Tweet
US HELSINKI COMMISSION HELD A BRIEFING ON DEMOCRACY AND ELECTIONS IN CAUCASUS REGION
Azeri Report
May 24 2012
WASHINGTON, DC. May 24. Yesterday, the US Commission for Security
and Cooperation in Europe, also known as Helsinki Commission,
held a briefing on "Democratization in the Caucasus: Elections in
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia" in the US Congress. The expert
panelists presenting before the Commission included Tom de Waal of
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Dr. Cory Welt of George
Washington University, Christopher Walker of Freedom House, Stephen
Nix of International Republican Institute, and Anthony Bowyer of
International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
Comparing the countries of the Caucasus region, the panelists
noted that although all three have serious problems with democratic
development, the conditions in Georgia are generally better than in
Armenia and Azerbaijan, with Azerbaijan having the most authoritarian
regime. Among the facts concerning Azerbaijan, the presenters noted
wholesale falsifications of previous elections, serious violations
of human rights, absence of free speech and free assembly, severe
restrictions and attacks on media and political activists. Specific
cases of blackmail against the Radio Liberty reporter Khadija Ismail
and brutal beating of the journalist Idrak Abbasov by the security
forces of the State Oil Company (SOCAR) were highlighted as recent
examples. Azerbaijan's ranking among the worst in the world on human
rights and democracy, alongside African countries, was also mentioned.
One of the representatives from Azerbaijani-Americans for Democracy
(AZAD) attending the briefing stated that the ruling Aliyev regime
shows no interest in holding free and fair elections, as evidenced
by the previous electoral cycles in the country, and asked whether
it would make more sense for the US government and Congress to
exert pressure on the Azerbaijani government well in advance of
the upcoming elections in 2013. AZAD has also sent a letter to the
Helsinki Commission recommending that such pressure needs to be
applied for creating necessary conditions during the pre-elections
period and the legitimacy of elections failing to meet at least
the minimal international standards should not be recognized by the
international community.
A representative from Azerbaijani Embassy in the US disagreed with
everyone else on the subject of Azerbaijan and said that the current
government provides all the freedoms and the country is making a
great progress (Azerireport).
Azeri Report
May 24 2012
WASHINGTON, DC. May 24. Yesterday, the US Commission for Security
and Cooperation in Europe, also known as Helsinki Commission,
held a briefing on "Democratization in the Caucasus: Elections in
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia" in the US Congress. The expert
panelists presenting before the Commission included Tom de Waal of
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Dr. Cory Welt of George
Washington University, Christopher Walker of Freedom House, Stephen
Nix of International Republican Institute, and Anthony Bowyer of
International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
Comparing the countries of the Caucasus region, the panelists
noted that although all three have serious problems with democratic
development, the conditions in Georgia are generally better than in
Armenia and Azerbaijan, with Azerbaijan having the most authoritarian
regime. Among the facts concerning Azerbaijan, the presenters noted
wholesale falsifications of previous elections, serious violations
of human rights, absence of free speech and free assembly, severe
restrictions and attacks on media and political activists. Specific
cases of blackmail against the Radio Liberty reporter Khadija Ismail
and brutal beating of the journalist Idrak Abbasov by the security
forces of the State Oil Company (SOCAR) were highlighted as recent
examples. Azerbaijan's ranking among the worst in the world on human
rights and democracy, alongside African countries, was also mentioned.
One of the representatives from Azerbaijani-Americans for Democracy
(AZAD) attending the briefing stated that the ruling Aliyev regime
shows no interest in holding free and fair elections, as evidenced
by the previous electoral cycles in the country, and asked whether
it would make more sense for the US government and Congress to
exert pressure on the Azerbaijani government well in advance of
the upcoming elections in 2013. AZAD has also sent a letter to the
Helsinki Commission recommending that such pressure needs to be
applied for creating necessary conditions during the pre-elections
period and the legitimacy of elections failing to meet at least
the minimal international standards should not be recognized by the
international community.
A representative from Azerbaijani Embassy in the US disagreed with
everyone else on the subject of Azerbaijan and said that the current
government provides all the freedoms and the country is making a
great progress (Azerireport).