STRASBOURG—The European Parliament this week adopted a resolution with an overwhelming majority condemning the persecution of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan, and calling for targeted sanctions against Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s regime and visa bans against some who are directly responsible for oppression in the country.
Azerbaijan was harshly criticized by members of the European Parliament, who stressed the absurd reality of Azerbaijan currently holding the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe’s Council of Ministers—an institution upholding values of human rights and freedom—while “in the last few years the general human rights climate in Azerbaijan has been deteriorating, with a major escalation of government repression, pressure, and intimidation directed at NGOs, civil society activists, journalists, and human rights defenders.”
Parliamentarian Marie-Christine Vergiat (Confederal Group of the European United Left – Nordic Green Left, France) said that the impunity of Azerbaijan and the Aliyev regime should stop, that the EU should not be focused on oil and gas only, and that the Association Agreement with Azerbaijan should not go on. Parliamentarian Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, Germany) stressed the gruesome reality facing civil society in Azerbaijan, after the authoritarian regime’s continuous and brutal crackdowns based on fabricated and politically motivated charges. It was also mentioned how a few months earlier, Aliyev had called his critics liars from the podium of the Council of Europe and had rejected any sort of criticism, despite the deteriorating situation in Azerbaijan.
The European Parliament “deplores the actions taken by the Azerbaijani government to curb contacts between civil society and youth activists and intellectuals from Armenia and Azerbaijan, since these contacts are of major importance for bridging the long-standing hostility between the two countries; in this regard, recalls the important work done in this area by Leyla Yunus and her husband Arif,” states the resolution.
It also stresses that the European Parliament’s consent to the signing of a partnership agreement with Azerbaijan will be conditional on the satisfactory implementation of the above-mentioned requirements, the release of human rights defenders, the withdrawal of legislation restricting the operations of an independent civil society, and the cessation of repression and intimidation of NGOs, independent media, opposition forces, human rights defenders, and youth and social network activists. Members of the European Parliament stressed that Azerbaijan should be held accountable for its actions at home, and that promotion of human rights should be an inseparable part of the foreign policy of the EU.
The resolution highlights the fact that the EU-Azerbaijan human rights dialogue has made no substantial progress; calls on the European External Action Service (EEAS) to step up this dialogue, aim for results, and to report regularly to parliament; and calls on the EU Council and member states to urge the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to call on Azerbaijani authorities to stop the crackdown on activists, and make it clear that it expects the country, as hosts of the European Olympic Games to be held next year, to uphold the Olympic Charter’s requirement to respect press freedoms.
Most importantly, the European Parliament recalls its position of May 24, 2012, and calls on the EU Council to consider the possibility of targeted sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations, should these persist.
Kaspar Karampetian, the president of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), said that the European Union is finally speaking up against the oppressive regime in Baku, and that the intervention is in the right direction. “We welcome this resolution of the European Parliament—a resolution that upholds the real values of the European Union, while stressing the necessity of sanctions against the regime in Baku. Human rights should be considered in all aspects of foreign policy; and energy flow to Europe should not blind the EU to breaches of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” said Karampetian, adding that “real democracy in Azerbaijan and respect to the right of self-determination of peoples is the only key to solving the long-standing conflict with Nagorno-Karabagh, and a peaceful co-habitation in the South Caucasus.”
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It is astonishing that in this entire article, describing at length the shortcomings of the Aliyev regime in the area of human rights, there is not a single mention of the deplorable pardoning by Azerbaijani regime of the murderer Ramil Safarov in 2012. Honestly, the Armenian community needs to get its PR act together. This abominable act should never have been forgotten, but apparently it has, even by the Armenians. Unbelievable.
If another President or country would have been critisized so harshly one could expect a change in Politics. Not so Aliyev, as long as he can sell his oil he doesn´t care . On the other hand these critics are all spoiled words. As long as there are no deeds following these critics it´s all good for nothing. Oil is more important than Democracy.
Sorry, oil trumps all of the human right abuses. Like screaming in a forest.
I don’t agree that oil trumps all. Lobby power trumps all. Look at the case of Israel. They get what they want because of the lobby power of the Jewish diaspora ALL OVER THE WORLD — especially here in the good ‘ol US of A. Their aint no oil in the worthless sands of Palestine. Yes, that’s right, I said Palestine.
So, Armenians, are we up to the challenge to relentlessly pursue the politicians with the threat of removal from their comfortable positions in office?