MEDIA responds to “Freedom House” over distortion of Azerbaijan facts
Baku, March 9, AZERTAC
The Media Development Agency has issued a statement regarding the latest report by the “Freedom House” organization, which distorts facts about Azerbaijan, the Agency has told AZERTAC.
It is noted that the international non-governmental organization “Freedom House” once again demonstrated a biased attitude towards the state of the media in Azerbaijan in its latest report.
“In response to the lop-sided opinion about the state of the media in Azerbaijan, we declare that the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On the media”, as claimed in the report, does not impose an obligation on foreign online platforms to register as a local legal entity.
In particular, according to the provisions of the Law, the opening of branches and representative offices of foreign media outlets in the Republic of Azerbaijan is regulated by international agreements to which the Republic of Azerbaijan is a party, and in order to do so, the registration of these outlets as a local legal entity is not required under any circumstances.
It should be emphasized that provisions of the Law do not apply to video sharing platforms, internet television and other types of activities of this category and do not envisage any regulation of their activities.
Proceeding from international practices, a legal assessment of unlawful situations in the field of the media is addressed by judicial bodies and the powers of state bodies in this direction are quite limited. No state body has the authority to suspend or terminate the activities of media outlets or interfere in them in any way. All cases of violation of the law that may arise in this field are resolved in a judicial manner and on the basis of the principle of equality of the parties.
The law completely rules out censorship by stating that “state censorship in the field of the media, as well as the creation and financing of state bodies (institutions) or positions for this purpose” is prohibited. In addition, it proclaims that it is the duty of the state to ensure the diversity of opinion and freedom of activity in the field of the media.
Also, in order to ensure the freedom of journalists to inform the public, the Law imposes an obligation on state bodies to provide media representatives with detailed information about any fact or event, and considers interference in the professional activities of journalists as unacceptable.
The report of the organization, which continues to distort facts about Azerbaijan, does not contact official sources when expressing its opinion, ignores repeated initiatives of dialogue and, finally, describes the country that has restored its territorial integrity as an “occupier”, is completely baseless and wide of the mark from a legal and logical point of view. It violates the norms and principles of international law,” the Media Development Agency said.
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