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HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES SPARK DEMANDS TO BOYCOTT EUROVISION IN AZERBAIJAN
ARMENPRESS
APRIL 4, 2012
BAKU
BAKU, 4 APRIL, ARMENPRESS: Calls are growing for an international
boycott of this year's Eurovision song contest in Azerbaijan over
concerns about the country's poor human rights record and its clampdown
on dissidents, reports Armenpress.
Khadija Ismayil, one of the country's few remaining investigative
journalists, revealed last week that she had been the target of a
blackmail attempt. Ismayil, who has been working on stories exposing
dubious business deals in the oil-rich republic with connections to the
ruling elite, has been called an "enemy of the state" by Azerbaijan's
president, Ilham Aliyev.
"On 7 March I received a letter to my home address with threats and
blackmail," she said.
"It includes some photos of an intimate nature and a threat. It
says that if I don't stop working I will be hugely embarrassed. This
threat is not a surprise; I've been doing investigative journalism
for a long time.
"My investigation included the secret business of President Aliyev's
family and documented the facts of corruption on the highest level,
disclosed the offshore businesses of members of the ruling family."
Amnesty's latest report on the country reveals concerns about a ban
on opposition rallies and meetings, and the detention of journalists.
Human Rights Watch last month criticised forcible evictions of people
from their homes, sometimes without warning or in the middle of the
night, to make way for "city beautification" ahead of Eurovision,
which will be staged late in May.
There have been calls in the European parliament and from human rights
activists and Azerbaijani bloggers for a boycott of the contest.
Neighbouring Armenia has already withdrawn from Eurovision because
of its worsening relations with Baku, Iceland's broadcasters are
considering pulling out, and there have been boycott calls from
campaigners in Holland, France and Ireland.
John Dalhuisen, deputy director of Amnesty International's Europe and
Central Asia programme, said: "Azerbaijan cannot credibly present
itself as a rights-respecting democracy so long as it continues to
beat up and imprison peaceful protesters.
"The regime must realise that hosting glitzy events such as Eurovision
won't mask the extent of the country's human rights violations. They
need drastically to change their attitude to peaceful protest."
Azerbaijan, which won the right to host Eurovision after winning the
contest in 2011, has given the organisers, the European Broadcasting
Union, a guarantee that foreign delegates will be secure and free
from any censorship during their stay.
From: Baghdasarian
ARMENPRESS
APRIL 4, 2012
BAKU
BAKU, 4 APRIL, ARMENPRESS: Calls are growing for an international
boycott of this year's Eurovision song contest in Azerbaijan over
concerns about the country's poor human rights record and its clampdown
on dissidents, reports Armenpress.
Khadija Ismayil, one of the country's few remaining investigative
journalists, revealed last week that she had been the target of a
blackmail attempt. Ismayil, who has been working on stories exposing
dubious business deals in the oil-rich republic with connections to the
ruling elite, has been called an "enemy of the state" by Azerbaijan's
president, Ilham Aliyev.
"On 7 March I received a letter to my home address with threats and
blackmail," she said.
"It includes some photos of an intimate nature and a threat. It
says that if I don't stop working I will be hugely embarrassed. This
threat is not a surprise; I've been doing investigative journalism
for a long time.
"My investigation included the secret business of President Aliyev's
family and documented the facts of corruption on the highest level,
disclosed the offshore businesses of members of the ruling family."
Amnesty's latest report on the country reveals concerns about a ban
on opposition rallies and meetings, and the detention of journalists.
Human Rights Watch last month criticised forcible evictions of people
from their homes, sometimes without warning or in the middle of the
night, to make way for "city beautification" ahead of Eurovision,
which will be staged late in May.
There have been calls in the European parliament and from human rights
activists and Azerbaijani bloggers for a boycott of the contest.
Neighbouring Armenia has already withdrawn from Eurovision because
of its worsening relations with Baku, Iceland's broadcasters are
considering pulling out, and there have been boycott calls from
campaigners in Holland, France and Ireland.
John Dalhuisen, deputy director of Amnesty International's Europe and
Central Asia programme, said: "Azerbaijan cannot credibly present
itself as a rights-respecting democracy so long as it continues to
beat up and imprison peaceful protesters.
"The regime must realise that hosting glitzy events such as Eurovision
won't mask the extent of the country's human rights violations. They
need drastically to change their attitude to peaceful protest."
Azerbaijan, which won the right to host Eurovision after winning the
contest in 2011, has given the organisers, the European Broadcasting
Union, a guarantee that foreign delegates will be secure and free
from any censorship during their stay.
From: Baghdasarian