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Joao Soares: â€œI look forward to my visit to Azerbaijanâ€ - EXCLUSIVE

Joao Soares: â€œI look forward to my visit to Azerbaijanâ€ - <font color=red>EXCLUSIVE </font>

23 July 2008 08:48 (UTC +04:00)

- Azerbaijan is going to have presidential elections this October. Will the OSCE PA send observer mission to Azerbaijan?

-Generally, we do not observe presidential elections because we concentrate on parliamentary elections- thereby highlighting the importance of strong parliamentary work. We only observe a restricted number of presidential elections on the basis of their competitiveness. There is also a question of a lack of resources -- we simply do not have enough staff and enough parliamentarians to observe every election in the OSCE area. This is why we are not planning to send an observation mission to Azerbaijan.

-Your organizationâ€™s reaction to the fact of journalistsâ€™ imprisonment in Azerbaijan is not univocalâ€¦

-The OSCE and its Parliamentary Assembly strongly believe in the freedom of the media, as witnessed by the important work performed by Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. I would like you to refer to his statement from April, after visiting the imprisoned journalists and when he asked the Azerbaijani authorities to combat harassing and discrediting the journalists and to release them from prison. I can only join Miklos Haraszti in that statement.

-Former President of OSCE PA Goran Lennmarker once prepared a report on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Are you going to be engaged in Nagorno-Karabakh issue and how particularly? Do you believe there is a need to appoint a new rapporteur on that issue?

-I have every intention to make sure that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly continues its important work to help solve the so-called frozen, or un-solved, conflicts like the one in Nagorno-Karabakh. Conflict resolution is, and will remain under my Presidency, one of the most important tasks of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. That is why I have decided to appoint President Emeritus Goran Lennmarker as my Special Representative to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I also will personally stay involved and I hope to be able to count on all those members of our Assembly, who have valuable knowledge to share about these conflicts and are willing to contribute to solutions.

-The Council of Europe is permanently organizing meetings of the delegations of Azerbaijan and Armenia to PACE. What do you think about the idea of organizing a similar meeting between delegations of the two countries to OSCE PA?

-It seems to be a very good idea which we in the OSCE PA will also explore.

-Are you planning to visit Azerbaijan in the nearest future?

-My intention is to visit Azerbaijan and the other countries in the Caucasus as soon as my schedule will allow. This region is a very important region for the OSCE as a whole and we need to have constant and close contacts. I look forward to my visit to Azerbaijan.