Empire of the Ring

Less than a few days after Youngho asked Sevan, the Secretary of Interior of Azerbaijan, to find the head of the anti-government forces advocating nationalism, the police arrested the leaders of the organization. They were treated well and politely because Youngho wanted to persuade them through dialogue.

When the Duke of Kazakhstan said he wanted to talk to the nationalists, they responded positively.

As Youngho entered the conference room of the royal villa, the nationalists who sat down stood up in unison to pay respect.

He was relieved since they did not seem to deny the royal family despite their denial of the current government.

They also did not seem to have been intimidated by the police or Youngho, despite being in custody for denying the system chosen by the people.

Their confidence drew Youngho in and he was eager to talk to them and find out their reasoning.

After sitting down at his seat, Youngho spoke in a gentle manner.

“I’ve heard your arguments through the Secretary of Interior. I hear you are gathered because you deny the current system. Do you think constitutional monarchy undermines the identity of the Azerbaijani people?”

When Youngho cut short and went straight to the point, the nationalist leaders flinched for a short moment.

He continued knowing they would not be able to answer easily.

“It’s a system that most people have chosen. Don’t you think they have considered it enough just like you have? I believe that they chose it because the existing system had no progress. Do you want to ignore those who voted for the constitutional monarchy and make Azerbaijan your own country? The principle of democracy is to follow the decisions of the majority. That doesn’t mean that we will ignore the voice of the minority. That’s why I’m talking to you today. I hope you will speak out. I promise whatever remarks you make today won’t hurt you.”

Encouraged by Youngho’s words, the parties then began to speak carefully.

“Thank you very much for your consideration, Your Highness. My name is Nizami Zapparov, the leader of this organization. As you know, it is true that we are denying the current system. That’s because the adoption of a constitutional monarchy has dampened the hopes of Azerbaijani people living in neighboring countries.”

Youngho knew that the number of Azerbaijani people living scattered in Turkey and Iran was much higher than the population of the ones living in their home country.

It was both absurd and dumbfounding to hear that the constitutional monarchy turned down their hopes.

So, he raised his hand and cut off Zapparov’s words.

“Then what do you think? Do you think this system, chosen by the majority of the people, is wrong?”

“That’s not it. We generally welcome the constitutional monarchy that brought peace and ended dictatorship. But I think it’s a little bit too much to decide on the future of Azerbaijan just by the will of the people living in the country.”

“Then it sounds like you’re saying that the opinions of expatriates are more important than those who live in your home country. I wonder what they did for Azerbaijan. And after Azerbaijan gained independence from the Soviet Union, did they help in the conflict with Armenia? If they did anything for Azerbaijan, of course, we should reflect their opinions.”

“Of course, expatriates didn’t provide material assistance for their home country. But that didn’t mean that their minds left their home country. They’ve been looking forward to their country’s well-being better than anyone else.”

“It’s not that I don’t understand where they stand, but does the current system harm their families? Or we stop expatriates from moving into the country? I don’t understand why the current system turned down their hope. I’m not saying we should ignore the opinions of our countrymen living abroad, but I wonder why you thought so. I can’t help but doubt you have a different purpose.”

Everyone was silent at Youngho’s words.

“In addition, our royal family has devoted all its energy to restoring national identity, encompassing many ethnic groups in Kazakhstan. I want to tell you that no ethnic group has been disadvantaged since then.”

Azerbaijanis living abroad might have feared that Azerbaijan would one day disappear if the constitutional monarchy continued.

They must be concerned because they did not know the true nature of the Kazakh royal family yet.

It seemed those Azerbaijani overseas incited and funded the nationalists in the homeland to try to withdraw the country from the federal kingdom.

It would be clear if the police looked into people who were funding from abroad.

Further conversation revealed that some people from abroad encouraged them, rather than being inspired by nationalism.

On that day, Youngho treated them well.

It was because they were also one of the people struggling for Azerbaijan.

