PACE: AZERBAIJAN EXPERIENCES SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH DEMOCRACY

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.06.2006 18:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The hot debates on Azerbaijan’s fulfillment of
obligations to the Council of Europe were not much different from
the previous ones.

Rapporteurs Herkel and Gross again said Baku neglects its commitments
to the CoE. They also pointed out to the unwillingness of the
authorities to conduct democratic elections and secure rights and
freedoms of the citizens.

Gross said the authorities try to justify the problems available
by the presence of refugees and consequences of war. They think
that if they have oil they can neglect the laws and the opinion of
the international community. This was the reason for the falsified
parliamentary election in 2005 and similar election in May 2006.

During the debates some parliamentarians from Eastern Europe and
Turkey supported Azerbaijan and offered to recognize the Azeri
delegation mandate.

As for the speeches of the Azeri delegation members, they were
remarkable with emotionality and absence of arguments. The speeches
assured that the Council of Europe should understand that Azerbaijan
is a young state and he should be assisted but not criticized.

With majority of votes the resolution and recommendations submitted
by Gross and Herkel were adopted. The rapporteurs said Azerbaijan
experiences serious problems with democracy and fundamental freedoms
such as elections, freedom of speech and other fields. In spring
2007 the PACE will again revert to the commitments to be fulfilled by
Azerbaijan. Till that time the PACE will proceed with the monitoring
of all the spheres of life, reported Turan.