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Helsingin Sanomat, Finland
Sept 30 2005
President Halonen calls for honest elections in Azerbaijan
"I wish you an honest and lively election", said President Tarja
Halonen, on Thursday as she said farewell to the Speaker of the
Parliament of Azerbaijan. The Azeri capital Baku was the last stop on
the Finnish President's visit to the South Caucasus.
Azerbaijan holds Presidential elections in just over a month,
and observers around the world are wondering if the same kinds of
accusations of fraud will arise that were prevalent in connection
with the Presidential election of 2003 and the referendum on the
country's constitution in 2002.
It was on the basis of these votes that Azeri strongman Heidar
Aliyev transferred power to his son Ilham Aliyev in the face of
opposition riots and boycotts.
President Ilham Aliyev was the official host of the visit. Heidar
Aliyev, who died in late 2003, has become the focus of a personality
cult of sorts; during Halonen's visit, he was repeatedly referred to
as "our great leader" and "our national leader".
Streets in Baku are full of posters depicting the late
President, and Halonen had to lay a wreath of red roses at the statue
of Heidar Aliyev, located in front of the Heidar Aliyev Centre.
President Halonen did not appear to be bothered by the matter.
"It would not seem to be a completely strange phenomenon in Finland's
past either. We do have quite a few statues of presidents in our
country", Halonen pointed out to Finnish journalists.
President Halonen appealed for honest elections at every possible
turn on Thursday. Sitting next to Ilham Aliyev at a press conference,
she emphasised that it is the responsibility of the government and
the President to see to it that the elections meet all criteria set
by the Council of Europe and the OSCE.
She also pointed out to the Azerbaijan opposition that it needs
to exercise proper conduct as well.
A large opposition demonstration is scheduled to take place in
Baku during the weekend, and President Aliyev expressed concern that
the opposition would try to provoke clashes, because it knows that it
will lose the elections.
Halonen would not make any predictions about the honesty of the
election, but she did predict that Aliyev's party would win. At 43,
the younger Aliyev is a very popular figure in the country.
There was discussion on Thursday on increasing trade between Finland
and Azerbaijan, on possible investments, as well as over the conflict
in the ethnically Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Halonen urged the three countries of the Southern Caucasus,
Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, to work together to find a
solution. According to her calculations, "1+1+1 equals more than
three".
President Halonen returns to Finland on Friday evening.
Sept 30 2005
President Halonen calls for honest elections in Azerbaijan
"I wish you an honest and lively election", said President Tarja
Halonen, on Thursday as she said farewell to the Speaker of the
Parliament of Azerbaijan. The Azeri capital Baku was the last stop on
the Finnish President's visit to the South Caucasus.
Azerbaijan holds Presidential elections in just over a month,
and observers around the world are wondering if the same kinds of
accusations of fraud will arise that were prevalent in connection
with the Presidential election of 2003 and the referendum on the
country's constitution in 2002.
It was on the basis of these votes that Azeri strongman Heidar
Aliyev transferred power to his son Ilham Aliyev in the face of
opposition riots and boycotts.
President Ilham Aliyev was the official host of the visit. Heidar
Aliyev, who died in late 2003, has become the focus of a personality
cult of sorts; during Halonen's visit, he was repeatedly referred to
as "our great leader" and "our national leader".
Streets in Baku are full of posters depicting the late
President, and Halonen had to lay a wreath of red roses at the statue
of Heidar Aliyev, located in front of the Heidar Aliyev Centre.
President Halonen did not appear to be bothered by the matter.
"It would not seem to be a completely strange phenomenon in Finland's
past either. We do have quite a few statues of presidents in our
country", Halonen pointed out to Finnish journalists.
President Halonen appealed for honest elections at every possible
turn on Thursday. Sitting next to Ilham Aliyev at a press conference,
she emphasised that it is the responsibility of the government and
the President to see to it that the elections meet all criteria set
by the Council of Europe and the OSCE.
She also pointed out to the Azerbaijan opposition that it needs
to exercise proper conduct as well.
A large opposition demonstration is scheduled to take place in
Baku during the weekend, and President Aliyev expressed concern that
the opposition would try to provoke clashes, because it knows that it
will lose the elections.
Halonen would not make any predictions about the honesty of the
election, but she did predict that Aliyev's party would win. At 43,
the younger Aliyev is a very popular figure in the country.
There was discussion on Thursday on increasing trade between Finland
and Azerbaijan, on possible investments, as well as over the conflict
in the ethnically Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Halonen urged the three countries of the Southern Caucasus,
Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, to work together to find a
solution. According to her calculations, "1+1+1 equals more than
three".
President Halonen returns to Finland on Friday evening.