arménienne
qui s'est établie dans ces pays. Pas question non plus de faire main
basse sur les flux pétrolifères, gaziers ni sur les accords en matière
de coalition, fixés avec Bakou. Aussi, les négociations tripartites
que la Russie mène désormais, en parallèle du groupe de Minsk, sont
bien acceptées par les pays Occidentaux. Par ailleurs, la Russie s'est
réengagée militairement en Arménie pour encore 49 ans. Et le Congrès
américain continue de verser indirectement chaque année entre 3 et 6
millions de dollars d'aide humanitaire au Haut-Karabagh.

Autant d'éléments qui pourraient, à terme, avantager le pays. Après
tout, et contrairement à d'autres territoires non reconnus comme la
Palestine, le statut quo en lui-même n'a pas empêché l'Etat du
Haut-Karabagh de fonctionner. Aujourd'hui les citoyens circulent grce
à leur passeport arménien. Ils peuvent travailler, bien que
l'inactivité soit encore importante. Et les jeunes peuvent aller à
l'Université. Au fond, l'appui de la communauté internationale en
faveur de la paix dans la région et la possibilité pour l'Etat
d'exister de facto depuis vingt ans ont autant de valeur qu'une
reconnaissance officielle. Dans ces régions épineuses, une équation
politique même tacite vaut mieux qu'une règle de droit international
impérieuse et génératrice de frustrations. A défaut de compromis, le
pays pourrait encore vivre ainsi vingt ou trente ans. Toujours pas en
paix, ni vraiment en guerre. Mais le peuple à l'abri. A moins qu'une
nouvelle attaque ne soit venue rompre les équilibres ou que la balance
des intérêts géopolitiques ait fini par pencher d'un côté, ou de
l'autre.

http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2011/10/07/quelle-issue-pour-le-haut-karabagh_1583845_3232.html

[Vrej1915]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Lider TV, Azerbaijan
Sept 29 2011


Analyst says USA to use Armenia against Azerbaijan


An Azerbaijani analyst has said that Armenia is an instrument the USA
will use against Azerbaijan.

Speaking on the privately-owned pro-government Lider TV on 29
September, the director of the Political Innovation and Technology
Centre, Mubariz Ahmadoglu, said that "Armenia is an instrument that
has stood the test of time".

"The USA needs an instrument like this to use it against whichever
country it wants," he said and added that the USA is helping Armenia
in order to use it against Azerbaijan in the future as well.

The TV presenter said the USA had turned a blind eye to election fraud
in Armenia back in 2008, to the killing of civilians following the
elections in March and had put pressure on the OSCE Election
Observation Mission to ignore the irregularities.

Ahmadoglu said the USA's "indifference" to the killing of civilians in
the March 2008 protests "was a slap in the face of democracy".

The analyst said the reason why the USA had supported Sargsyan in the
2008 election was that it truly believed that Sargsyan would get
Armenia away from Russia's influence and bring it closer to Turkey.
"The USA miscalculated Sargsyan's relations with the Armenian lobby in
the USA back then. Armenians used America's expectations to further
their own interests and made the USA a partner in their dirty games,"
the analyst said.

Ahmadoglu also spoke about the "negative influence" of the Zurich
protocols on establishing relations between Armenia and Turkey on the
Karabakh settlement, adding that the Zurich protocols had been
initiated by the USA.

[translated from Azeri]

PS/ One thing is interesting:
Everybody uses Armenia against Azerbaijan, Russia, France, Iran, USA, Turkey too, (for evident reasons, plus to spoil baku's oil at bargain price and sell it with extra profit, to compensate Armenia against Genocide damage, etc.....), Turkmenistan because they want to steel baku's oil, Kazakhstan because they are not good turks, Germany (because they do not like turks.. , BP to have cheap oil, etc... Israel to sell a lot of arms, etc.... but there is still someone not mentioned yet ....... the Kurdish Aliyev clan!
Wonder why they always forget about....

