Deutsche Presse-Agentur
April 21, 2004, Wednesday

German foreign minister presses Azerbaijan on human rights

Baku

The oil-rich Caucasus republic of Azerbaijan should clean up its
record on human rights and speed economic reforms to help its
relations with the European Union, German Foreign Minister Joschka
Fischer said in Baku Wednesday.

Germany and the E.U., meanwhile, will redouble efforts to help
resolve the simmering conflict around the ethnic Armenian enclave of
Nagorny-Karabakh, Fischer said after talks with his Azeri counterpart
Elmar Mammadiarov.

The union places great importance on achieving stability in the
Caucasus and was working on new policy suggestions to help calm the
tense relations between countries in the region, he said.

The minister welcomed the move by President Ilham Aliyev to amnesty
numerous political prisoners in Azerbaijan after his election last
October.

But the measure must now be extended to cover all political
detainees, he stressed.

Azerbaijan, a Moslem former Soviet republic, has benefited from its
huge oil reserves in recent years but has been destabilized by the
conflict with Christian Armenia over the Nagorny-Karabakh region.

A shaky ceasefire has held since 1994, but both sides front a heavy
military presence against each other amid the continuing dispute. dpa
dh na sc