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Freedom House: Widespread Declines On Democracy In Azerbaijan

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  • Freedom House: Widespread Declines On Democracy In Azerbaijan

    FREEDOM HOUSE: WIDESPREAD DECLINES ON DEMOCRACY IN AZERBAIJAN

    Aysor
    June 30 2010
    Armenia

    The Freedom House has released the 14th edition of comprehensive,
    comparative study of democratic development in 29 countries from
    Central Europe to Eurasia, entitled "Nations in Transit 2010."

    The survey focused on trends in national democratic governance,
    judicial framework and independence, electoral process, corruption,
    independent media, etc. The report showed that 10 countries regressed
    in media independence in 2009, half of those in new EU member states.

    "In 2009, Kyrgyzstan experienced a wave of attacks against independent
    journalists and a decrease in the ability of news media to criticize
    government policies. Kazakhstan failed to liberalize its media law
    in keeping with its commitments to the Organization for Security and
    Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the use of libel suits to punish
    investigative journalists continued to mar the country's record
    on press freedom. While Russia's Internet generally retains a good
    deal of openness, on several fronts the authorities are insinuating
    themselves into the medium. The effort includes the acquisition of
    blogging platforms and popular Web sites by Kremlin-friendly companies
    and the emergence of commentators and provocateurs who subvert online
    discourse," said in the press release.

    Here are some pieces in relation to Azerbaijan:

    "No election in Azerbaijan has been assessed as free and fair since
    the adoption of the country's constitution in 1995. Irregularities
    have included the abuse of administrative resources, intimidation and
    harassment of the opposition, and election day violations. The March
    2009 referendum approving controversial constitutional amendments
    was criticized by opposition parties as deeply flawed. No opposition
    parties are represented in election commissions at any level. The lack
    of media independence has undermined the fairness of Azerbaijani polls
    and thwarted public debate. Municipal elections held in December 2009
    were perceived to be marred by violations and fraud.

    "There was significant pressure against human rights defenders,
    independent media outlets, and watchdog organizations during the year.

    Youth activists were also targeted, including two young bloggers who
    were detained in July 2009 and sentenced to prison terms on apparently
    trumped-up charges."

    According to report, Armenia's electoral process rating remains at
    5.75; civil society rating remains at 3.75; independent media rating
    remains at 6.00; local democratic governance rating remains at 5.50;
    judicial framework and independence remains at 5.50; and corruption
    rating remains at 5.50.




    From: A. Papazian
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