MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Azerbaijan
10.5.2011
pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure
Elmar Brok, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Tunne Kelam, Cristian Dan Preda, Mario Mauro, Bernd Posselt, Monica Luisa Macovei, Sari Essayah, Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Agnès Le Brun, Eija-Riitta Korhola, Martin Kastler, Dominique Baudis, Bogusław Sonik on behalf of the PPE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0330/2011
B7‑0335/2011
European Parliament resolution on Azerbaijan
The European Parliament,
- having regard to its previous resolutions on Azerbaijan, in particular that of 17 December 2009[1],
- having regard to the resolution of the European Parliament of 20 May 2010 on the need for an EU strategy for the South Caucasus[2] and of 7 April 2011 on the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy - Eastern Dimension[3],
- having regard to the statement by the office of the Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy of 18 April 2011 and the statement by the EU Delegation office in Baku of 10 March 2011,
- having regard to the statements of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media on the attack on journalists of 10 March 2011 and of 28 March 2011,
- having regard to the report by the ODIHR Election Observation Mission on the parliamentary elections of 7 November 2010,
- having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas according to the joint statement of the Election Observation Mission composed by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, the 7 November 2010 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Azerbaijan were characterized by a peaceful atmosphere and all opposition parties participated in the political process but the conduct of these elections overall was not sufficient to constitute meaningful progress in the democratic development of the country,
B. whereas the Public Chamber umbrella opposition group held protests in March and May against the government and these protests were put down by the Azeri authorities,
C. whereas Jabbar Savalan, a member of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party's youth group, was convicted for alleged possession of marijuana but there are concerns of his targeting for calling for anti-government protests,
D. whereas masked men abducted journalist Seymur Haziyev, a reporter of the independent Azadliq newspaper, in a village near Baku, where he was beaten and threatened if he continued to write critically about the government,
E. whereas the European Court of the Human Rights ordered the Republic of Azerbaijan to release the jailed journalist Eynulla Fatullayev from prison and to pay him EUR 25,000 in moral damages,
1. Is concerned about the continuing deterioration of media freedom in the Republic of Azerbaijan;
2. Strongly deplores the practise of intimidating, arresting, prosecuting and convicting independent journalists and political activists on various criminal charges;
3. Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to release all imprisoned journalists and political activists immediately, including journalist Eynulla Fatullayev and Jabbar Savalan;
4. Urges the authorities to safeguard all necessary conditions for media, including the opposition media, so that journalists can work and report freely without any pressure, and to pay a special attention to the safety of journalists; in this regard, recalls the pledge made by President Ilham Aliyev in 2005, in which he asserted that the rights of every journalist were protected and defended by the state;
5. Is worried about the worsening human rights situation in the Republic of Azerbaijan; calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to safeguard the fundamental freedoms as expressed in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and other international treaties to which Republic of Azerbaijan is a party and to respect the OSCE and Council of Europe commitments; in this regard, calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to fully guarantee the Freedom of Assembly and Association;
6. Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to maintain a dialogue with the members of civil society organisations and to take all steps to ensure that individuals can freely engage in peaceful, democratic activities, to allow activists to be organised freely and without government interference;
7. Encourages the Azerbaijani authorities to guarantee that peaceful demonstrations can take place in relevant locations and urges them to refrain from intimidating the organisers by imposing a detention and criminal and other charges on them; calls on the authorities to immediately release those demonstrators who remain in detention; in this regard, regrets that some youth activists were expelled from the Baku State University as they missed their examinations as a result of being held in police custody in connection with their political activities;
8. Welcomes the Azerbaijani contribution to the Eastern Partnership and the participation of the delegation from the Milli Majlis at the inaugural session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly;
9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the High Representative, Vice-President of the Commission, the Council, the Commission and the President, the Government and the Parliament of Azerbaijan.
- [1] OJ C 286E, 22.10.2010, p. 27
- [2] P7_TA(2010)0193
- [3] P7_TA-PROV(2011)0153