AZERBAIJAN: MEDIA REACTION: HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2006

UNCLAS BAKU 000334 SIPDIS STATE FOR R; EUR - MBRYZA, CGRAFFY; EUR/PPD - JRICKERT, TDAVIDSON; EUR/CARC - LBAHL SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM KDEM KPAO OPRC PBTS AJ SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: MEDIA REACTION: HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2006 ¶1. Summary: The Azerbaijan Country Report of the annual Human Rights Report was criticized by GOAJ officials, even as it was welcomed by independent human rights activists and political commentators. The Ambassador used a televised speech at a local university to draw attention to the report and Emboffs highlighted problem areas in live television and radio appearances. The report and our outreach efforts received fair coverage on one TV station and in independent and pro-opposition newspapers, but were largely ignored or marginalized by the pro-government mass media. End Summary. OFFICIALS REJECT CRITICISM OF RIGHTS SITUATION -------------- - ¶2. The GoAJ reacted to the US Department of State's release of the Human Rights Report for 2006 with strong criticism. Several Presidential Administration officials reiterated their annual accusations that the HR report is biased and reflects the viewpoints of 'forces that aim to taint the international image of the country.' ¶3. "The report is not objective," said the Head of the Foreign Relations Department at the Presidential Administration Novruz Mammadov in his interview with commercial Lider TV on March 8. He claimed that the majority of the issues mentioned in the report are problems of the past which have already been resolved. "I cannot understand why events that occurred in 2003, 2004, and 2005 have been analyzed, instead of just 2006? Besides we are addressing the issues specified in the document, if they are true, and we are doing so successfully." Head of the Analytical Department at the Presidential Administration Fuad Akhundov also complained that the report repeated descriptions of incidents from the past, something which, in his view, demonstrated the lack of evidence for HR violations in 2006. ¶4. Another GoAJ official at the Presidential Administration, Head of the Public and Political Department Ali Hasanov flatly rejected the report's criticism on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. "Journalists in the country are neither pressured nor persecuted. On the contrary, media freedom improved in 2006 and journalists are working freely." Hasanov also opposed the 'assertion' that freedom of assembly had been curtailed. "The situation in this field is not as bad as described in the report. There are no restrictions on rallies staged by any organization as long as they are consistent with the law," ANS reported on March 9 quoting the government spokesman. RIGHTS ACTIVISTS' REACTION VARY -------------- ¶5. The reaction of human rights activists to the report varied. A pro-government NGO activist, leader of the National NGO Forum Azay Guliyev was shown saying that the situation of political prisoners had been exaggerated and that nobody has been persecuted for their political beliefs in Azerbaijan. Independent activist Sahib Mammadov questioned the report's criticism of the situation in the penitentiary system, noting that there were positive changes in the conditions for inmates and the treatment by the wardens. Arzu Abdullayeva, a leading support of women's rights, said that the report is objective and reflects the dreadful rights situation in the country. ONLY ONE TV STATION GIVES FAIR COVERAGE TO THE HRR -------------- -------------- ¶6. Azerbaijan's sole independent television station, ANS TV, stood out as the most outspoken network in its coverage of the HRR. On March 7, ANS TV's evening primetime news program led with the release of the HRR, carried direct quotes from the report, and the initial reaction by the government and human rights activists. ¶7. The other five national TV channels, all pro-government in their editorial stance, either ignored the release completely (Space TV) or devoted disproportionate airtime to criticism of the report (Public Television). The Lider TV commentator went on to suggest that Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry should have launched its own investigation into the U.S. human rights record in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo. HRR TRIGGERS DEMOCRACY DEBATE IN NEWSPAPERS -------------- ¶8. On March 8, the influential ZERKALO daily ran an above-the-fold article on the HR report with a detailed account of the HR violations in Azerbaijan. Entitled "Democracy That Stinks," the article noted President Aliyev's recent statement that there will be no return to totalitarian rule in Azerbaijan, but that "our democracy will reflect our national character." The author ridicules the statement arguing that there can be no semi-democracy, just as "women cannot be