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UK LAWMAKER SLAMS ALIYEV OVER PACE MEETING
Monday, June 30th, 2014
Member of the U.K. Parliament, Paul Flynn
In a recent meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE), Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev -- whose country now
heads the Council of Europe - lashed out at European lawmakers, who
sought to question Aliyev about his regime's deplorable human rights
record and his country's legitimacy in leading the Council of Europe.
U.K. Member of Parliament Paul Flynn was one of the lawmakers at the
PACE meeting who questioned Aliyev and who subsequently received an
angry response. Flynn has written about Aliyev and the meeting in
his public blog. The full article is below.
* * *
The Bully of Baku Rages
BY PAUL FLYNN Member of Parliament for Newport West, U.K.
Azerbaijan's President is no joke.
Aliyev revealed himself as a braggart and a bully in Strasbourg this
week. To others he is a sinister menacing threat, growing richer by
the month, who could bring war back to the Caucasus. Human rights
organizations have warned that Azerbaijan does not qualify to chair
the Council of Europe - the world's leading defenders of human rights.
I was given 30 seconds to ask him a question in the Council of Europe
meeting in Strasbourg. I asked him:
"I have met bloggers and journalists who have been falsely accused
and imprisoned in Azerbaijan, elections have been rigged. Will your
presidency mean that Azerbaijan will be elevated to the COE standard
of human rights or will other states see their standards of human
rights degraded to your deplorable level?"
He lost his temper as he did with all challenging questioners. He
accused me of lying. He added to his previous hyperbole of his
country's immaculate human rights record by denying the two charges
I had briefly made.
Perhaps Mr. Aliyev should read the OCSE monitors' report on his 2013
election. "The 9 October election was undermined by limitations on
the freedoms of expression, assembly, and association that did not
guarantee a level playing field for candidates. Continued allegations
of candidate and voter intimidation and a restrictive media environment
marred the campaign. Significant problems were observed throughout all
stages of Election Day processes and underscored the serious nature of
the shortcomings that need to be addressed in order for Azerbaijan to
fully meet its OSCE commitments for genuine and democratic elections."
The counting was assessed in overwhelmingly negative terms, with 58
per cent of observed polling stations assessed as bad or very bad,
indicating serious problems. In 15 observed counts, IEOM (International
Election Observation Mission) observers reported manipulation of
voter list entries, results or protocols, including cases of votes
being reassigned to a different candidate.
IEOM observers reported clear indications of ballot box stuffing in
37 polling stations. They also reported from seven polling stations
that voters who had already been inked were allowed to vote. IEOM
observers noted a number of procedural violations, the most widespread
concerned lack of safeguards against multiple voting: in 19 per cent
of polling stations visited, voters were not always checked for traces
of invisible ink, and in 11 per cent, ink was not always applied. Other
violations included ballot boxes which were not sealed properly (4 per
cent) and series of seemingly identical signatures on the voter list
(4 per cent). Group voting was observed in 7 per cent of polling
stations visited. In 9 per cent of polling stations observed, not
all voters marked their ballots in secrecy. IEOM observers reported
isolated cases of intimidation and attempts to influence voters'
choice. In 8 per cent of those polling stations visited that had
cameras installed, IEOM observers assessed that their placement did
not completely safeguard the secrecy of the vote.
This is the election that President Aliyev assesses fair. Hugh
Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director of Human Rights
Watch said:
"It's sheer irony that Azerbaijan presides over a body whose standards
it so flagrantly violates. The Council of Europe's leadership should
not miss this opportunity to urge Aliyev to free people who are
behind bars for nothing more than speaking their minds and to allow
independent groups to operate."
In October 2011 I wrote this on my blog: "Jailed blogger freed"
It was a real pleasure to meet Emin Milli in parliament this week. I
have campaigned against his arrest in July 2009 by the security forces
of the Azerbaijan Government. Their alleged crime was mocking the
oppressive government.
Emin shook me warmly by the hand and thanked me. He told me he read
this account of my EDM when he was in prison:
"A group of UK politicians is demanding the immediate release of the
Azerbaijani bloggers arrested in Baku last week. In the equivalent
of an MPs' petition, 17 politicians condemn what they say is a
'rapidly deteriorating human rights situation' in Azerbaijan. The
MPs want the British government to put pressure on President Aliyev
to release the two and end the "prosecution of independent media and
opposition activists.
"In the motion, Labour MP Paul Flynn says the MPs condemn 'the attacks
and imprisonment of youth activists in Azerbaijan on 10 July 2009.'
"He and the 17 other MPs are calling on the UK government to demand
their immediate release. They also call for the end to what they say
is the 'prosecution of independent media and opposition activists.'"
Unfortunately the arrests of journalists and bloggers continue. Not a
whisper of regret from Aliyev. He boasted that only 800 demonstrators
had protested against his election last year. No surprise, as previous
demonstrators were beaten to pulp by Aliyev's police.
Aliyev's vast oil wealth is being used to seduce the world and convince
us of his bottomless virtue. Inevitably his speech this week contained
the usual complaint about the West's lack of intervention in the
22 year frozen conflict in Nagorno-Karabagh. Aliyev hinted on some
action. Observers of the conflict expressed fears to me that he may
be planning military action. Our best hope to avoid bloodshed is to
ensure the conflict remains in permafrost.
http://asbarez.com/124574/uk-lawmaker-slams-aliyev-over-pace-meeting/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Monday, June 30th, 2014
Member of the U.K. Parliament, Paul Flynn
In a recent meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE), Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev -- whose country now
heads the Council of Europe - lashed out at European lawmakers, who
sought to question Aliyev about his regime's deplorable human rights
record and his country's legitimacy in leading the Council of Europe.
