AZERBAIJAN:

RESTRICTIVE HUMAN RIGHTS ATMOSPHERE MAKES CIVIL SOCIETY ENGAGEMENT IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH SOLUTION DIFFICULT

During the May IHF fact-finding mission to Azerbaijan, numerous civil society organizations expressed their frustration at the lack of transparency regarding the process of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh problem - the worst social and humanitarian problem facing the country.

Azerbaijani NGOs expressed their desire to strengthen contacts with their counterparts in Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh region by organizing meetings in the respective countries themselves, but also complained of the obstacles to such initiatives, which officials might consider treasonous. Azerbaijani human rights and refugee-support organizations - for example women's and journalists associations – have initiated such contacts in order to build better relations that will help normalize the situation between the two countries and allow refugees from all sides to return to their homes.

However, a number of civil society groups in Azerbaijan are reluctant to express their belief that a peaceful solution to the problem is both possible and urgent. There is a general fear that openly expressing criticism may be viewed as "provocation" by the state authorities; refugees expressed this fear in particular.

Attacks on freedom of expression are commonplace. For example, on 29 April, at a rally organized by the opposition to demand democratic parliamentary elections, seventeen journalists were mistreated and one was severely beaten. In another incident on 27 May, 15 policemen attacked the editorial offices of "Bu gun" newspaper.

The official practice of preventing public displays of political opinion through intimidation could also be seen when members of the political opposition were prevented from placing flowers on a monument to the Martyrs of War in Gazakh on Azerbaijani National Day on 28 May. The police confiscated the flowers. Earlier, on 12 May, members of the Congress of Azerbaijan Women organized a peaceful rally to protest the harsh economic situation and to demand fair elections. Numerous women reported police beatings. Although there have been allegations that the police were provoked, nothing can justify their brutal behavior, which contravenes Azeri law as well as international standards.

The IHF visited a settlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Djeyranbatan, who had been forced from their homes either in the Nagorno-Karabakh region or other disputed territories. Some had lived in the settlement for as many as seven years.

The IHF delegation said it was deeply disturbed by the deprivations suffered by these people, who expressed the view that their government does not assist them. Conditions are unsanitary and an eight-month old child died because his parents could not afford the proper medical care. One doctor, himself an IDP, cares for over 1,000 people with no supplies or sanitary facilities. He earns ten dollars per month. The residents of the settlement received only five dollars per person per month as IDPs, and claimed not to have received humanitarian assistance for four years.

IHF representatives met with Azeri civil society groups and officials in Baku between 27-30 May 2000. The IHF is engaged in an analysis of the views of civil society groups in Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh region concerning the human rights aspects of the ongoing dispute and the prospects for its solution. IHF representatives also visited Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in June.

The IHF delegation included Aaron Rhodes, Executive Director, and Brigitte Dufour, Deputy Executive Director. They met with President Heydar Aliyev; Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliyev; Head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Office of the President Novruz Mammadov; State Advisor for Minorities Hidayat Orudjov, members of minority groups; and relatives of political prisoners.

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Source: IHF

For more information please contact the IHF, tel. +43-1-408-8822, e-mail office@ihf-hr.org