US report on human rights abuses biased – Azeri pro-government MP
Ekspress, Baku
20 May 04
Text of Aqil Camal report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on 20 May
headlined “Is America breaking the rules intentionally?” and subheaded
“Gular Ahmadova: ‘Why have the actions of US soldiers in Iraq not
been included in that document?'”
As has been reported, the US State Department has circulated another
report on support for democracy and human rights in the world.
The section of the report on Azerbaijan notes the violation of
people’s voting rights, restrictions on freedom of assembly and
violence against those who demand their rights.
The member of the political council of the [ruling] New Azerbaijan
Party, MP Gular Ahmadova, thinks that looking through the document,
one can see that it is not objective.
“People who describe the USA as a cradle of democracy think that
all reports disseminated by the USA are objective. I doubt this
statement. If the point is about human rights violations, then they’d
better write at least a word about human rights violations by the
USA. US soldiers have trampled on human rights in Iraq. The US
president apologized to them for this,” she said.
The MP thinks that the events in Iraq and Azerbaijan are quite
different and the gravest crimes are being committed there. “If these
facts were reflected in the statement, then it could be assessed as
democratic,” she said.
The MP thinks that the statement was either prepared by unprofessional
people or was drawn up under pressure from the Armenian diaspora.
“For this reason, I do not regard the report as serious,” Ahmadova
said.