- Rovshan Javadov
-
Rovshan Javadov 
Rovshan Javadov at his headquartersBorn October 19, 1951
Goychay, AzerbaijanDied March 17, 1995 (aged 43)
BakuNationality Azerbaijani Occupation General Rovshan Javadov (Azerbaijani: Rövşən Cavadov, October 19, 1951, Goychay – March 17, 1995, Baku[1]) was an officer in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and the chief of the Special Purpose Police Detachment of Azerbaijan.[2]
Contents
Early life
Rovshan Javadov was born on October 19, 1951 in Goychay. In 1973, he graduated from Azerbaijan State Medical University. In 1973-1976 he worked as a surgeon in the Interior Ministry Hospital of Azerbaijan SSR. In 1976, Rovshan Javadov entered the USSR Interior Ministry Military Academy in Rostov from which he graduated in 1980.
Early political career
After completing his military education in 1980 he volunteered for service in Afghanistan, but was refused. Rovshan organized underground karate clubs in Azerbaijan in 1981.
In 1982 Rovshan Javadov became the Police Inspector of Ganja. In 1987, Rovshan Javadov, organized the underground Takamul ("Evolution") Party in Karabakh and Ganja with his brother Mahir Javadov.
In 1989, the Takamul Party established military units which were composed of Azerbaijanis as well as of Rovshan's karate students. In January 1990, Soviet troops invaded Azerbaijan and fighting broke out in Baku and other cities between the Popular Front of Azerbaijan activists whom Rovshan Javadov helped train and Soviet troops. The Soviets quickly took over Baku. Javadov planned to withdraw to Ganja with his supporters and proclaim Ganja a capital city and resume fighting the occupation. However, Soviet troops withdrew by mid March.
Beginning of professional military career
Due to the escalating situation in Karabakh, in 1990 the Takamul party had turned into an official military organization known as HTPD or more popularly by its Russian acronym OMON. It was later later renamed the OPON (Special Purpose Police Unit). That same year Rovshan Djavadov became Supreme Commander of OPON and rose to the rank of Colonel the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Due to successful operations in Karabakh led by OPON forces against Russian mercenaries and Armenian forces[citation needed], the provisional government in 1991 proclaimed OPON members National Heroes.
In 1993, Javadov was appointed Deputy Minister of the Interior in the Popular Front government and was elected as a Chairman of the Azerbaijan Youth Movement. As the fighting was escalating in Karabakh, Javadov traveled to Afghanistan in 1993 and returned with 1,300 experienced Afghani mujahideen.
In 1993, after personally regrouping most of Interior Ministry forces and OPON forces, he launched the most successful military assault on Karabakhi-Armenians fighters in Askeran.[citation needed] Simultaneously he organized the military offensive in Fizuli which was halted after two weeks when the Popular Front government was overthrown by Colonel Suret Huseynov.
Mahir Javadov (standing on the left) and Rovshan Javadov (standing on the right) at Fizuli front line
Photo taken in Lachin: Mahir Javadov (center) and Allahverdi (to the right of Mahir Javadov), commander of Agdam BattalionPolitical career
After the overthrow of President Abulfaz Elchibey who led the People Front government, Suret Huseynov and Javadov welcomed the return of KGB General Heydar Aliyev to Baku. Huseynov and Javadov supported Aliyev in the 1993 presidential elections, and he was victorious. In the summer of 1993, Suret Huseynov's Ganja Brigade seized 10 villages from Armenians in the Karabakh zone.[citation needed] After this operation Huseynov was officially proclaimed a National Hero and appointed a Prime Minister of Azerbaijan. The same year Javadov was offered the medal of a national hero, but he refused to accept it until Azerbaijan fully restored its control over Karabakh and the independence of the newly born Azerbaijan Republic was fully secure.
Huseynov and Javadov began to purchase arms for the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and restarted the Fizuli offensive in January 1994. Three weeks later, the Fizuli offensive was halted by Heydar Aliyev as he secretly agreed to hidden negotiations with Russian and Armenian officials in order to solidify his grip on power in Azerbaijan.[citation needed] The result of Aliev's negotiations came to be known to the public as the Bishkek Protocol in May 1994.
Political rebellion
Rovshan Djavadov and Suret Husseynov publicly opposed the Bishkek deal and threatened to start military operations if Russian troops were to come to Azerbaijan as called for in the treaty. The political outrage caused by the potential return of Russian troops to Azerbaijan forced Heydar Aliev and Boris Yeltsin to amend that part of the treaty. In June 1994 Djavadov announced his aim to run for the November 1995 parliamentary elections in which he would represent the opposition block to the authoritarian rule of Heydar Aliyev. In August 1994 he announced a plan to impeach Heydar Aliyev once he won the elections to the parliament.
October 1994 events
After Djavadov proclaimed his opposition towards Heydar Aliyev's rule, Djavadov became the main target of Aliyev's system.
On September 30, 1994, Deputy Chairman of Parliament Affiadin Jalilov and Chief of Military Intelligence Shamsi Rahimov were assassinated next to their place of residence.
