Fəzail İbrahimli: "I don't have a single additional source of income, not one extra plot of land"
"There were those who came between Fəzail Ağamalı and me"
"In 2005, Ramiz Mehdiyev prevented me from being elected as a deputy"
Fəzail İbrahimli, a deputy of the II, III, IV, V, and VI convocations of the Milli Majlis and Deputy Chairman of the Civic Solidarity Party, gave an extensive interview to Modern.az. We present the interview with the deputy:
- Mr. Fəzail, we are meeting with you after the plenary session. Are you not tired?
- People get tired of things they don't need. If you ask N number of people what they don't get tired of, each would say something different. But this question has one answer: people don't get tired of age.
- How old do you feel?
- I feel like a grandfather next to my grandchildren, a white-haired father next to my children, a young person when I'm alone, and young next to my students.
- It's interesting, what brought you to the field of history?
- My dream was to become a professor. A girl named Ahuna studied with me. We sat in the same row, but I was one year younger than her. During student days, girls don't pay attention to those one year younger than themselves. I asked a question, and she answered indifferently. I said, Ahuna, behave in such a way that when your children come to Professor Fəzail in the future, I will treat them well. She replied with humor. 30 years had passed, and as I was leaving the department at Baku State University, I saw two beautiful girls standing at the door. They said, we have come to you; you promised our mother back then that if her children came to you, you would help them. I asked who their mother was, and when they said Ahuna's name, I recognized her. I said that their mother had given them incorrect information. I told her that if she behaved well, I would help her. One of them was eloquent and asked, "Did she behave badly?" I said no. The girls had deficiencies, and I helped them resolve their problems.
I had a great passion for studying. My teachers were good, and the teacher factor played a significant role in my life.
- Before becoming a deputy, who did you consider a role model in this field?
- If I were to say that I had thought about becoming a deputy for years, it would be a lie. I was the ideological secretary of the Civic Solidarity Party. My candidacy was put forward by the party. Before that, I didn't know any deputies. When I came to the Milli Majlis, it wasn't like it is now. Now everyone even knows a deputy's shoe size. Back then, it was a closed world. After I arrived, I learned the names over some time.
- Was it not difficult?
- Whoever says that everything becomes easy instantly is wrong. For about three months, I didn't speak at all. I learned. After three months, I started speaking. From the 2nd year of my election, I began to be nominated in the categories organized by the Parliamentary Journalists' Union. In the 2nd year of my election as a deputy, I won the “Most Courageous Deputy” nomination. In the 4th and 5th years, I won the “Most Active Deputy of the Year” nomination. The decisive point for a deputy is that their words and actions must align. If someone talks about bribery but is engaged in such acts themselves, it means they are exposing themselves. The public's eye is a scale.
- So, did the deputies elected for the first time in the VII convocation strive to learn something from you?
- They think they know more than us.
- How do you assess the reputation of a deputy in society?
- You would know this better. But I also know it well; everything is clear.
- You are also a deputy. Does this bother you?
- Naturally. We are members of one family. Everyone bears the same name. If I laugh at the failure of any deputy, it means I am laughing at myself. But everyone understands these matters differently. Someone might think it passed me and hit my brother. We are all united by the word "deputy." Today, everyone views deputies with the same measure, but they shouldn't. Everyone has a character, a measure, a biography, a lifestyle. A person must account for themselves before their conscience and God. If someone's child gets into a thousand mischiefs, but that person comes and talks about upbringing, society will naturally not accept it.
There is a perception in society that whatever happens in Azerbaijan, the deputy is to blame. I will tell an example: in our village, there was a teacher with 8 children. All 8 children grew up spoiled. Their psychology was such that wherever they went, they would take whatever they could get their hands on. A naive woman lived next door to them. They had taken so many things from her yard that the woman had tightly locked the toilet door. One day, guests came to them, and they played backgammon. The losing side loudly said that this die had no six. The woman, not knowing what this meant, said that so-and-so's children had stolen it. The idea has formed that whatever is stolen, whatever is missing, is the work of those children.
Today, deputies resemble those children. Salaries don't increase, the deputy doesn't increase salaries, there's a fire in a building, the deputy is to blame, gas and electricity don't come, the deputy did it. Deputies don't know the legal aspects of information about a deputy's status. A professor at Baku State University asks me, "When will you increase our salaries?" If a professor doesn't know a deputy's job, what should others think?
