The news that Westminster lunch ‘institution’ Shepherd’s is to reopen its doors after closing them eighteen months ago has been greeted with enthusiasm, not least by the cheese soufflé devotees of SW1. But should it actually stick in the throat?
According to Public Affairs News the Tory lobbyist Lionel Zetter is the man behind the resurrection, and he has bought both the brand and the lease of the Marsham Street joint. Who is this mysterious restaurateur? Well, he’s Director of the European Azerbaijan Society, and that makes him a frontman for the Azeri regime, according to Foreign Policy magazine:
‘A 2010 U.S. State Department cable published by WikiLeaks described the group as follows: “The ‘society’ purports to be an independent advocacy group, but its talking points very much reflect the goals and objectives of the [government of Azerbaijan]. TEAS’s current director is Lionel Zetter, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and of the Royal Society of Arts, as well the author of Lobbying: The Art of Political Persuasion. In an email to FP, Zetter denied that TEAS had any kind of allegiance to the regime in Baku. “The mission of TEAS is to promote the country (not the government) of Azerbaijan and to foster links with Western Europe,” he wrote. “It is not our place to interfere in or comment on the internal politics of any country.” Asked if he considers Azerbaijan a democracy, Zetter answered: “Azerbaijan holds regular elections for the Presidency, for the Milli Majlis and for municipal authorities, so of course it should be classified as a democracy.”’
Classified as a democracy? Mr S could not put it better than this year’s Human Rights Watch report on Azerbaijan:
‘The Azerbaijani government’s poor record on freedom of expression, assembly, and association dramatically deteriorated during the year. The authorities arrested dozens of political activists on bogus charges, imprisoned critical journalists, broke up several peaceful public demonstrations, and adopted legislation that further restricted fundamental freedoms.’
Bon appétit.
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