half-pregnant" and "fresh fish don't stink." President Bush, the article continues, has stated that in the U.S., citizens can call the President to account and that any decision the President takes must be consistent with the Constitution. "Is this the kind of democracy we have here in Azerbaijan? This is question number one", concludes the article in the country's top daily newspaper. ¶9. "The Department of State's Report as a Mirror of Azerbaijan's Reality" reads the headline of a front-page article in independent NOVOYE VREMYA newspaper on March 8. "The report shows that our society is not healthy. And the US uses it from time to time to put pressure on the authorities," wrote the newspaper. THE REPORT NO LONGER IMPORTANT, SAY THINK TANKS -------------- -- ¶10. On March 9, independent REALNIY AZERBAIJAN newspaper carried a column asking well-known commentators "how the U.S. Human Rights Report will affect the reputation of the administration?" Independent political commentator Ilgar Mammadov answered that critical HR reports were no longer taken seriously by the leadership due to the fact that oil profits had made the country rich and Azerbaijan's importance for US interests has also been enhanced by the ongoing Iranian nuclear problem. "HR reports for [the election years of] 2003 and 2005 were more substantial and critical. But even those reports have been largely disregarded. I doubt that the report for 2006, which was generally a calm year, will be treated as an action guide," Ilgar Mammadov is quoted as saying. ¶11. Another commentator Hikmat Hajizade answered that the report is objective and it is clear to Azerbaijanis and the international community that the situation with individual and political freedoms has deteriorated. "If the President is not indifferent to what the West thinks of him, he should feel uncomfortable for being 'loved' the way the mercantile girls love their rich bridegrooms. Money can't buy true love, however," he suggested. AMBASSADOR'S UNIVERSITY SPEECH WIDELY COVERED -------------- ¶12. The Ambassador's speech on the Human Rights Report at private Khazar University and her Q and A session with students and faculty members on March 12 also received extensive press coverage. "The year 2006 was not the best for human rights in Azerbaijan," reported Turan news agency quoting the Ambassador's speech. Her remarks that "journalists were subjected to pressure and attacks and there were problems with freedom of assembly," were picked up widely by newspapers. "Much needs to be done in Azerbaijan in the sphere of human rights," wrote independent EKHO newspaper on March 13. "The US Ambassador noted that Azerbaijan itself has chosen the path to democracy and the obligations it has undertaken before the OSCE, COE and NATO testify to this," continued the newspaper. In a March 13 article, opposition-leaning BAKI KHABAR newspaper wrote that "the Ambassador's statement came as a response to those who tried to undermine the credibility of the report and accuse its contributors of impartiality. "The report is the result of a painstaking and thorough investigation... and America stands ready to help Azerbaijan to fix the problems mentioned in the report," the Ambassador is quoted as saying. ¶13. Presidential adviser Novruz Mammadov responded the next day on Public Television. "I think a diplomatic representative, or an ambassador making such a [critical] statement on such an issue before TV is beyond the realm of diplomacy. There are documents, like the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, that specify the limits of a diplomatic representative's powers," he said when asked to comment the Ambassador's speech. EMBASSY OFFICERS HIGHLIGHT THE REPORT ON TV AND RADIO -------------- -------------- ¶14. The day following the HRR release, Poloff gave a forty-minute interview with ANS TV's flagship Point of View program and recorded interviews with ANS radio and for the popular HESABAT magazine (also owned by ANS). Separately, PAO gave a 20-minute interview to a live talk show on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Azerbaijani Service, in which he responded to government criticism of the report and took questions from listeners. Both interviews highlighted the major areas of concern in the HRR and expressed hope that the report be taken constructively and used as a basis for our bilateral efforts to advance democratic reform in Azerbaijan. US RECOGNITION OF NAGORNO KARABAKH OCCUPATION WELCOMED -------------- -------------- ¶15. Several media outlets hailed the HRR's language in its mention of the Armenian occupation of the Azerbaijani region of Nagorno Karabakh and the seven adjoining regions in both the Azerbaijan and Armenian reports. As ZERKALO pointed out on March 8, previous HR reports also mentioned the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories, but had not laid out so clearly the 'scope and the contours' of the occupation over the past fifteen years. HYLAND