I HOPE ISSUE ON DETAINED JOURNALISTS WILL BE SETTLED POSITIVELY – COUNCIL OF EUROPE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS CHAIRMAN

Trend News Agency
April 16 2008
Azerbaijan

France, Strasburg, 16 April / TrendNews corr. A.Maharramli, I.Alizadeh
/ Yan Kubis, the Chairman of Committee of Ministers of the Council
of Europe, stated that the AGO group of Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe paid visits to Azerbaijan and Armenia from 3 March
to 4 April in order to assess whether the obligations taken by the
countries before the Council of Europe, during the PACE spring session
on the Southern Caucasus, have been fulfilled. The main issue of the
discussions was the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts and finding possible
solution of the conflict.

During the visit to Armenia, AGO paid their more attention on the
developments that took place in the country after 1March from the
point of view of democracy values and legal government, encouraged by
the Council of Europe. The key topic for discussions was restoration
of the dialogue among all the interested sides and continuation of
the reformations in Armenia. Kubis and AGO group called the Armenian
Government to respect human rights, democracy and legal state. He
mentioned about the aid rendered to the country in this sphere.

The key topic of the discussions during AGO’s visit to Azerbaijan
was the presidential elections, which will be held in October 2008,
as well as Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, freedom of speech and press
and issues concerning the political prisoners. According to Kubis,
nobody should be detained for what he had written. "We hope that the
issue on three detained journalists would be settled positively. I
will discuss this issue with the Government during my next visit to
the country in the end of April," he stated,

AGO group was established in January 2001 and is responsible for
monitoring Azerbaijan and Armenia’s fulfillment of their respective
commitments to the Council Europe.