The authoritarian regime ruling in Azerbaijan has been striving to put the people's diplomacy under its control just the same way as it has happened to all the rest spheres of public life, Director of the Peace and Democracy Institute, Leyla Yunus, told ArmInfo correspondent during the on:line interview when telling about the reasons of persecution regarding the above mentioned institute.
"The independent people's diplomacy hinders the authoritarian regime very much. The latter controls everybody and everything in Azerbaijan. For this reason, the regime does not agree to the fact that there is something out of its control. It is hard for the Europeans to understand, where such a desire to kill everything is coming from. But the people that have come from the Soviet times are well aware of the principle "those who are not with us, are against us". This key point is a basis of all such regimes at the post-Soviet area, including Azerbaijan", - she said.
Asked about the future of the people's diplomacy, Yunus replied that there will be no true dialogue and the joint ways of settlement will not be found. She recalled that an attempt in the Azerbaijani parliament to adopt a law that forbids contacts between the Armenians and Azerbaijanis failed just as a result of sharp reactions of the world community. For this reason, now having no opportunity to adopt such a law, in fact, the power has been doing everything possible for only the people under control contact with Armenia. So activists of the civilian society are called to the investigative bodies and come under pressure.
"I am confident that the pressure upon the pro-Western activists of the civil society of Azerbaijan is stemming from the pro-Russian group in our power. Meanwhile, the European Union and the USA do not fully understand its consequences, and in fact go on supporting our authoritarian regime. However, in the conditions when the authorities brainwash our communities, just the people's diplomacy makes it possible to impartially inform them about the events developing in the opposite countries", - Yunus concluded.