EBU RECEIVES RESPONSES FROM AZERBAIJAN
Eurovision.tv
;_t =EBU+receives+responses+from+Azerbaijan
Aug 28 2009
Send through Facebook The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has
received responses from Azerbaijan regarding allegations that telephone
voters in Azerbaijan who voted for the Armenian song in this year’s
Eurovision Song Contest were interrogated by security police.
Ictimai, the EBU’s Azeri Member which broadcast this year’s Song
Contest from Moscow in May, has confirmed its commitment to free and
fair voting. While two individuals had been invited to the Ministry of
National Security, Ictimai said, the Ministry of National Security had
given assurances that nobody had been questioned, either officially
or unofficially, on voting in the competition itself .
The EBU’s Director General, Jean Réveillon, said he took note of the
statements. However, he stressed that the freedom to vote for any song
except the one of the country where you are watching is one of the
cornerstones of the contest. "Any breach of privacy regarding voting,
or interrogation of individuals, is totally unacceptable," he added.
The EBU committee responsible for running the Eurovision Song Contest,
the so-called Reference Group, will examine the matter at a meeting
in Oslo on 11 September 2009.