European rapporteur threatens expulsion if Azerbaijan fails to hold fair
polls
Turan news agency, Baku
23 Jun 05
Strasbourg, 23 June: “I welcome certain changes in Azerbaijan and the
president’s desire to change things for the better,” the rapporteur of
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE] monitoring
committee for Azerbaijan, Andreas Gross, has said in an exclusive
interview with Turan.
Commenting on the discussion of a report on democratic institutions in
Azerbaijan held at PACE yesterday, Gross said the situation in
Azerbaijan was ambiguous – there are both positive and negative
developments.
“On the one hand, there are people trying to change the situation for
the better, but on the other, there are those who kill
[editor-in-chief of Monitor magazine] Elmar Huseynov,” he said. He
added there were people in the government who hamper positive changes.
Gross also touched on pro-government NGOs which are fulfilling certain
“orders”. He said a group of such NGOs had come out against his and
[another rapporteur on Azerbaijan] Andres Herkel’s report in June.
“I wouldn’t have paid attention to that if they hadn’t appeared here
in the Co uncil of Europe so quickly and tried to affect the mood
here. My colleagues are very surprised with such behavior. It is
obvious what objectives they are pursuing. Their behavior and role
leave much to be desired,” Gross said.
Gross said he would visit Azerbaijan on 4-8 July and travel to four
“very important” towns: Ganca, Saki, Qazax and possibly Balakan.
“We want to see firsthand how profound the positive changes are in the
country. I am talking not only about preparations for elections, but
also about how free citizens are and how they are exercising their
basic freedoms. If this is not the case, then free elections are out
of the question,” Gross said.
Speaking about reforms, the rapporteur said that historically oil-rich
countries were not very democratic. Norway is an exception. In
Azerbaijan’s case, democracy is necessary to ensure that oil revenues
are not embezzled. Gross expressed the hope that state governance
reforms in Azerbaijan will bring about positive changes in the
country.
Asked about possible sanctions against Azerbaijan, Gross said if
Azerbaijan does not hold free and fair elections, the Council of
Europe “will simply not renew its mandate for a new Azerbaijani
delegation”.
“We think the opposition should receive at least 25 seats in the
parliament. But this has to be real opposition, not fictitious,”
Gross concluded.