Death and state funeral of Abulfaz Elchibey
Abulfaz Elchibey, the second President of Azerbaijan, died on 22 August 2000 of cancer and received a state funeral in Baku attended by then-President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. Elchibey was buried at the Alley of Honor in Baku.[1] The funeral was attended by tens of thousands of people.
Obituaries for Elchibey were published in The Guardian,[2] The Washington Post,[3] The New York Times[4] and elsewhere.
Death
In July 2000, Elchibey had been rushed unconscious to Turkey for medical treatment. On 22 August, Elchibey died at the age of 62 at Gulhane Military Medical Academy Hospital in Ankara, where he was receiving medical treatment from advanced prostate cancer.[1] According to the doctors, he was also suffering from diabetes and infections. His body was flown to Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.
Western obituaries for Elchibey noted him as being the first democratically elected president of Azerbaijan.[4]
Funeral
The state funeral was organized by Azerbaijan government led by Speaker of Parliament, Murtuz Alasgarov. The funeral ceremony was held at the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.
During the funeral ceremony more than 10,000 people started chanting against Heydar Aliyev when he entered the building to attend the ceremony. He quickly left the building and faced further taunts from more than 50,000 people outside.[5] Aliev's security guards reportedly had to hold back the crowd to enable Aliyev to leave.[5] In the past, Elchibey had described Aliyev as "an autocrat playing at democracy" while Aliyev claimed that Elchibey was "unequal to the demands of building a fledgling state".[6] Elchibey also denounced the 1993 Azerbaijani presidential election, where Aliyev cemented his control, as fraudulent.[4]
References
- ^ a b "Azerbaijan remembers late president on his 82nd birthday". Anadolu Agency. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ Jonathan Steele (26 August 2000). "Abulfaz Elchibey". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ "Deaths". The Washington Post. 23 August 2000. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ a b c "Abulfaz Elchibey, Who Led Free Azerbaijan, Dies at 62". The New York Times. 23 August 2000. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Azerbaijan: Crowd At Service Turns Angrily On Aliev". RFERL. 23 August 2000. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ "Azerbaijan's First President Dies". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved 17 June 2024.