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Azerbaijani politiciansâ€™ view on PACE resolution - POLL

Azerbaijani politiciansâ€™ view on PACE resolution <font color=red>- POLL</font>

25 June 2008 15:09 (UTC +04:00)

â€œBut the main thing is whether they will be applied. The requirements covered by the previous resolutions have not been ensured yet. Thatâ€™s why I am not optimistic again,â€ she said.
Lala Shovkat underlined that the Council of Europe had no political will itself.
â€œThe organization adopts resolution every year, but takes no step when the commitments are not executed. It shows that oil has become more expensive, democracy has become cheaper. Normalization of the situation in Azerbaijan does not depend on the Council of Europe any more, the society itself should do it,â€ she said.
Chairman of Azerbaijan Democratic Party Sardar Jalaloghlu also considers that such declarative decisions of international organizations are of no importance for Azerbaijan. he said that the Council of Europe had adopted more severe resolutions in connection with Azerbaijan.
â€œBut these resolutions did not have any influence on the political situation in Azerbaijan and official Bakuâ€™s executing commitments undertaken upon accession to the organization. In this respect the next resolution is nothing but an attempt of the council to protect its image. I think that this resolution will not have an influence on the political processes either, because the Council of Europe does not adequately react to the processes in Azerbaijan, does not assess the situation properly and does not have serious position,â€ he said.
Sardar Jalaloghlu considers that the Council of Europe has no political will in connection with the development of democracy in Azerbaijan.
Head of the Executive Office of the Musavat Party Arif Hajili positively appreciated the resolutionâ€™s remarks about the freedom of assembly, composition of election commissions, freedoms of propaganda, speech and press on TV during the election campaign and arrest of journalists. â€œI think it is possible to change the situation in Azerbaijan just by the expression of such concerns. Azerbaijan is a member of the Council of Europe and took obligations for some democratic reforms while entering there. The Council has not to content with the expression of concerns only and also has to use more effective measures to achieve the fulfillment of the obligationsâ€. Hajili considers that such measures can create hopes for the real democratic reforms in Azerbaijan.
Member of the Political Bureau of ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) and member of the parliament Aydin Mirzazadeh told APA, there are some positive points in the resolution. â€œOne of the positive points in the resolution relates to Nagorno Karabakh. Indeed solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has a certain impact on the development of democracy in the country. Despite all Armenian efforts, the issue of occupied lands was included in the resolution. For the first time, non-solution of the Nagorno Karabakh problem is shown as a factor created serious problem for the development of democracy. Undoubtedly occupation of our lands and existence of one million refugees tackle our society to reach desirable democracyâ€. The member of the parliament said there were some subjective points decided without the fact-finding of some issues. â€œI donâ€™t consider it correct to include the names of five persons in the list and to demand their release. The international organization canâ€™t demand something from the country, it can make only recommendations. On the other hand, if they were convicted on the basis of national legislation, they canâ€™t be released on someoneâ€™s demands. There is a legal proceeding for that and it needs to pass all these phases. Naming them as a political prisoner without any grounds shows that the Council of Europe has quite enough problems in this fieldâ€. Mirzazadeh said there were supporters of Azerbaijanâ€™s efforts for the development of democracy and those who condemned Baku without deep knowledge about the situation during the discussions in PACE.