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| 18:32:46 | 25-05-2005 | Official |
A LETTER TO ALIEV
The international organization `Human Rights Watch’ has sent a letter to the
Azeri President Ilham Aliev expressing concern about the detentions of the
opposition party members on May 21. The letter reads, `We are writing to
express our deep concern over the recent detentions of opposition party
members and the use of police brutality to stop a peaceful opposition rally
from taking place on May 21, 2005.
These incidents recall the patterns of human rights violations that preceded
the October 2003 Presidential elections and that compromised the integrity
of that process. They highlight the urgent need to take decisive action to
ensure that such abuses are not repeated in the run-up to the November 2005
Parliamentary elections.
Baku city authorities denied the Ugur (Success) opposition election block
permission to hold a rally on May 21 on the grounds that it was to be held
too soon before the May 25 event planned for the opening of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, to which international dignitaries are
invited. The timing of which denial is especially regrettable. Azerbaijan
has shown that it can take a leading role internationally by committing
itself to transparency principles in the extractive industries. But the
events of May 21 underscore that it has yet to take significant steps to
open up its political processes to ensure that a plurality of groups can
voice their opinions on political and social issues.
You have acknowledged that freedom of assembly and expression are important
elements in a framework for a free and fair elections. The current
restrictions in practice on these freedoms could jeopardize the integrity of
the November elections. Accordingly, we urge you to take further steps to
create an environment in which free and fair elections can take place. In
particular, we urge you to implement the recommendations from the
Presidential Election 15 October 2003 OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation
Mission Report, and the Joint Recommendations on the Electoral Law and the
Electoral Administration in Azerbaijan by the Venice Commission and the
OSCE/ODIHR, 12-13 March 2004.
We thank you for your attention and look forward to a continued dialogue on
these issues.’