On October 1 the older brother of Rovshan Djavadov, District Attorney Mahir Djavadov, was accused of ordering the assassination and three OPON members were arrested without any evidence. One was the personal bodyguard and a driver of Mahir Djavadov, officer of OPON Elchin Aliyev. Mahir Djavadov publicly challenged the charges against him and called for an objective investigation and an immediate release of the OPON members.
The day after Mahir Djavadov's statements he was invited by Chief Attorney Ali Omarov to the headquarters of the Attorney General's office to explain what had happened. At the Attorney General's office, a secret and an illegal attempt was made by presidential guards to arrest Djavadov. Mahir Djavadov resisted the arrest and with eight members of his security personnel from OPON quickly disarmed the forty-five presidential guards. Djavadov arrested Omarov and others who were executing the illegal arrest warrant apparently issued by Aliyev. As soon as the news of the events spread, most of the National Army rebelled and OPON fighters seized most government buildings and openly challenged the authoritarian rule of Aliyev. Aliyev was forced to back down and blamed Prime Minister Suret Husseynov for causing chaos in the country. After two days of negotiations, Aliyev convinced Djavadov that he had nothing to do with the arrest of the OPON members. To avoid civil war, Djavadov agreed to peace and released all captured members of Aliev's militia.
After October 1994, Djavadov was forced to resign as an attorney and was elected as a Chairman of Independent Traders Union of Azerbaijan. Two of the three OPON members were immediately released from illegal detention. Suret Husseynov was also forced to resign and after an attempt to kill him he escaped to Russia where he was hiding until 1997. He was later arrested and extradited to Azerbaijan where he spent six years in jail.
March 1995 events
Funeral of Rovshan JavadovOn March 13, 1995, metal products worth a substantial amount of money belonging to one of the companies which was a member of Independent Traders Union of Azerbaijan were illegally seized by the members of Azerbaijani Secret Service loyal to Heydar Aliyev in Gazah and Agstafa regions of Azerbaijan. OPON members were accused of involvement in illegal cross-border trafficking even though the goods were seized within the territory of Azerbaijan. Presidential Guard members attacked OPON bases in Agstafa and Gazakh. They were quickly decimated and their commanders captured by OPON forces which were led by regional OPON commander Elchin Amiraslanov. The same afternoon Aliyev contacted Djavadov and asked him to travel to Gazakh to settle the dispute. Aliyev accused Djavadov of the unconstitutional action of "hijacking" the role of the Commander in Chief which is reserved for the President of the country.
Djavadov ordered Elchin Amiraslanov to release all Presidential Guard captives. Djavadov immediately returned to Baku to organize OPON reinforcements along the front lines. Upon his arrival in Baku he went straight to OPON headquarters and held a meeting of the OPON Command Council. During the meeting the OPON base was surrounded by Presidential Guards and PKK mercenaries. Aliyev accused Rovshan and Mahir Djavadov of plotting a coup d'état and sent the pro-Aliyev militia to attack Djavadov's residence in Baku under the command of Maharam Aliyev. The security personnel of Mahir Djavadov, along with twenty OPON fighters who were in the area, counterattacked and blocked Maheram Aliyev inside a school which was used as an operational headquarters by the pro-Aliyev militia. On the early morning of March 14, Rovshan Djavadov ordered Mahir Djavadov to come to OPON headquarters on the outskirts of Baku. As Mahir Djavadov arrived at OPON headquarters, the pro-Aliyev militia under the command of Rovshan Akperov, Najmedin Sadiqov and Madat Guliyev attacked OPON headquarters. After a 24-hour gun battle, the militia had still not taken the base so they began a siege. Rovshan Djavadov tried to use diplomatic means to end the bloodshed and prevent a civil war. Djavadov agreed to the negotiations set up by President of Turkey Suleiman Demirel to meet Heydar Aliyev at 8:00 am on March 17 and end the dispute peacefully.
On his way to meet Aliyev, Djavadov was wounded by the pro-Aliyev militia and was taken to the Interior Ministry Hospital by his security personnel. Upon his arrival at the hospital, Presidential Guards arrested all five OPON soldiers guarding Djavadov and prevented the doctors from giving medical aid to him. Djavadov died of his wounds on March 17, 1995.
The brother of Rovshan Djavadov, Mahir Djavadov, escaped to Austria where he was given political asylum in 1996. In 1998 Mahir Djavadov moved to the Islamic Republic of Iran where he remained until January 2003, and led the opposition against the regime of Heydar Aliyev.
References
- ^ Efron, Sonni (18 March 1995). "Azerbaijan Coup Attempt Crushed Caucasus: Loyal forces storm a building and overcome mutinous police units, president reports.". Los Angeles Times. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/22723287.html?dids=22723287:22723287&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+18,+1995&author=SONNI+EFRON&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Azerbaijan+Coup+Attempt+Crushed+Caucasus:+Loyal+forces+storm+a+building+and+overcome+mutinous+police+units,+president+reports.&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
- ^ "Azeri rights activist says 35 imprisoned special police unit members very sick". BBC Archive. June 2, 2000. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F97DB500B7A486B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
External links
Categories:- Azerbaijani politicians
- 1951 births
- 1995 deaths
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