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Dashnaks, Aram I and Aznavour
Perhaps the largest units of the Armenian Diaspora have recently criticized the policy of the Armenian government.

In early September the Central Committee of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun of West America issued a statement blaming Serzh Sargsyan for having the economy dominated by monopolists and oligarchs, fostering migration and other deadly sins.

Another pillar of the Armenians worldwide, Charles Aznavour, announced that the present government of Armenia does not foster the development of the country. Aznavour’s words expressed a deep pain. He said that in Armenia farmers have to live half-hungry on their own land while the mafia rules Armenia.

Charles Aznavour, Aram I, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun leadership were not announced persona non grate in Armenia. However, their words were not heard. Like the oppositions words, which alarms growing emigration, injustice, monopolies.

Amusing that it is not mentioned that in the very same interview Aznavour was also damming about the ARF's pointless obsessions. Seems that the article is guilty of the very thing it says it is against - only hearing words you agree with and ignoring the opposition's words!

[londontsi]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Dashnaks, Aram I and Aznavour

http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/comments23689.html

Perhaps the largest units of the Armenian Diaspora have recently criticized the policy of the Armenian government.

In early September the Central Committee of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun of West America issued a statement blaming Serzh Sargsyan for having the economy dominated by monopolists and oligarchs, fostering migration and other deadly sins.

On September 17 Catholicos Aram I of the House of Cilicia addressed the Armenia-Diaspora forum and mentioned that the country is emptying and the government encourages this by mismanagement. “Decay, corruption, economic prosperity of the minority and the poverty of the intelligentsia, writers, teachers, people in general, require reforms. The church cannot remain indifferent to such unhealthy phenomena,” Aram I announced.

Another pillar of the Armenians worldwide, Charles Aznavour, announced that the present government of Armenia does not foster the development of the country. Aznavour’s words expressed a deep pain. He said that in Armenia farmers have to live half-hungry on their own land while the mafia rules Armenia.

Charles Aznavour, Aram I, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun leadership were not announced persona non grate in Armenia. However, their words were not heard. Like the oppositions words, which alarms growing emigration, injustice, monopolies.

A few days ago Levon Ter-Petrosyan reminded that democracy is not a possibility to form a good government, it is a mechanism of removing a bad government. Thus, there is no democracy in Armenia because the law does not provide a mechanism of recalling members of parliament, let alone the president. There is not a mechanism of announcing snap elections, while it is even more difficult to speak about the tradition of resignation in Armenia, as well as the influence of public opinion on the behavior of those in government.

In brief, the representatives of the Armenian government do not even deny that there is no democracy in Armenia, and it is still on the way for establishment. It is a good opportunity not to obey public opinion. These people are wearing a shield and pay no attention to what others say about them. Even if those are Aram I and Charles Aznavour.


Naira Hayrumyan

[Mos]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Interesting analysis:

Expert: France eyes Armenia as ally, Georgia as fellow-traveler, Azerbaijan as opponent

October 9, 2011 - 15:25 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian political analyst Stanislav Tarasov thinks that French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to the South Caucasus was an event of utmost importance.
“The visit took place after Paris demonstrated heightened interest in the developments in North Africa and Middle East to strengthen its influence there. It's enough to remember that Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron appeared in Libya several hours before the arrival of Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Besides, France shows interest in Syria, whose relations with Turkey have recently deteriorated. Paris as is plants 'red flags' around Turkey,” Tarasov told Analitika.at.ua.
“There is an impression that France eyes Armenia as an ally, Georgia as a fellow-traveler and Azerbaijan as an opponent,” he said.
According to Tarasov, France plans a large-scale political operation in the region. “First, it may press for resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict with due account taken of historical compensation Turks owe to Armenia and compelling them to betray the main ally - Azerbaijan. Then, steps towards Iran will follow in order to resolve the nuclear issue and create geopolitical counterbalance to Turkey and, at the same time, get access to energy resources of the Persian Gulf,” he said.

