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Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijan
June 6, 2014 Friday
US diplomat: "Baku's constricting space for civil society is a threat
to comprehensive security across the region."
The US on Thursday urged Azerbaijani government to "live up to its
international commitments to respect freedom of association and
assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," TURAN's
Washington correspondent reports.
The statement called "Ongoing Human Rights Violations in Azerbaijan"
was delivered by the US Political Counselor to OSCE Christopher
Robinson at the organization's Permanent Council, in Vienna, on June
5.
Washington is "deeply disturbed" by the May 26 sentencing of Mr. Anar
Mammadli, the widely respected Chairman of the Election Monitoring and
Democracy Studies Center, to five-and-a-half years in prison on
questionable charges ranging from tax evasion and illegal
entrepreneurship to abuse of office, according to the statement.
The authorities, it adds, also convicted the organization's executive
director and the head of a partner NGO on equally questionable
charges. These convictions, like other recent convictions, lead
friends of Azerbaijan to wonder about the sincerity of the government
of Azerbaijan's stated commitment to democratic development.
"We are also disturbed by the authorities' seizure of the passports of
Institute for Peace and Democracy Director Leyla Yunus and her
husband, which would prevent her from participating in the joint
Chairmanship/ODIHR Human Rights Defenders Conference in Bern on June
10 and 11, and by the authorities' continued pressure on the couple.
Leyla Yunus has been a strong proponent of Track II diplomatic efforts
in the region. The investigation launched against her and another
advocate of people to people efforts, journalist Rauf Mirkadirov, also
has a chilling effect on civil society in Azerbaijan, especially those
seeking to promote a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict," reads the statement.
In his speech, Mr. Robinson also congratulates all Azerbaijanis on May
28, 1918: the date that marks the birth of an independent Azerbaijan,
the first secular, democratic Muslim-majority country in the world.
Sadly, he said, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was reconquered by
Soviet Russia's Red Army and incorporated into the nascent Soviet
Union less than two years later. Azerbaijan remained a captive nation
for more than seven decades, until it re-emerged as a sovereign state
in 1991, when it assumed its place at this table, as a participating
State in the OSCE.
"Today, we call on our friends in Azerbaijan to reclaim their
country's leadership role on human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Azerbaijan and the US share a commitment to diversifying energy
supplies and promoting regional security. We appreciate, in
particular, Azerbaijan's contribution to the International Security
Assistance Force in Afghanistan. We want to support Azerbaijan in the
development of its open market economy and in finding a peaceful
resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," he said.
As Azerbaijan assumes greater responsibility in the international
community, such as through its current chairmanship of the Council of
Europe, the US "remains committed to working with Azerbaijan to
advance democratic development and to protect human rights and
fundamental freedoms," according to the diplomat.
Regretfully, he added immediately, however, the space within which
civil society can operate in Azerbaijan continues to be constricted by
the government. "And the trend, unfortunately, is getting worse. This
is a threat to comprehensive security across the region."
In the meantime, the diplomat mentioned, Azerbaijan will best be able
to ensure its future stability and prosperity by allowing a more open
society, which is crucial for democratic development, which in turn
provides the long term foundation for stability and shared prosperity
for Azerbaijan's citizens.
"We urge the Azerbaijani government to begin working to strengthen the
environment for political pluralism and to expand the space for
independent media and civil society to operate."
The US "remains committed to working with the Government of Azerbaijan
and the Azerbaijani people to advance democratic development and to
protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Azerbaijan," he
concluded.
A.Raufoglu
Washington, DC
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
June 6, 2014 Friday
US diplomat: "Baku's constricting space for civil society is a threat
to comprehensive security across the region."
The US on Thursday urged Azerbaijani government to "live up to its
international commitments to respect freedom of association and
assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," TURAN's
Washington correspondent reports.
The statement called "Ongoing Human Rights Violations in Azerbaijan"
was delivered by the US Political Counselor to OSCE Christopher
Robinson at the organization's Permanent Council, in Vienna, on June
5.
Washington is "deeply disturbed" by the May 26 sentencing of Mr. Anar
Mammadli, the widely respected Chairman of the Election Monitoring and
Democracy Studies Center, to five-and-a-half years in prison on
questionable charges ranging from tax evasion and illegal
entrepreneurship to abuse of office, according to the statement.
The authorities, it adds, also convicted the organization's executive
director and the head of a partner NGO on equally questionable
charges. These convictions, like other recent convictions, lead
friends of Azerbaijan to wonder about the sincerity of the government
of Azerbaijan's stated commitment to democratic development.
"We are also disturbed by the authorities' seizure of the passports of
Institute for Peace and Democracy Director Leyla Yunus and her
husband, which would prevent her from participating in the joint
Chairmanship/ODIHR Human Rights Defenders Conference in Bern on June
10 and 11, and by the authorities' continued pressure on the couple.
Leyla Yunus has been a strong proponent of Track II diplomatic efforts
in the region. The investigation launched against her and another
advocate of people to people efforts, journalist Rauf Mirkadirov, also
has a chilling effect on civil society in Azerbaijan, especially those
seeking to promote a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict," reads the statement.
In his speech, Mr. Robinson also congratulates all Azerbaijanis on May
28, 1918: the date that marks the birth of an independent Azerbaijan,
the first secular, democratic Muslim-majority country in the world.
Sadly, he said, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was reconquered by
Soviet Russia's Red Army and incorporated into the nascent Soviet
Union less than two years later. Azerbaijan remained a captive nation
for more than seven decades, until it re-emerged as a sovereign state
in 1991, when it assumed its place at this table, as a participating
State in the OSCE.
"Today, we call on our friends in Azerbaijan to reclaim their
country's leadership role on human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Azerbaijan and the US share a commitment to diversifying energy
supplies and promoting regional security. We appreciate, in
particular, Azerbaijan's contribution to the International Security
Assistance Force in Afghanistan. We want to support Azerbaijan in the
development of its open market economy and in finding a peaceful
resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," he said.
As Azerbaijan assumes greater responsibility in the international
community, such as through its current chairmanship of the Council of
Europe, the US "remains committed to working with Azerbaijan to
advance democratic development and to protect human rights and
fundamental freedoms," according to the diplomat.
Regretfully, he added immediately, however, the space within which
civil society can operate in Azerbaijan continues to be constricted by
the government. "And the trend, unfortunately, is getting worse. This
is a threat to comprehensive security across the region."
In the meantime, the diplomat mentioned, Azerbaijan will best be able
to ensure its future stability and prosperity by allowing a more open
society, which is crucial for democratic development, which in turn
provides the long term foundation for stability and shared prosperity
for Azerbaijan's citizens.
"We urge the Azerbaijani government to begin working to strengthen the
environment for political pluralism and to expand the space for
independent media and civil society to operate."
The US "remains committed to working with the Government of Azerbaijan
and the Azerbaijani people to advance democratic development and to
protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Azerbaijan," he
concluded.
A.Raufoglu
Washington, DC
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress