Today, Azerbaijan
Sept 9 2005

Terry Davis: `CE drew up special election plan to help Azerbaijan –
CE Sec-Gen’

07 September 2005 [11:01] – Today.Az

Trend interviews Terry Davis, the Secretary General of the Council of
Europe.

Question: How does the Council of Europe estimate the current stage
of the pre-election campaign in Azerbaijan? For instance, the
current Election Code restricts the participation of NGOs in the
monitoring of the November elections?

Answer: The Council of Europe focuses its work on sustaining and
developing representative democracy. Transparency, awareness and
accountability in the election process are of crucial importance. I
should also like to highlight the essential need for political
parties to present a political programme, a platform to the
electorate. This would encourage the participation of citizens in the
political process. Moreover, it is essential that the voter is aware
of initiatives which a politician plans to introduce in parliamentary
work, if elected. It is important that concrete issues and
alternatives are debated. A lack of political platforms seems to be
the shortcoming of the campaign. More generally, I should like to
urge all the election campaigners to concentrate on concrete issues
and to abandon all negative campaigning directed at individual
persons.

The Council of Europe has suggested that NGOs receiving foreign
financial support should not be barred as observers to the election,
because their presence would be in line with good electoral practice
and add to the transparency of the process.

Question: What is the Council of Europe’s position on the situation
of the media in Azerbaijan? Does the policy on conduct of
pre-election propaganda in the country meet Council of Europe norms?

Answer: On joining the Council of Europe in 2001, Azerbaijan
committed itself to guaranteeing freedom of expression and
independence of the media and journalists. By working together with
the media of Azerbaijan, the Council of Europe is helping to train
media professionals in order to develop and strengthen their
professional and ethical standards and improve the quality of the
reporting of news and current affairs. Since a negative `black
propaganda’ phenomenon has recently emerged in the press, I urge all
media representatives to work in conformity with the general code of
conduct of the media and, in particular, the recently agreed code of
conduct during election campaigns.

Question: Do the Azerbaijani authorities still have time to implement
the legislative changes recommended by the Venice Commission?

Answer: Unfortunately, some of the major issues, such as the
composition of election commissions, as recommended by the Venice
Commission of the Council of Europe, have not been taken on board.
Therefore, I think that at this stage it would be crucial to restore
confidence in the eyes of the population in the transparency and
impartiality of the work of the election commission at all levels.
The elections should be conducted in an honest and open manner. Fair
elections are one of the cornerstones of democratic societies.

Question: What attitude would the Council of Europe adopt if the
elections in Azerbaijan differ essentially from `European standards’?

Answer: The Council of Europe has paid special attention to the
conduct of the parliamentary elections, and we have drawn up a
special election action plan to help Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has
clearly made efforts as well. The Presidential Decree on the basic
principles of fair and free elections and the start of public
television at the end of August are very positive developments.
Naturally, the success of these initiatives depends on their correct
implementation. Ultimately, assessment of the observation of the
elections by the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, together
with the ODIHR/OSCE conclusions, will define the position of the
Parliamentary Assembly regarding Azerbaijan.

Question: Are any debates scheduled during the October session of the
Parliamentary Assembly in connection with Azerbaijan?

Answer: Since the report on the functioning of democratic
institutions in Azerbaijan was discussed during the June session of
the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), I do not think that there is a
need to come back to this issue in October. But, of course, this is a
matter for the Assembly to decide upon.

Question: How do you estimate the commissioning of public television
and radio in Azerbaijan?

Answer: One of the commitments undertaken by Azerbaijan in 2001 was
to change the national television channel into a public channel
managed by an independent administrative board. In the light of the
introduction of AZTV3, I should like to congratulate the authorities
for their efforts in making sure that this public television channel
is operational before the parliamentary elections take place. Now it
is very important to ensure that AZTV3 functions as a public service
broadcaster which serves the public interest by making sure that news
programmes present facts and events fairly and encourage freedom of
opinion. All democratic societies need impartial, reliable and
objective public information.

Question: How do you regard the perspectives of the activities of the
PACE Sub-Committee on Nagorno-Karabakh? How will the resolution of
the Committee affect the Council of Europe’s official standpoint on
the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict?

Answer: The Council of Europe follows actively the progress of these
negotiations. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan undertook to make every
effort to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully when they
joined the Council of Europe. However, as Secretary General, I do not
interfere in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly, and therefore I
am not well placed to discuss this issue further.

Also, since my visit to Azerbaijan focuses on election-related
matters, I should like to concentrate on these.

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