- Are you accessible to your constituents? I would be glad if you shared a memorable appeal...
- My number is available to all my constituents. I don't run and hide. Once, a call came from Cəlilabbad saying that 4 of my cows were lost. "I elected you, damn it, come search and find them." I said that I had work today, I would come tomorrow. She didn't like my words. Then I put myself in her shoes and said, "Give me 1 week. If your animals are not found, I will buy those cows for you, even if it means taking out a loan." I called the district Police Department and explained the matter. I said, "Either find and return the cows, or their money. If the situation isn't resolved, I will inform the ministry." Three days later, the woman called me. She said "May I be sacrificed for you, they brought two alive, and the money for the other two." People are like this; this is our job. I'm not saying I'm a fragment from the movie "Flower in the Dust," but if there are things I can do, I must do them. If I looked at these issues from a legal perspective, I would say, "Please contact the police." I knew that if I didn't get involved in this matter, it would become very complicated. Such things happen a lot in our lives.
- You stated that you would take out a loan if necessary. Do you not have the means to buy 4 cows for a village resident?
- If I say I don't, you won't believe me anyway. If I say I do, I would be lying. Everyone has their own budget. Journalists themselves know what the financial situation of each deputy is.
- We don't know about you...
- You don't know about me because you can't know something that doesn't exist. They told Molla Nasreddin, "Your son fell, and his mind left his head," and he replied, "Is such a thing possible? He had no mind; what could have left his head?"
I live a serious life. I am very content with my God, my constituents, and the trust placed in me. When a person talks about themselves, it comes across as immodest. Others should speak about you. The 3-room apartment I currently live in in Baku was given by Mr. President. Besides that, I have no second residence, no additional source of income, no extra plot of land. In such a situation, how can I be wealthy? In Yardımlı, three brothers had one ancestral home. In 2002, Ilham Aliyev was the vice-president of the State Oil Company, and with his help, that home was restored. May God bring forth what he has done before his children.
- Mr. Fəzail, are you a religious person? You mention God's name a lot when you speak...
- There's a foolish saying: "Sit in a place without God, but don't sit in a place without elders." Can there be an elder in a place without God? This is the devil's word. I have my own unique belief in religion. I would never speak against religion. My parents “Allahu-Əkbər” passed away with the sound of. I grew up in a religious family; I heard that word as soon as I opened my eyes. But in my thoughts, I have strived to learn the philosophy of certain things more deeply. What I am dissatisfied with today are the slanders hurled against God. My religiosity is against slanders against God. Whatever events happen on Earth, they blame everything on God. A plane crash happens - it's God's work; a ship sinks - God did it. God is neither the one who crashes planes nor sinks ships. One must understand God correctly. They attribute everything to God's will.
- I understand that you haven't asked God for anything until now. Am I mistaken?
- I have.
- What do you want now?
- There's nothing specific now. What I have always asked God for is to be carried on the shoulders of my children. I ask for that every day, always. For a parent, there is nothing greater than that.
Everything else is beautiful. Many of my peers have grown old. I am very happy and young among my students. I am very healthy; I have never smoked or drunk alcohol in my life. I am very content with what I have. There is also a point in our holy book that says, when you see those who have gone before you and want to blaspheme, do not rush, turn back and look, you will see that you are far ahead. And you will pray. If I am a deputy, someone else has a big company. May it be rightfully theirs. Once, we were coming to the Milli Majlis, and I had a “VAZ 2107” car. I was the only deputy who came to the session with that car and drove it myself. Someone asked, "Why is that?" I said everyone has their own destiny. There are people who come with a “Jeep” but sit silently in the session. My “Jeep” was to speak, to express my opinion. Everyone is given something different. If God gave me both knowledge, a “Jeep”, and wealth, there would be no balance. That's why I am content with everything, my mood is always high, and I try not to give negative energy to my surroundings.
- Speaking of speeches in the Milli Majlis, it seems you had sharp speeches until the VII convocation, especially during your time as vice-speaker. But since the last convocation, we see you as calm...
- It was during the time of the late Murtuz Ələsgərov, I said that I wanted to make an announcement: whoever has kidney stones should go to the Southern region. The roads there are such that their kidney stones will pass without even going to a doctor. Now, a journey that used to take 8 hours takes 2 hours. Gas, electricity, everything is in place.
- So, are you calm because you think the problems have been resolved now?
