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France 24
May 8 2012
Baku laments criticism on rights record ahead of Eurovision
AFP - Azerbaijan on Tuesday defended its human rights record and
accused "jealous" forces of seeking to tarnish the country's image as
it prepares to host the Eurovision song contest.
"Azerbaijan is ahead of several European countries in terms of
national and spiritual values, political pluralism and religious
tolerance," senior Azeri presidential aide Ali Hasanov was quoted as
saying. "Jealous of this, some forces are trying to strike a blow to
the image of Azerbaijan."
He said criticism of Azerbaijan was unfounded, accusing foreign media
of "blowing up a couple of events ... They try to use it to exert
pressure," according to the trend.az news website.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has slammed what he called a
"shameful campaign" to discredit the former Soviet republic, with some
officials fingering Armenia as the source of the criticism.
Baku and Yerevan have no diplomatic ties because of an ongoing dispute
over Azerbaijan's ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Eurovision, set for May 22-26, is an annual song contest run by the
European Broadcasting Union, a confederation of national broadcasters
of 56 European countries and their near neighbours.
The Geneva-based EBU has drawn sharp criticism in recent weeks for
organising the contest -- to be watched on television by some 100
million people -- in energy-rich Azerbaijan.
EBU boss Ingrid Deltenre told AFP in Geneva on Tuesday that "the
(Azerbaijan) government will maybe try to use the contest to show
itself in a positive light ... but the fact is that journalists will
not ignore (the country) but look" at what goes on in this Caucasus
republic.
Last week rights groups Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International
accused Azerbaijan of silencing dissent and free speech ahead of
Eurovision.
"The European Broadcasting Union should speak out about Azerbaijan's
appalling record on freedom of expression in the lead-up to the
Eurovision song contest," HRW said.
It alleged that journalists in the Caspian Sea state were "frequently
subject to harassment, intimidation and physical attacks".
HRW's Giorgi Gogia said 70 people including seven journalists were
currently in prison for political reasons.
And Amnesty International criticised the EBU for not addressing
concerns about free speech.
The EBU responded to the criticism with a meeting on May 2 in Geneva
with rights groups and Azerbaijani government officials.
Deltenre said the meeting of more than two hours allowed the rights
groups to express their views and "confront" the Baku government. She
also sought "detailed explanations" over the alleged arrests of
journalists, she said, adding that the government said it would
provide them.
The EBU has agreed to a follow-up meeting with the Council of Europe
later this year in Baku when the EBU is to evaluate progress on human
rights and press freedom.
"We are convinced that continued dialogue can improve the situation,"
Deltenre said, stressing that the fact that Azerbaijani government
officials came to Geneva showed that they were "open to dialogue".
http://www.france24.com/en/20120508-baku-laments-criticism-rights-record-ahead-eurovision
May 8 2012
Baku laments criticism on rights record ahead of Eurovision
AFP - Azerbaijan on Tuesday defended its human rights record and
accused "jealous" forces of seeking to tarnish the country's image as
it prepares to host the Eurovision song contest.
"Azerbaijan is ahead of several European countries in terms of
national and spiritual values, political pluralism and religious
tolerance," senior Azeri presidential aide Ali Hasanov was quoted as
saying. "Jealous of this, some forces are trying to strike a blow to
the image of Azerbaijan."
He said criticism of Azerbaijan was unfounded, accusing foreign media
of "blowing up a couple of events ... They try to use it to exert
pressure," according to the trend.az news website.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has slammed what he called a
"shameful campaign" to discredit the former Soviet republic, with some
officials fingering Armenia as the source of the criticism.
Baku and Yerevan have no diplomatic ties because of an ongoing dispute
over Azerbaijan's ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Eurovision, set for May 22-26, is an annual song contest run by the
European Broadcasting Union, a confederation of national broadcasters
of 56 European countries and their near neighbours.
The Geneva-based EBU has drawn sharp criticism in recent weeks for
organising the contest -- to be watched on television by some 100
million people -- in energy-rich Azerbaijan.
EBU boss Ingrid Deltenre told AFP in Geneva on Tuesday that "the
(Azerbaijan) government will maybe try to use the contest to show
itself in a positive light ... but the fact is that journalists will
not ignore (the country) but look" at what goes on in this Caucasus
republic.
Last week rights groups Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International
accused Azerbaijan of silencing dissent and free speech ahead of
Eurovision.
"The European Broadcasting Union should speak out about Azerbaijan's
appalling record on freedom of expression in the lead-up to the
Eurovision song contest," HRW said.
It alleged that journalists in the Caspian Sea state were "frequently
subject to harassment, intimidation and physical attacks".
HRW's Giorgi Gogia said 70 people including seven journalists were
currently in prison for political reasons.
And Amnesty International criticised the EBU for not addressing
concerns about free speech.
The EBU responded to the criticism with a meeting on May 2 in Geneva
with rights groups and Azerbaijani government officials.
Deltenre said the meeting of more than two hours allowed the rights
groups to express their views and "confront" the Baku government. She
also sought "detailed explanations" over the alleged arrests of
journalists, she said, adding that the government said it would
provide them.
The EBU has agreed to a follow-up meeting with the Council of Europe
later this year in Baku when the EBU is to evaluate progress on human
rights and press freedom.
"We are convinced that continued dialogue can improve the situation,"
Deltenre said, stressing that the fact that Azerbaijani government
officials came to Geneva showed that they were "open to dialogue".
http://www.france24.com/en/20120508-baku-laments-criticism-rights-record-ahead-eurovision