Azeri MPs say some officials involved in child trafficking – TV

ANS TV, Baku
26 Oct 04

[Presenter] MPs have commented on the sale of children to foreign
countries under the guise of adoption. They think that officials were
also involved in this issue.

[Correspondent over video] Some 204 children from Azerbaijan have
been sold abroad under the guise of adoption over the past three
years. There has been no information about their plight so far. Some
MPs sent inquiries to the relevant bodies in this regard. They even
appealed to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over the issue.

[MP Cahangir Huseynov] I would like to thank Mr Ilham Aliyev for
imposing a moratorium on the issue. Today not a single child is
given to a foreign citizen. Certain people are prepared to pay even
a higher price for organs. Some organs can fetch between 50,000 and
100,000 dollars.

[Correspondent, over video] There were also MPs who think that those
unable to see their children as their future should be educated and
ideological work should be carried out among them. They also discussed
other details of the child trafficking.

[The Communist Party chairman and MP, Ramiz Ahmadov] The state should
seriously monitor the situation. The state is in charge of the borders,
of those who come and leave and of those who sign specific contracts on
the purchase of children [changes tack] I know that the overwhelming
majority of these contracts are false. They are aimed at deceiving
us. Nothing is known about the plight of those children after their
purchase and departure.

[The United People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party and MP, Qudrat
Hasanquliyev] There are facts of corruption here. This kind of
lawlessness takes place in exchange for a large sum of money. The
law-enforcement agencies, executive bodies and parliament itself
should control these issues.

[Passage omitted: Other MPs say law-enforcement agencies should
seriously talk to child traffickers in line with law]

[Correspondent, over video] The MPs said that the state itself should
take care of children and assume that the people involved in the
trafficking of children were cooperating with some officials.

Afat Telmanqizi, Azar Qarayev, ANS.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress