Freedom House report sparks outcry
AzerNews
6-15 April 05
The Freedom House organization has published its “Freedom in the
World” index using a 7-point scale. Countries rated between 1 and 2.5
points were rated as ‘free’, 3 and 5 points ‘partly free’, and 5.5-7
points as ‘not free’, based on the criteria of political rights and
civil liberties.
89 countries were rated as free, 54 partly free and 49 countries as
‘not free’. Thus, 1.189 billion people live in free countries, while
about 2.819 billion in partly free countries and some 2.387 people
in unfree countries.
Compared to 1974, the number of free countries more than doubled,
as only 41 countries were rated as free at the time. Since then,
6 more countries were added to the “partly free” category, while the
number of unfree countries decreased from 63 to 49.
46 countries received the highest rating (1 point), with Estonia
being the only former Soviet Union republic included in this
category. Armenia received 4.5 points, while Georgia and Moldova –
3.5 points. Other CIS (former Soviet Union) states – Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan – were rated as ‘not
free’, with 6 points.
The worst situation with human rights among CIS states was indicated
in Belarus (6.5 points) and Turkmenistan (7 points). The report also
assessed the human rights situation in conflict zones, terming them as
“disputed areas”. Among these regions, only the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus was rated as free, with 2 points.
The self-proclaimed “Upper Garabagh Republic” operating in the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan, as well as Abkhazia, Kashmir and Kosovo,
were rated as “partly free”. Human rights are blatantly violated in
Tibet, Dnestr and Chechnya, the report said. The countries considered
to be protectorates of other countries – Hong Kong (China), Puerto Rico
(United States) were rated as “free”, with 2 points.
“Report unfair”
The rating on Azerbaijan indicated in the Freedom House report is
unfair. The criteria taken into consideration in preparing the report
are unclear, Ombudsman Elmira Suleymanova told a press conference
on Tuesday.
The Milli Majlis (parliament) speaker Murtuz Alasgarov said the
report as biased, regarding as unfair the fact that Azerbaijan was
rated below Armenia and Georgia.
“Is the level of democracy in Azerbaijan behind that of Georgia
and Armenia?”
The speaker said that the inaccurate data in the report is related
to the false statements made by the opposition, and called on its
representatives to consider Azerbaijan’s interests.