- No. Problems have not been resolved. You know, both a singer and a deputy have their own era. I have always spoken about issues of a scientific nature; when I was vice-speaker, I made many speeches. Now I am an ordinary deputy, so what I want to say is being said by those around me. I have no intention of putting a new handle on an old sack. I don't talk about neighborhood-level issues. Suppose there is a road problem in my constituency. A traffic light was needed there. I sent an official letter to the relevant institution, and the problem was resolved in 20 days. If I were to come to the plenary session and say that there is no traffic light in such-and-such a village... If what you have to say has been said several times, hit the wall like a nut, and not stuck, then it can be brought to the agenda. I don't have such a problem. I meet with constituents. We work hand-in-hand with the district head and appeal to the relevant institutions. I never raise problems that can be resolved in the Milli Majlis. Some newcomers say, "I am here too." Someone whose arrow has truly hit a stone and failed, says it there. Some people are offended, and they bring that issue to the agenda, promoting their reactionary ideas under the banner of democracy. I have my own working style. That's why Fəzail's voice is still the same voice. It's just that when it's in its proper place, when its value is known, your voice reaches the address more effectively.
- Your speeches in parliament are often linked to your vice-speakership. Do you think this is related to the position?
- No. I spoke better before I became vice-speaker. The Iranian parliament had appealed to the Azerbaijani parliament, stating that the decision you adopted was against us. I made a sharp speech then. During my vice-speakership, I did not talk about gas or electricity problems. I intervened in foreign policy issues, matters that brought fault to our state. I did not talk about lights turning on or off. I have always been in front of the microphone on global issues. Even now, if necessary, if there is any action against our state, I can speak. I never talk about economic issues. When a person talks about matters they don't know, they appear short-statured. They also call such a person a "know-it-all." I have never spoken, do not speak, and will not speak about matters I don't know. To speak correctly, you must know certain things. It's true that there are people who talk about everything now. A journalist goes to a village and talks about the organization of sports, an economist talks about history, and a historian talks about something else. Such things happen, but they are not accepted. Your words must carry weight.
- You have also made speeches concerning specific individuals, deputies. For example, you told Vahid Əhmədov to take his mandate and leave. It's interesting, did you reconcile later?
- Vahid Əhmədov and I did not fight. There was simply a discussion, and I expressed my opinion. I was not his enemy, and I am not today. We haven't met face-to-face since then. If we were to meet face-to-face, I could meet with him. Vahid Əhmədov is not an enemy of the people. There were just certain subtle points where our positions differed. He said he was right, and I said no, I was right. There were also certain statehood issues involved. Vahid Əhmədov is also a sufficiently intelligent person. He is someone who has passed through all trials during the period of independence and worked with all governments. I have no enemies in Azerbaijan. True enmity is over money and honor. Thank God, I am very clean in this regard.
- What was your reaction to Vahid Əhmədov not being re-elected as a deputy?
- We haven't met face-to-face since those events. If he had been re-elected, I would have shaken his hand and congratulated him.
- Have you later thought that you made an emotional speech?
- I haven't thought that I said something wrong, but I have thought that I said it emotionally. Certain things could have been said more calmly, more temperately, but I made it intense. I have always approached myself critically. But because I speak with an inner fervor, I don't even know how to speak. Afterwards, looking back, I've said that I could have been calmer. When I watch my speeches, I see that I appear very nervous, very tense.
- You have also had disputes with Məlahət İbrahimqızı and Razi Nurullayev from time to time. They are still your colleagues now. Do you speak to them?
- I am friends with all of them. I have not opened an enemy front against them. I have simply stated the points I disagreed with.
- You also had a serious dispute with Fəzail Ağamalı, who recently passed away. You said that he had “plowed” the name “Fəzail” in such a way that you have been busy cleaning this name for many years...
- I also had a dispute with him. But the most beautiful aspect of Islam is that when a person passes away, and the words “La ilahə illallah” (There is no god but Allah) come from their tongue, Allah forgives their sins. It is a sin to say anything other than to pray for mercy for every person who has passed away. We were colleagues in postgraduate studies. He studied by correspondence, and I studied full-time. Brothers also have arguments at home. At that time, there were also people who came between us. They had given completely false information. Afterwards, we made emotional speeches. But after a short time, we shook hands and met. At the very least, he is my namesake. I wish his children good health from God. He was a person who struggled and fought quite a lot in life. His health deteriorated precisely because of this. He had a strange chivalry in his character. Sometimes we saw that because our names were the same, people confused us.