[londontsi]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Tory MP on intelligence committee is paid by Azerbaijan lobby group

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/05/tory-mp-intelligence-committee-azerbaijan?newsfeed=true

A Conservative MP who sits on the committee that scrutinises the security services is being paid £6,000 a year by a pro-Azerbaijan lobby group.

Mark Field, MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, has joined the advisory board of the European Azerbaijan Society. Azerbaijan's government has been criticised this year by the Foreign Office and Amnesty International for torturing protesters campaigning for political reforms. Labour MPs have questioned whether Field's new job is appropriate given the sensitive nature of the work of the intelligence committee.

Field, 46, is the youngest ever MP to serve on the committee, which reports directly to 10 Downing Street and oversees the UK's intelligence and security services.

The committee is unique because it consists of nine parliamentarians appointed by, and reporting directly to, the prime minister. It has greater powers than a select committee of parliament, being able to demand papers from former governments and official advice to ministers, both of which are not open to select committees. His new advisory role began in June. He is also the chairman of the all-party group for Azerbaijan.

Field flew to Azerbaijan to meet senior Azeri politicians in May on a five-day trip that cost around £3,500 and in July 2010 he spoke in the country's capital, Baku, at a Nato conference.

In March Prince Andrew met Field at Buckingham Palace and asked for support in parliament and Whitehall for British investment in Azerbaijan.

The European Azerbaijan Society was launched in November 2008 to promote Azerbaijan to international audiences, according to its website.

The country is the size of the island of Ireland and sits on the edges of eastern Europe and west Asia. It is attracting increasing interest from foreign powers because of an abundance of gas and oil reserves.

Tale Heydarov, a 26-year-old businessman whose father is one of Azerbaijan's ministers, is the society's main funder and director.

A former student at the London School of Economics, he has been described as the "Abramovich of Azerbaijan" after pouring millions of pounds into his local football team – including £1m a year in wages to recruit the former England captain Tony Adams as manager.

Azerbaijan is ruled by the authoritarian president Ilham Aliyev and, according to the Foreign Office, the country's human rights record is poor. Journalists in the country have been harassed and jailed, opposition candidates disqualified and voters intimidated.

In March Amnesty International called upon Azerbaijan's authorities to end their crackdown on activists preparing for a protest inspired by recent events in the Middle East and north Africa. Detainees said they had been waterboarded and threatened with rape while in police custody.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said human rights remained a crucial issue in the country. "We and the EU have raised our concern over the slow progress in improving human rights in Azerbaijan on many occasions. These concerns still exist."

The society has increased its profile in Westminster over the past year. It provides secretarial services for the all-party parliamentary group on Azerbaijan, which has 20 members.

It has organised high-profile meetings and receptions at all three of the main party conferences.

The society also founded "Conservative Friends of Azerbaijan" this year, which has 25 Tory parliamentarians as members. Robert Halfon MP is vice-chair and Chris Pincher MP is treasurer. Other members include the deputy speaker Nigel Evans and the 1922 Committee chairman, Graham Brady.

Approached this week, Field said it was "absurd" to claim that he should not have taken up his new position. He said he had met Tale Heydarov on a couple of occasions.

"The reason that I have been out there [to Azerbaijan] on two occasions is because the country is trying to develop its financial services sector. There is no question of a conflict of interest," he said.

"I have signed the Official Secrets Act and I will not be divulging any secrets to the Azerbaijan government or anyone else connected to any of the other organisations or all-party committees I am involved with. It would be absurd and would be quite improper to think that anyone on the security and intelligence committee could not have any other outside interests," he said.

A spokesman for the society said the Heydarovs were not its only funders and it was an independent organisation, entirely separate from the Azerbaijan government.

John Mann, the Labour MP for Bassetlaw, said: "This shows how wrong it can go when an MP takes a second job. It is an obvious conflict of interest."

Lisa Nandy, the Labour MP for Wigan who chairs the all-party group on corporate responsibility, said: "As one of a small number of parliamentarians who have the power to influence the British intelligence services and access to highly sensitive information, it is inappropriate that he is paid by a company promoting a government that is willing to torture those who question the status quo."