***

Youngho called in Park Jong-il to Baku.

There were forces that had been weighed down by the Aliyev regime until now but were slowly raising their heads now, so they had to be dealt with in some way.

This was because a small hole could bring down a riverbank.

The overseas supporter of the anti-government forces could be someone who defected abroad during the previous administration, or they could have been the remnants of Aliyev’s regime.

Even if they were true patriots, they could act as a variable that would shake Azerbaijan, which was now in a period of stability, so for the country’s well-being, they must not be allowed to intervene in domestic politics.

Park Jong-il came to Baku as soon as possible and began to unravel what he had investigated.

“There are plenty of forces that have been holding their breaths. It’s just that they can’t come to the front because people’s support for the royal family is hitting the sky.”

“So you’re saying they’re not followers of Aliyev.”

It would have been troublesome if they were followers of Aliyev, so it was a relief that they were not.

There were still a number of former regime’s figures in Azerbaijan’s political circles.

Even the person who was nominated as the prime minister was also from the former government.

“It’s too early to feel relieved. Anti-government figures living in foreign countries are more troublesome. How long would you have waited for this day if they have escaped the country to seek asylum abroad to avoid Aliyev?”

That was true.

It was an opportunity to build up power as much as possible in the current political environment.

After the collapse of the Aliyev regime, they could use it as an opportunity as party political activities were allowed now.

It was an environment in which a person who was pushed out in the middle of the struggle for democratization could be reborn as a big force if he or she had financial power.

“Whew, it’s like we’ve given them wings”

“Not necessarily. No one in Baku has a good opinion of Azerbaijani politicians. You know why they supported the royal family.”

It was the Caucasus and Central Asia that had no proper leaders because they gained independence from the Soviet Union without any preparation.

That was why people who worked as chief secretaries of the Communist Party were able to take control of the regime.

With a poor support base, they were forced to use coercive measures, which were so corrupt and incompetent that they were said to be inferior to those of the Soviet Union.

People were disgusted by such politicians because they did everything to maintain their regime.

“Then they’d be willing to do anything to strengthen their positions. There’s going to be a lot of rumors about the royal family going around trying to discredit it.”

It was the beginning of spring in the political movements in Baku.

The nationalist organization was only the tip of the iceberg.

“The recent anti-government nationalist forces must be on the good side of the road compared to other groups. When the general election starts soon, all kinds of pork-barrel policies will pour out. It should be taken for granted that they’ll undermine the royal family.”

Youngho’s head was throbbing to think that it would be a completely different game than what happened in Kazakhstan, where it took a military coup to overturn the existing regime.

If it were a military coup, it would have been possible to form a transitional government, but Aliyev suddenly fled the country, which ruined everything.

When Youngho was struggling, Park Jong-il opened his mouth again

“I think it’s rather fortunate that Sevan kept the secret police without disbanding it. I think there will be a breakthrough if we make effective use of the police organization.”

“What? We don’t want to act like Aliyev.”

Youngho did not want to mobilize the secret police because he knew what it was so well.

However, Park Jong-il wanted to use the secret police just like Sevan did.

“Whatever the method is, if it’s for Baku’s well-being, we should make use of it. Why don’t we come up with a control device instead?”

It was easy to say, but the police organization was bound to gain power especially when the royal family empowered it.

“Phew! Do we really have to?”

“What else can we do? It’s a mountain that we have to conquer. We haven’t gone through it yet, so let’s get this over with now. Let’s take this opportunity and shake it off.”

There was no choice but to hold a general election, and after opening the lid, the confusion was as clear as fire.

The support base for the royal family was thick, but the people would be shaken by politicians’ deceitful tongues.

“The democratization craze is not always good.”

“I told you not to worry. Even if a new political force gains ground, it’s all the same. Do you think they can get public support like our royal family? There’s no way.”

Youngho did not know why Jong-il was so confident, but he was indeed reassuring.