- How did you reconcile?
- We didn't need an intermediary. The next day, we met face-to-face, talked, and reconciled. He asked, "How are you, namesake?" It was a website skirmish.
- Did you attend his funeral?
- Of course. Why not...
- In the VII convocation of the Milli Majlis, Rafael Hüseynov became the vice-speaker from the Civic Solidarity Party. You were the vice-speaker in the VI convocation. How do you evaluate his current activity?
- I have the right not to answer some questions. We are from the same party; we shouldn't talk about each other.
- Are your relations good?
- Everything is in order.
- In any case, leaving the post of vice-speaker and another person from the same party being appointed to this position, no matter how understanding we are, would not be easy morally for a person...
- There's no need to touch on feelings. If a person who has left a position says, "It was good that I left," they are making fun of themselves and you. It's a human feeling. Everyone experiences these feelings. If I had committed a crime or made political mistakes during my vice-speakership, I would say I ended it well. But I performed my duty conscientiously. My lifestyle did not change; I did not think about my financial situation. I completed my duty with a clear conscience before my state, my people, and my President.
- Some time ago, at a conference held in the Milli Majlis, Vice-Speaker Rafael Hüseynov, who was moderating, interrupted the speech of former deputy, People's Poet, and party chairman Sabir Rüstəmxanlı, who had been invited to the event to speak on discussions related to the norms of the Azerbaijani language, and did not give him the floor again. This caused serious dissatisfaction within the party. Your opinion on this matter, both as a former vice-speaker, a deputy, and the deputy chairman of the party, is interesting...
- Rafael Hüseynov received a reprimand after that incident for making a mistake. Sabir Rüstəmxanlı is, first and foremost, an elder for me, the first People's Poet of my homeland, Yardımlı. Sabir Rüstəmxanlı is more widely known and loved in the Turkic world. His creativity is a world unto itself; he is 5 years older than me, he is the leader of the party, and I came to this position from that party. One must approach the path they have taken with great care. He had made a mistake. Sabir Rüstəmxanlı has been fighting for the language for 50 years. But he himself did not want a reprimand to be issued. The issue was raised by party representatives from 20 districts. They said that if he was not reprimanded, they would withdraw from party membership.
- When Mr. Sabir did not run in the last parliamentary elections and his wife, party member Tənzilə Rüstəmxanlı, was nominated in his place, this issue was discussed in public. How did the party receive this decision?
- This was Sabir Rüstəmxanlı's own decision. If he wasn't going to run in the election, someone had to. It was advised that his wife, Ms. Tənzilə, should go.
- How do you evaluate the activity of your tablemate in the Milli Majlis, Tənzilə Rüstəmxanlı?
- Very well, we sit together and consult. Even before she was in the Milli Majlis, Ms. Tənzilə was a prominent public figure who introduced Azerbaijan to the Turkic world. Her public activity was sealed here by the electoral p. Tənzilə Rüstəmxanlı is a sufficiently recognized person. She didn't just come directly from home and sit here. All her activities have been evaluated.
- It seems that replacing Sabir Rüstəmxanlı is a somewhat difficult matter.
- She hasn't replaced him; she has made his place prosperous. It seems to me that it's still the beginning, only the second year. Tənzilə Rüstəmxanlı will still prove herself very well as a deputy in Azerbaijani society.
- You are also a teacher; how are your relations with students?
- I have never relied on students. My face is clear before them. I have lived very proudly. I am not ashamed before anyone. Yesterday, today, and, God willing, tomorrow.
- Mr. Fəzail, it's interesting, have people asked you to arrange jobs for them, both as a teacher and as a deputy?
- As a deputy, I have neither called nor requested anything from any official. But we are not trees growing in the desert. I must ask for things for my children, I must ask for something for my sad-eyed sister's child. Then there's being an intermediary. To arrange jobs for people to earn money. This is not possible. During our student days, there was a different atmosphere; now there are no "favor" issues. Those studying from Yardımlı would come to me, and I would help them. This was localism, but there was no financial gain involved.
- Although you are originally from Yardımlı, you are a deputy for the Masallı-Cəlilabad electoral district No. 73. However, the regions are such that people remember deputies by district, not by specific region. The number of deputies representing these regions is not small: Məşhur Məmmədov, Cavanşir Paşazadə, Musa Qasımlı, Elman Nəsirov, Malik Həsənov. It's interesting, if we went to Masallı and Cəlilabad and asked people who their deputy is, whose name would they mention?
