Tweet
BAKU RESPONDS TO SEVERAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES' CRITICISM
Trend
May 2 2012
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is ready to host Eurovision song contest despite the
political games around the country, Head of the Department on Work with
Law-Enforcement Agencies of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration
Fuad Alasgarov said today.
"Azerbaijan is ready to host Eurovision song contest and show the
world that despite the continued occupation of our lands by Armenia,
a large number of refugees and internally displaced people, political
games around the country, we go forward and join the number of leading
countries in all areas of development in the foreseeable future,"
he told Trend while commenting on the recent statements over the
boycott of Eurovision song contest.
PACE member Christoph Strasser and German Federal Government
Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid Markus
Loening have recently urged to boycott Eurovision song contest,
to be held in Baku in late May.
"I think that it would be helpful for a politician, planning to
prepare a report on the situation in any country, still refusing
from visiting this country and having the biased attitude to the
development of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan, to observe the
situation in his country," he said.
"Regarding Markus Loening, who regularly criticizes the Azerbaijani
authorities on several issues, the fact that the Commissioner for
Human Rights (Ombudsman) is included in the German Foreign Ministry,
is unlikely to stipulate his position as completely independent and
impartial," he said.
"Bundestag member and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Federal
Republic of Germany, claiming to be the leader of the European Union,
first of all, should deal with human rights protection in his country,"
he added. "There are many problems in this area."
"At present, the German government has not fulfilled 97 decisions of
the European Court of Human Rights relating to the violations of the
provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights," he stressed.
"For example, the decision dated 2003 related to the violation of
Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights due to too long
consideration of the case in the court is among them. The German
government has not made general measures to fulfill this decision."
"Moreover, one of the most recent decisions of the European Court is
the decision on Schwabe's case and others," he said.
"The applicants have been detained for five days before the protest
action on the basis of unclear suspicions and due to the fact that
the posters reflecting the demand to release political prisoners have
been found in their cars," he added. "In this case, the Court admitted
the violation of the applicants' rights as the freedom of assembly."
According to news agencies, the individuals were arrested and injured
during May 1 actions of leftist youth movements in Berlin yesterday.
But their exact number is unknown. The streets were cordoned off by
police. There were many police cars, ambulances in the side streets.
Helicopters patrolled the city. It is reported that the organizers
began the march on the outskirts of Berlin and planned to complete
it in the center of the city. But the police did not allow doing this.
"The international organizations and diplomats accredited in Baku
criticized the authorities when representatives of the radical
opposition tried to conduct the unauthorized rally in the center of
Baku in 2011, which resulted in a breach of public order and damaging
to citizens and organizations," he said. "I wonder if we will hear
the same criticism regarding the riots in Berlin?"
"The rise of nationalism and xenophobia is being observed in Germany
today. Regional and federal bodies do not resist this process," he
said. "Today, it is unsafe for a foreigner who does not look like
European to walk along Berlin streets."
"At present, Baku is one of the safest cities in the world," he
stressed. "Eurovision song contest head Jan Ola Sand has recently
confirmed this and admitted that Baku is a safe city."
The 57th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in the Baku Crystal Hall
near the State Flag Square. The semi-finals will be held in Baku on
May 22 and May 24 and the final on May 26.
The logo for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest is 'Fire Flower',
while the motto is Light your fire.
Azerbaijan won the right to host the prestigious European song
contest after the victory of Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal (Ell /
Nikki) at Eurovision 2011 in Dusseldorf, Germany last May.
Trend
May 2 2012
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is ready to host Eurovision song contest despite the
political games around the country, Head of the Department on Work with
Law-Enforcement Agencies of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration
Fuad Alasgarov said today.
"Azerbaijan is ready to host Eurovision song contest and show the
world that despite the continued occupation of our lands by Armenia,
a large number of refugees and internally displaced people, political
games around the country, we go forward and join the number of leading
countries in all areas of development in the foreseeable future,"
he told Trend while commenting on the recent statements over the
boycott of Eurovision song contest.
PACE member Christoph Strasser and German Federal Government
Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid Markus
Loening have recently urged to boycott Eurovision song contest,
to be held in Baku in late May.
"I think that it would be helpful for a politician, planning to
prepare a report on the situation in any country, still refusing
from visiting this country and having the biased attitude to the
development of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan, to observe the
situation in his country," he said.
"Regarding Markus Loening, who regularly criticizes the Azerbaijani
authorities on several issues, the fact that the Commissioner for
Human Rights (Ombudsman) is included in the German Foreign Ministry,
is unlikely to stipulate his position as completely independent and
impartial," he said.
"Bundestag member and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Federal
Republic of Germany, claiming to be the leader of the European Union,
first of all, should deal with human rights protection in his country,"
he added. "There are many problems in this area."
"At present, the German government has not fulfilled 97 decisions of
the European Court of Human Rights relating to the violations of the
provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights," he stressed.
"For example, the decision dated 2003 related to the violation of
Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights due to too long
consideration of the case in the court is among them. The German
government has not made general measures to fulfill this decision."
"Moreover, one of the most recent decisions of the European Court is
the decision on Schwabe's case and others," he said.
"The applicants have been detained for five days before the protest
action on the basis of unclear suspicions and due to the fact that
the posters reflecting the demand to release political prisoners have
been found in their cars," he added. "In this case, the Court admitted
the violation of the applicants' rights as the freedom of assembly."
According to news agencies, the individuals were arrested and injured
during May 1 actions of leftist youth movements in Berlin yesterday.
But their exact number is unknown. The streets were cordoned off by
police. There were many police cars, ambulances in the side streets.
Helicopters patrolled the city. It is reported that the organizers
began the march on the outskirts of Berlin and planned to complete
it in the center of the city. But the police did not allow doing this.
"The international organizations and diplomats accredited in Baku
criticized the authorities when representatives of the radical
opposition tried to conduct the unauthorized rally in the center of
Baku in 2011, which resulted in a breach of public order and damaging
to citizens and organizations," he said. "I wonder if we will hear
the same criticism regarding the riots in Berlin?"
"The rise of nationalism and xenophobia is being observed in Germany
today. Regional and federal bodies do not resist this process," he
said. "Today, it is unsafe for a foreigner who does not look like
European to walk along Berlin streets."
"At present, Baku is one of the safest cities in the world," he
stressed. "Eurovision song contest head Jan Ola Sand has recently
confirmed this and admitted that Baku is a safe city."
The 57th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in the Baku Crystal Hall
near the State Flag Square. The semi-finals will be held in Baku on
May 22 and May 24 and the final on May 26.
The logo for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest is 'Fire Flower',
while the motto is Light your fire.
Azerbaijan won the right to host the prestigious European song
contest after the victory of Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal (Ell /
Nikki) at Eurovision 2011 in Dusseldorf, Germany last May.