Top Council of Europe official to discuss polls, political prisoners in Baku

Turan news agency, Baku
17 Aug 05

Strasbourg, 17 August: The president of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe [PACE], Rene van der Linden, has given an
exclusive interview to Turan ahead of his visit to Azerbaijan on
21-24 August.

Asked about the range of issues to be discussed with the Azerbaijani
leadership, Linden said that the most important topic would be the
forthcoming parliamentary election in November.

“PACE said in June that the forthcoming poll would be a final
test of the country’s commitment to democracy. I will try to bring
this home to the Azerbaijani authorities and remind them of their
original responsibility for holding the election in conformity with
international standards. I expect to get firm assurances that the
forthcoming election will be fair and free. A total of 40 PACE members
will be involved in monitoring the polls,” van der Linden said.

“Besides, I will also discuss the problem of political prisoners, the
resolution of which was a key precondition for Azerbaijan’s accession
to the Council of Europe in 2001. But the problem has remained open
so far. PACE once again insisted last June on a prompt and final
solution to the problem of political prisoners. Incumbent President
[Ilham] Aliyev has done a lot and I will try to convince him not to
fail this process in its final stage,” the PACE president noted.

The talks in Baku will also focus on the progress of negotiations on
a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict. “PACE has intensified
its efforts in this area and Paris will host an important meeting of
all the key political players in a few months,” Linden said, but did
not specify details of the meeting and its participants.

Asked if PACE intended to insist on the adoption of the recommendations
of the Venice Commission on changing the electoral law by the
Azerbaijani authorities, the PACE head said this issue was raised
back at the June session. “Resolution 1456 unambiguously called on
Azerbaijan to change the Electoral Code and bring the electoral laws
into full conformity with the joint recommendations of the Venice
Commission and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights.”

Commenting on recent attacks on the headquarters of the People’s Front
of Azerbaijan Party and smear campaign tactics against the opposition,
Linden said he did not want to talk about this issue because of lack
of information. “Nevertheless, I am planning to discuss this issue
in meetings with the authorities and opposition politicians,” he
said. “It is indeed very alarming that such incidents are happening
with three months left till the parliamentary election. We believe
that the authorities should apply the relevant laws effectively and
without discrimination,” he concluded.