- It depends on where you go. Will you go to the market, or to a library, a cultural center, a school? It's possible that someone in the market might not know me; if you ask people from every stratum, they will give different answers. A definitive answer cannot be given.
- When you go to the region, which strata of people do you meet with?
- I hold meetings by villages, not by social strata. I have asked about their troubles and problems.
- So, when you go to the district, do you not go to the market or tea houses where many people gather?
- I haven't been to tea houses since childhood. A deputy should not go to the market and falsely meet with people; they should work to improve their conditions. I have been to the market many times; when people recognize me, they want to sell cheap goods cheaply, and I say no, sell them expensively. Then you see someone from the side saying, "This is our deputy." But my previous comparison stands: one hundred percent of those working in schools would know me, but I cannot say the same for those in the market. One must speak honestly.
- At one point, it was circulated in the media that Fəzail İbrahimli is so calm now because he will not participate in the next elections. You also said earlier that everything has a duration. To what extent is this information true? Are you considering ending your term as a deputy?
- If students don't listen to you, you shouldn't work as a teacher. If you are a surgeon and your hand trembles, you must refuse. If you are a deputy and you won't work with enthusiasm and energy, you won't continue that job. Rumors are already circulating among the public, but I haven't thought about this at all. I am not thinking about the end of my life.
- In your opinion, if you were not a deputy, would this be the end of your life?
- Those who spread the information think that this is out of the ordinary. It seems that the door is knocking... This thought should be dismissed. May God bless him, Ziyad Səmədzadə is 85 years old, and we can't even keep up with him. This is a share of destiny. It's only been two years; if you ask this in the last year, I can answer. If I say now that I won't participate, and then I submit my candidacy, I would be a liar. If I say I will participate, and then something happens, and I don't participate. A person's life sometimes changes in 6 months, let alone 3 years.
- In one of your speeches, you said that you have one mandate and one diploma...
- At that time, I was talking about Prime Minister Artur Rasizadə. I said, "Artur Rasizadə is a school for officials; you, his associates, go through that school, learn." Then I also said, "You will think that I am currying favor with the Prime Minister." But what would I curry favor for? I have one mandate and one diploma. Those cannot be taken from me. After that, I also spoke about Hacıbala Abıtalıbov. I said that whoever managed to meet and talk with him would be listed in the “Red Book”...
- Did Hacıbala Abıtalıbov call you afterwards?
- No. They knew very well that I don't carry out anyone's orders. That's why they never offended me. At that time, during Ramil Usubov's leadership, I criticized the police with artistic language, using Qasım bəy Zakir's fable. Some time later, I met Ramil Usubov, and he came and shook my hand, saying, "You spoke well, I liked that poem."
- You used to criticize officials...
- I always have. There hasn't been an official about whom I haven't spoken. I haven't asked them for favors, so I wouldn't be ashamed in front of them. If something was bad, I said it was bad. Now you see what state those officials are in... May God have mercy on those around them, the Minister of Agriculture had embezzled 5 million manats, and relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey had worsened. I brought that to the agenda.
- Who do you criticize now?
- Now this is not my mission. Others say it, they talk.
- Speaking of former officials, at that time Sabir Rüstəmxanlı had spoken against Ramiz Mehdiyev. What was your relationship with him like, have you criticized him directly or indirectly?
- The relationship between Sabir Rüstəmxanlı and Ramiz Mehdiyev turned into his relationship with our party. There had also been a dispute between them in parliament. Then, in 2000, I was elected as a deputy. In 2005, Ramiz Mehdiyev seriously prevented my election as a deputy from our party. I was not a deputy for 6 months. Actually, I wouldn't want to talk about this now, because everyone is speaking against Ramiz Mehdiyev now. At that time, Mikhail Zabelin became a deputy from my constituency. I am the last Azerbaijani to be subjected to Russian occupation. 10 seats were vacant, I submitted my candidacy again in May and was elected. Ramiz Mehdiyev, however, struck Sabir Rüstəmxanlı in 2015, not allowing him to become a deputy. His attitude towards our party and us was very bad. I have never met him face-to-face, we haven't met, it's just that his relationship with Sabir Rüstəmxanlı affected both the party and me.
