SEARCHING FOR FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY IN BAKU

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000882

SIPDIS

EUR/CARC FOR JOHN COONEY, DRL FOR WENDY SILVERMAN, INR FOR
PAUL STRONSKI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AJ
SUBJECT: SEARCHING FOR FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY IN BAKU

REF: A. 2006 BAKU 1704

B. BAKU 850

C. BAKU 879

Classified By: Political Economic Counselor Rob Garverick, for reasons
1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: On September 9, the Mayor of Baku announced
a list of eleven locations throughout the city of Baku that
are approved for the holding of demonstrations during the
presidential election period. The major opposition parties
have announced their displeasure with the approved sites, due
to their distance from central Baku. A tour of the closest
sites by Embassy officials found one site that would be
acceptable for rallies, but other locations had logistical
problems which would make it difficult to impossible to hold
rallies there. Given that the May 2008 law on freedom of
assembly does not require citizens to assemble only in
designated areas, this list of eleven sites can be seen as a
first step in expanding freedom of assembly, but the GOAJ
still has several steps to take in order to meet its own
domestic legal and international commitments. Presidential
Advisor Ali Hasanov stated last week that the initial list of
11 sites is preliminary and would be expanded. END SUMMARY

BAKU MAYOR ANNOUNCES APPROVED DEMONSTRATION SITES
-------------- --------------


2. (C) On September 9 the Mayor of Baku announced a list of
eleven sites within the Baku Municipality that are approved
for demonstrations during the presidential campaign period.
The list contains one site in most of the major regions of
the city of Baku. The notable exception, however, is a
location in the downtown area * there is no approved site
for demonstrations in the "old city" or anywhere within a
half hour walk or drive of it.


3. (C) This announcement comes in the context of severe
restrictions on freedom of assembly that the GOAJ has imposed
since the 2005 parliamentary elections, including limiting
rallies to four locations far outside downtown Baku (ref A).
In May 2008, however, the GOAJ passed a new law on freedom of
assembly which loosened these restrictions, and was
positively reviewed on paper by several international
organizations. Implementation of this law, however, remains
to be seen (ref B). The announcement of these demonstration
sites can be seen, therefore, as the first step in
implementing the new law. Other municipalities will likely
announce similar "freedom of assembly zones" in the coming
weeks. The law, however, does not require citizens to
assemble in only specially designated areas, but in fact
allows for demonstrations anywhere apart from within 200
meters of a government building.


3. (C) In a meeting with the Ambassador last week (ref C),
Head of the President's Social-Political Department Ali
Hasanov said that the City of Baku's published list was
preliminary and that other sites would later be identified.
The Ambassador welcomed additions, noting that a few
centrally located sites should be designated as a sign of
goodwill.

OPPOSITION PARTIES UNHAPPY WITH SITES
--------------


4. (C) Officials of the major opposition parties, which are
boycotting the presidential election in part due to claims of
restrictions on freedom of assembly, have announced their
unhappiness with the chosen locations. Officials of both the
Musavat Party and the Popular Front Party have given public
statements citing concerns about the distance of the
locations from central Baku. In addition, in a conversation
with Embassy officials a Liberal Party official complained
that the inability to protest in central Baku prevented
political parties from showing support for their complaints
to both the government officials in their downtown offices
and to the general public.

TOUR OF RALLY SITES GIVES MIXED RESULTS
--------------


5. (C) On September 12 Embassy officials attempted to visit
five of the approved demonstration sites which were within a

BAKU 00000882 002 OF 002


one-hour drive of central Baku. Of these five sites, one
site met the general qualifications for an appropriate
demonstration site. Located about a half hour drive from
downtown Baku and a few blocks from a metro stop, it was a
large park with a podium in the center that could hold up to
several thousand people. In addition it is located only a
few blocks from Qaliba Square where many of the protests
during the 2005 parliamentary elections took place.


6. (C) The other sites, however, had various problems that
would make it difficult for a group, particularly an
opposition party, to hold a large event in them. One was a
stadium about a half hour south of the city owned by the
State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and
guarded by SOCAR security guards. One of the guards informed
Embassy officials that in order to hold a political event
there, the organizer would need to apply to SOCAR for
permission. President Aliyev's New Azerbaijan Party (YAP),
claiming the site is accessible for all, is planning a large
rally at the stadium this week. Another site was close to
large metro stop, but was a small park hidden on an unmarked
road. Another was also close to a metro stop, but was a
small concrete square which had many levels to it and a large
fountain in the center which would make it impossible for a
crowd to see or hear anyone giving a speech in the square.


7. (C) The final location listed on the Mayor's declaration
was a square across from the "Ulduz" metro station. Embassy
officials were unable to find a square at this location,
although the road was quite wide at this point and could
possibly hold several hundred people. The buildings on this
road, however, belong to the Ministry of Defense Industries,
and when an Embassy official attempted to take photographs of
the location, a police officer loudly confronted the official
and demanded the deletion of the pictures.

COMMENT
--------------


8. (C) The expansion of the number of sites approved for
rallies from four to eleven can be seen as progress on
expanding freedom of assembly within Baku's city limits. The
fact that some of these sites are close to metro stations
makes them potentially feasible for the opposition to hold
large rallies. The location of these sites far from the
center of town, however, reduces the potential for publicity
for any rallies held. Given that the major opposition
parties are boycotting the election due to, inter alia, their
concerns about specific problems with the Election Code,
their inability to protest near the Central Election
Commission or other central locations could be construed as a
violation of Azerbaijani citizens' legal right to assemble
freely and a violation of Azerbaijan's international
commitments. Expanding the list to include additional, more
centrally located sites, as we have recommended to
Azerbaijan's leaders, would be a welcome move by the City of
Baku and GOAJ.
DERSE