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Mexico City moves statue of former Azeri leader | |
(3 days later) | |
Mexico City authorities have removed a controversial statue of the former Azeri leader from its current location. | |
Workers moved the four-metre tall sculpture of Heydar Aliyev in the dead of night from a park on the city's main avenue that Azerbaijan paid to have renovated. | |
Oil-rich Azerbaijan has threatened to cut investments in Mexico in response. | Oil-rich Azerbaijan has threatened to cut investments in Mexico in response. |
Human rights activists had objected to the statue and pointed to the repressive nature of Mr Aliyev's rule. | Human rights activists had objected to the statue and pointed to the repressive nature of Mr Aliyev's rule. |
Mexico City officials said that "dialogue would continue with the aim of finding a permanent location for the sculpture". | |
They said city authorities would look after the statue in the meantime, unless the Azeri Embassy requested its return. | |
'Closer ties' | |
When the previous mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, unveiled the Azerbaijan-Mexico Park last year, he said it was a "testament to the will of the two peoples to grow closer". | When the previous mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, unveiled the Azerbaijan-Mexico Park last year, he said it was a "testament to the will of the two peoples to grow closer". |
Mr Ebrard also noted that - in 16 years - none of the 180 diplomatic missions or 45 international organisations based in Mexico City had given as much money for public spaces in the capital as Azerbaijan. | Mr Ebrard also noted that - in 16 years - none of the 180 diplomatic missions or 45 international organisations based in Mexico City had given as much money for public spaces in the capital as Azerbaijan. |
Azeri investments in Mexico amount to $4bn (£2.5bn), according to the Azeri embassy in Mexico. | |
A plaque accompanying the statue describes Aliyev as "a great politician and statesman". | A plaque accompanying the statue describes Aliyev as "a great politician and statesman". |
In Azerbaijan there is a growing personality cult surrounding the former leader, who is regarded as a father of the nation, which became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the BBC's Damien McGuinness reports from neighbouring Georgia. | In Azerbaijan there is a growing personality cult surrounding the former leader, who is regarded as a father of the nation, which became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the BBC's Damien McGuinness reports from neighbouring Georgia. |
His face can be seen on huge billboards all over the country, our correspondent adds. | His face can be seen on huge billboards all over the country, our correspondent adds. |
Mr Aliyev's son Ilham has ruled the country since 2003 - but with presidential elections in October, and growing concerns in the West about the government's human rights record, Azerbaijan is keen to promote his father's image abroad, he says. | Mr Aliyev's son Ilham has ruled the country since 2003 - but with presidential elections in October, and growing concerns in the West about the government's human rights record, Azerbaijan is keen to promote his father's image abroad, he says. |