AZERTAC`s interview with Press-Secretary of the President of Azerbaijan Azer Gasimov.

Baku, June 26, AZERTAC

- Mr Gasimov, we have recently witnessed attacks on Azerbaijan by several countries, international organizations, and mass media. We mean the latest resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, discussions held at the UN, and biased opinions about Azerbaijan featured in the statements and the annual report of the U.S. Department of State. How do you think what is the reason for this?

- The primary reason is that Azerbaijan is one of the few countries that is pursuing a fully independent policy. At the same time, we are strengthening regional cooperation day by day, public and political stability is fully ensured in the country. Economy continues to develop successfully, Azerbaijan has become a venue for high-profile international events. Certainly the countries and forces, which consider themselves the rulers of the world, cannot stand this. They are carrying out anti-Azerbaijani campaigns based on hypocrisy, double standards, and lacking any logic.

Western and European counties that are carrying out a smear campaign against Azerbaijan are now experiencing deep crisis. Especially European countries themselves have been unable to pursue their independent policies for a long time. They are unambiguously controlled by the countries and forces that claim to be the rulers of the world. Now I get back to the resolutions, discussions and statements that you mentioned. As a man who worked at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for several years I can say that there is a group of parliamentarians there who act solely on instructions: they chose a country as a target and start to pursue a dirty campaign against it, resorting to all means. Sometimes with the aim of creating democratic atmosphere they criticize superpowers that give them instructions. But then they again direct their force against the target country. The aforementioned resolution was also adopted by a group of parliamentarians, who act on instructions, and, I would say, who even disregard the interests of their own countries. So such documents are of no importance for us.

Look at the discussions held at the United Nations: Ireland acts on behalf of 25 countries, slanderous anti-Azerbaijani information is provided there. We see the same scenario – certain countries and forces give instructions to a country that has nothing to do with the region – with the aim of demonstrating neutrality and impartiality – this time it is Ireland, and it starts the operation. I can assure you that if you ask the representative of Ireland, who spoke there, he won`t know where Azerbaijan is on the map. What right does the representative of Ireland, which itself is deeply in crisis and where human rights are grossly violated, has to demonstrate such a biased attitude towards out country? If we look at the list of the countries on behalf of which he spoke of, an interesting picture emerges. Those countries themselves have serious confrontations, and there is plenty of information about the violation of human rights in all of these countries. How did that happen that under such circumstances 25 countries demonstrated a so-called unanimous position? Just look at the countries on that list, it reminds of a list sent by an “oblast committee”, and it is clear that it is a put-up job.

During the discussions a representative of Latvia made a biased statement on Azerbaijan on behalf of the European Union. It is a fact that Latvia itself has a very bad human rights record - uncivil treatment of representatives of other nations, closure of television channels, arrests related to the freedom of speech and expression and violation of other human rights. The situation is so bad that even most of the European countries confessed it. As you know the European Union itself is experiencing a deep crisis both from structural and economic points of view, violation of human rights has become the norm in member countries. Given this situation, alleging on behalf of the organization, particularly Latvia, that human rights are violated in Azerbaijan is quite laughable. Taking into account that there has never been a centralized management system in the European Union – even at the time of the socialist camp – it becomes obvious that the opinion of the Latvian representative was dictated.

As regards the U.S. Department of State`s statements and annual report alleging that human rights are violated in Azerbaijan, I would like to reiterate that no county is allowed to make official judgement on the provision of human rights in other countries. In the USA itself, negative cases including gross violation of human rights, police`s murder of civilians, racial clashes, mass arrests, violation of freedom of speech, have gathered such a rapid pace that it is even difficult to follow them.

What is interesting is that during our meetings almost all official representatives of the countries, political circles, mass media, which joined the anti-Azerbaijani campaign, tell us that this smear campaign is carried out under pressure from the countries and political force that claim to be the rulers of the world.

I would like to reiterate that the countries and forces behind slander, biased campaign against Azerbaijan must know that they will never be able to prevent Azerbaijan from continuing to pursue an independent policy, strengthening regional cooperation and stability in the country.