U.K. Member of Parliament Paul Flynn was one of the lawmakers at the
PACE meeting who questioned Aliyev and who subsequently received an
angry response. Flynn has written about Aliyev and the meeting in
his public blog. The full article is below.
* * *
The Bully of Baku Rages
BY PAUL FLYNN Member of Parliament for Newport West, U.K.
Azerbaijan's President is no joke.
Aliyev revealed himself as a braggart and a bully in Strasbourg this
week. To others he is a sinister menacing threat, growing richer by
the month, who could bring war back to the Caucasus. Human rights
organizations have warned that Azerbaijan does not qualify to chair
the Council of Europe - the world's leading defenders of human rights.
I was given 30 seconds to ask him a question in the Council of Europe
meeting in Strasbourg. I asked him:
"I have met bloggers and journalists who have been falsely accused
and imprisoned in Azerbaijan, elections have been rigged. Will your
presidency mean that Azerbaijan will be elevated to the COE standard
of human rights or will other states see their standards of human
rights degraded to your deplorable level?"
He lost his temper as he did with all challenging questioners. He
accused me of lying. He added to his previous hyperbole of his
country's immaculate human rights record by denying the two charges
I had briefly made.
Perhaps Mr. Aliyev should read the OCSE monitors' report on his 2013
election. "The 9 October election was undermined by limitations on
the freedoms of expression, assembly, and association that did not
guarantee a level playing field for candidates. Continued allegations
of candidate and voter intimidation and a restrictive media environment
marred the campaign. Significant problems were observed throughout all
stages of Election Day processes and underscored the serious nature of
the shortcomings that need to be addressed in order for Azerbaijan to
fully meet its OSCE commitments for genuine and democratic elections."
The counting was assessed in overwhelmingly negative terms, with 58
per cent of observed polling stations assessed as bad or very bad,
indicating serious problems. In 15 observed counts, IEOM (International
Election Observation Mission) observers reported manipulation of
voter list entries, results or protocols, including cases of votes
being reassigned to a different candidate.
IEOM observers reported clear indications of ballot box stuffing in
37 polling stations. They also reported from seven polling stations
that voters who had already been inked were allowed to vote. IEOM
observers noted a number of procedural violations, the most widespread
concerned lack of safeguards against multiple voting: in 19 per cent
of polling stations visited, voters were not always checked for traces
of invisible ink, and in 11 per cent, ink was not always applied. Other
violations included ballot boxes which were not sealed properly (4 per
cent) and series of seemingly identical signatures on the voter list
(4 per cent). Group voting was observed in 7 per cent of polling
stations visited. In 9 per cent of polling stations observed, not
all voters marked their ballots in secrecy. IEOM observers reported
isolated cases of intimidation and attempts to influence voters'
choice. In 8 per cent of those polling stations visited that had
cameras installed, IEOM observers assessed that their placement did
not completely safeguard the secrecy of the vote.
This is the election that President Aliyev assesses fair. Hugh
Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director of Human Rights
Watch said:
"It's sheer irony that Azerbaijan presides over a body whose standards
it so flagrantly violates. The Council of Europe's leadership should
not miss this opportunity to urge Aliyev to free people who are
behind bars for nothing more than speaking their minds and to allow
independent groups to operate."
In October 2011 I wrote this on my blog: "Jailed blogger freed"
It was a real pleasure to meet Emin Milli in parliament this week. I
have campaigned against his arrest in July 2009 by the security forces
of the Azerbaijan Government. Their alleged crime was mocking the
oppressive government.
Emin shook me warmly by the hand and thanked me. He told me he read
this account of my EDM when he was in prison:
"A group of UK politicians is demanding the immediate release of the
Azerbaijani bloggers arrested in Baku last week. In the equivalent
of an MPs' petition, 17 politicians condemn what they say is a
'rapidly deteriorating human rights situation' in Azerbaijan. The
MPs want the British government to put pressure on President Aliyev
to release the two and end the "prosecution of independent media and
opposition activists.
"In the motion, Labour MP Paul Flynn says the MPs condemn 'the attacks
and imprisonment of youth activists in Azerbaijan on 10 July 2009.'
"He and the 17 other MPs are calling on the UK government to demand
their immediate release. They also call for the end to what they say
is the 'prosecution of independent media and opposition activists.'"
Unfortunately the arrests of journalists and bloggers continue. Not a
whisper of regret from Aliyev. He boasted that only 800 demonstrators
had protested against his election last year. No surprise, as previous
demonstrators were beaten to pulp by Aliyev's police.
Aliyev's vast oil wealth is being used to seduce the world and convince
us of his bottomless virtue. Inevitably his speech this week contained
the usual complaint about the West's lack of intervention in the
22 year frozen conflict in Nagorno-Karabagh. Aliyev hinted on some
action. Observers of the conflict expressed fears to me that he may
be planning military action. Our best hope to avoid bloodshed is to
ensure the conflict remains in permafrost.
http://asbarez.com/124574/uk-lawmaker-slams-aliyev-over-pace-meeting/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress