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Azerbaijan: Human Rights Plummet to New Low

August 1, 2014 By administrator

by Shahin Abbasov  eurasianet.org

Azerbaijan in recent months has launched a clear assault against various civil-society activists and non-governmental organizations. While rough treatment of critics is nothing new in this energy-rich South-Caucasus Human-rightcountry, one question remains unanswered: Why pick up the pace now?

Some observers link this behavior to two causes: The February resignation of Ukraine’s ex-President Alexander Yanukovich in response to mass protests, and the Azerbaijani government’s keen desire for a protest-free 2015 European Games, a Summer Olympics for European countries that is a pet-project of President Ilham Aliyev.

And so, in the best of Soviet traditions, the cleanup has begun.

The tactics appear to fall into two categories – criminal prosecutions and scrutiny of financial resources. Since June, several leaders of local NGOs, critical bloggers and opposition activists have been arrested and sentenced to long prison terms on various criminal charges, including alleged tax-evasion, hooliganism and possession of illegal narcotics.

On July 30, the crackdown accelerated with the filing of criminal charges, including treason, against outspoken human-rights activist Leyla Yunus. She is now in jail for three months awaiting trial. A former defense-ministry spokesperson actively engaged in citizen-diplomacy with neighboring foe Armenia, Yunus and her husband, conflict-analyst Arif Yunus, have been under investigation since April.

Shortly before her detention, Yunus and a group of fellow activists publicly denounced the upcoming European Games as inappropriate for “authoritarian Azerbaijan, where human rights are violated.”A group led by Yunus has appealed to the European Olympic Committee (EOC) and the European Union’s EOC representative office to cancel the decision to hold the Games in Baku.

Yunus’ problems with the government, though, are not unique. The list of people sentenced to prison since June reads like a “Who’s Who” of Azerbaijani civil society.

Anar Mammadli, director of the Election Monitoring Center has been sentenced to 5.5 years on charges of tax evasion; his deputy, Bashir Suleymanly got five years. Hasan Huseynli,  head of the youth-education NGO Kamil Vetendash, or Intellectual Citizen, received six years for allegedly illegally carrying weapons and wounding a person with a knife.  Yadigar Sadigov an activist from the opposition Musavat Party is in for six years on charges of “hooliganism.” And three so-called “Facebook activists,” bloggers Elsever Mursalli, Abdulla Abilov and Omar Mammadov were sentenced to upwards of five years for carrying illegal drugs.

On July 25, Baku police put another Musavat activist, Faradj Karimli, into pre-trial detention for allegedly “advertising psychotropic substances.” All of the accused deny the charges.

The prosecutions follow on the heels of legislative changes that now allow law-enforcement and tax agencies greater scope to audit and fine registered NGOs and ban outright unregistered NGOs’ ability to receive grants.

“Obviously, Baku is following the Russian way – to control the financial flows and, thus, to control the situation,” commented political analyst Elhan Shahinoglu, head of Baku’s Atlas Research Center.

“If the pressure will continue further, it will not be possible to talk about the normal activity of NGO’s in the country,” warned Elchin Abdullayev, a member of a network of NGO’s created to resist perceived intimidation-tactics.

The fact that these events are taking place during Azerbaijan’s six-month chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the continent’s primary human-rights organ, seems to pose no contradiction for the government.

And the desire for control apparently extends to international groups as well. The Baku office of the Washington, DC-based National Democratic Institute was officially closed on July 2 after the authorities accused it of financing “radical” opposition youth groups.

Like others, Emil Huseynov, director of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, which also faces funding problems, traces that accusation to Baku’s fear of an Azerbaijani EuroMaidan.

“Two months ago, the deputy head of the presidential administration, Novruz Mammadov, openly accused the US of financing a revolution in Ukraine. Therefore, the authorities want to deprive the local civil society of any foreign funding . . .,” Huseynov charged.

Gulnara Akhundova, a representative of the Danish-run International Media Support NGO, said that the government has refused to register any of the organization’s grants to local NGO’s and individuals. “Most of our partners in Azerbaijan cannot work. The bank accounts of some of them are frozen,” Akhundova said. No reasons have been given.

According to the pro-opposition Turan news agency, the government also reportedly has expressed a desire to halt activities by the US Peace Corps, which has operated in Azerbaijan since 2003.

President Aliyev, however, insists that Azerbaijan has no problem with civil rights. Last month, speaking at the June 28 opening of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly’s session in Baku, President Aliyev repeated that Azerbaijan is “a democratic country where freedoms of assembly, speech, media and Internet are guaranteed.”

Roughly a week later, speaking to Azerbaijani foreign-ministry officials, he claimed that he had never “heard any criticism of Azerbaijan’s domestic policy at meetings with European leaders.”

If so, it is not for lack of talking.

The OSCE has termed the number of journalists in prison in Azerbaijan “a dangerous trend,” while the European Union on July 17 urged Baku to meet its obligations as “a Member of the Council of Europe.”

A difference in perspective poses an ongoing obstacle, however, noted
US Ambassador to Baku Richard Morningstar on July 25, Turan reported.

“The major task of Azerbaijan is to keep stability. But we believe that if people would get more freedom, there will be more stability in Azerbaijan,” Morningstar said.

While Shahinoglu believes that the US and European Union, for all their energy and security interests, will have to continue pressing Baku about its “poor human-rights record,” President Aliyev already has cautioned that the complaints will fall on deaf ears.

“Some people who called themselves opposition or human rights defenders believe that somebody would tell us something and we will obey,” he commented on July 8. “They are naïve people.”

Editor’s note:

Shahin Abbasov is a freelance correspondent based in Baku.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Azerbaijan, Human rights, plummet

Council of Europe committee condemns Azerbaijan for Safarov case

May 31, 2014 By administrator

The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe condemned the use made by Azerbaijan of Article 12 of the Convention on the Transfer of arton100319-250x250Sentenced Persons in the case of Ramil Safarov, ” which constitutes a violation of the principle of good faith in international relations and the principles of the rule of law. “

The Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons provides for the transfer of foreign prisoners to their country of origin. She goes first and foremost a humanitarian purpose, to improve the prospects for rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners into society.

The draft resolution based on the report of Christopher Chope (United Kingdom, EDG), is concerned that the Convention has been invoked to justify the immediate release after the transfer in Azerbaijan Ramil Safarov, Azerbaijani sentenced for murder of an Armenian colleague who attended a training course “Partner for Peace” organized by NATO in Hungary. Upon his arrival in Azerbaijan, it was hailed as a national hero, was immediately pardoned long before the expiration of the minimum sentence imposed by the Hungarian court, received a retroactive promotion and was rewarded for his gesture in many other ways .

The text stresses that the Convention “is not intended to be used for the immediate release of detainees after their return to their country of origin.” It stresses “the importance of implementing the Convention in good faith and in interpreting these provisions, to comply with the principles of the rule of law”, particularly in the case of transfer may have political or diplomatic implications .

The draft resolution should be submitted to the Assembly for debate before the end of 2014.

Saturday, May 31, 2014,
Stéphane © armenews.com

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Azerbaijan, Condemns, Human rights

PRESS RELEASE: From The Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights

May 19, 2014 By administrator

May 18, 2014

“The Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights 

addresses the Suffolk/ Foxman/ Armenian Issue”

At the May 17, 2014 Suffolk Law School commencement at the Wang Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, the Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights distributed 1000 flyers (please see the attached document) to the graduates and their families and guests.

The flyer protested Suffolk University President James McCarthy’s invitation to Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League’s national director, to be its keynote speaker and receive an honorary law degree.

The main reasons cited by the flyer were Mr. Foxman’s and the ADL’s long-standing collusion with Turkey, a major human rights violator, in refusing to acknowledge the Armenian genocide of 1915 – 1923, making misleading statements on it, and in working to defeat U.S. Congressional resolutions on that genocide.

The protest against Mr. Foxman’s appearance was initiated in early April by Suffolk’s student chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.  The chapter cited, among several reasons, Mr. Foxman’s stance against Armenian Americans (see over 1000 signatures at Change.org, “Remove ADL Director Abe Foxman as Suffolk Law’s 2014 Commencement Speaker”).

The law school’s invitation to Mr. Foxman came just one month after the Massachusetts Governor’s Council’s widely publicized rejection of attorney and ADL National Commissioner Joseph Berman to be a Superior Court judge.

We understand that Mr. Foxman’s commencement speech mentioned the Armenian “genocide.”   We must reject his remarks as disingenuous and a clumsy attempt to mislead his audience.  The ADL’s only formal and definitive statement on the Armenian issue was issued on August 21, 2007.  As explained in the flyer and in NoPlaceForDenial.com’s Q & A, the ADL statement was deliberately and deceptively worded so as to sidestep applicable international law, namely the United Nations 1948 Convention on Genocide.  As a result, from 2007 – 2008 the Massachusetts Municipal Association and over a dozen Massachusetts cities and towns severed their ties with the ADL’s “No Place for Hate” program.

The ADL’s infamous 2007 statement has never been withdrawn, nor have Mr. Foxman and his ADL ever apologized to Armenians.

Moreover, the ADL’s continued lobbying against an Armenian genocide resolution is hypocritical and disgraceful, particularly given that the organization claims to uphold the human rights of all ethnic groups and has successfully lobbied for numerous Holocaust resolutions in the U.S. and at the United Nations (see ADL Press Release, “ADL to Uncommitted U.N. Ambassadors: Support Holocaust Denial Resolution,” January 23, 2007).

Armenian Americans await the ADL’s full withdrawal of its deceitful August 21, 2007 statement; its unequivocal and unambiguous acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide; and, to begin to make amends for the injuries it has inflicted in lobbying against the recognition of the Genocide, the ADL must actively and sincerely lobby for the passage of the Armenian genocide resolution. If the ADL is truly composed of advocates for universal human rights and genocide prevention, it will do these things.

The Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights takes special notice that some media continue to omit or misrepresent the above facts and the Armenian American position.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Congratulations to Suffolk Law School’s    2014 Graduates & Their Families

The Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights joins in protesting Suffolk Law’s invitation to Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League’s National Director since 1987, to be its keynote speaker and receive an honorary law degree. The National Lawyers Guild’s Suffolk chapter initiated the protest, and over 1000 people have signed its Change.org petition protesting Foxman. Hundreds have written to Suffolk President James McCarthy and commencement invitee US Senator Edward Markey.

Q: Why are Foxman and the ADL not deserving of being honored by Suffolk Law School?

A: A major example: Foxman and his ADL have for many years worked with Turkey, a major human rights violator, to prevent formal US recognition of the genocide committed by Turkey against 1.5 million Christian Armenians from 1915–23. This is hypocritical and contrary to the ADL’s stated mission of upholding the human rights of all people. Foxman has also tried to sidestep international law and diminish the Armenian genocide in his disingenuous, legalistically worded statement of August 21, 2007.

Q: How did Foxman’s statement sidestep international law?

A: To be genocide, the 1948 “United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide” requires “intent” by the perpetrator. Foxman wrote, in part: “… the consequences of those actions [by Turkey] were indeed tantamount to genocide.” The word “consequences” is, in effect, the very opposite of the “intent” required by the Genocide Convention. And note that “tantamount to genocide” is not the same as genocide. Foxman has never withdrawn that statement or apologized.

Q: What had brought about Foxman’s statement?

A: In the summer of 2007, major protests arose in Massachusetts and the nation over the ADL’s long-time cooperation with Turkey to defeat Congressional resolutions on the Armenian genocide & the ADL’s refusal to acknowledge the Armenian genocide. It made international news: NoPlaceForDenial.com.

Q: Was Foxman’s August 21, 2007 statement rejected by human rights activists and others?

A: Yes. From 2007 to 2008, the human rights commissions and city councils of Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Lexington, Medford, Needham, Newburyport, Newton, Northampton, Peabody, Somerville, Watertown, and Westwood stopped sponsoring the ADL’s alleged anti-bias program “No Place for Hate.” The Massachusetts Municipal Association, representing all cities and towns, also dropped “No Place for Hate.” They realized that the ADL – one of whose major concerns is the Holocaust – was acting immorally and hypocritically. They knew that Foxman’s August 21 statement skirted international law. Human rights advocates and media excoriated Foxman and the ADL.

Q: Has Foxman ever punished anyone in the ADL for acknowledging the Armenian genocide?

A: Yes. When local New England ADL Director Andrew Tarsy suddenly acknowledged the Armenian genocide in 2007, Foxman immediately fired him. Jewish Americans condemned the firing. Foxman was forced to rehire Tarsy under terms never made public. Soon after, however, Tarsy resigned. He was later replaced by Derek Shulman, a political director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) which had similarly helped Turkey to cover up the Armenian genocide.

Q: Was the Armenian Genocide truly a genocide?

A: Yes. Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jewish lawyer, coined the word “genocide” in 1944 and authored much of the 1948 Genocide Convention. In a 1949 CBS-TV interview (see YouTube), Lemkin said he became interested in genocide because “it happened to the Armenians.” A 1951 World Court (ICJ) filing by the US cited the Armenian “genocide.”   Nearly 20 countries, including Canada, France, Sweden, and Argentina, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, the European Union Parliament, the Parliament of the Council of Europe, a U.N. subcommittee, Massachusetts, and many others recognize the Armenian “genocide.” An Armenian genocide resolution is pending in the Senate. Senator Edward Markey, speaking today, is co-sponsoring it. Foxman and his ADL oppose the resolution.

Q: Why are Foxman and his ADL so against recognition of the Armenian genocide?

A: Jewish and Israeli analysts and media confirm that an agreement was initiated long ago among Turkey, Israel, and the ADL (and other organizations such as AIPAC, AJC, and JINSA). Turkey wanted Jewish American groups to lobby for Turkish interests. Though Turkish – Israeli relations have become strained, the agreement remains in force. See documentation in “A History of Lobbying against Genocide Recognition” at NoPlaceforDenial.com.

Q: Who has favored the US Congressional resolution on the Armenian genocide?

A: Scores of organizations of diverse orientations including American Values, National Council of Churches, NAACP, National Organization of Women, Sons of Italy, American Jewish World Service, and Jewish War Veterans of the USA. 126 Holocaust scholars signed a petition appearing in the New York Times (June 9, 2000) urging acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide.

Q: In view of all this, why would Suffolk University still honor Foxman and the ADL?

A: It’s inexplicable. President McCarthy claims that Foxman is being honored for his “body of work.”   Such as the ADL’s sidestepping the Genocide Convention? Or the ADL’s efforts to stop recognition of the Armenian genocide while demanding commemoration and legislation on the Holocaust?   Would a true human rights organization conspire with a human rights violator such as Turkey to cover up the murder of 1.5 million human beings? In 1993, authorities in San Francisco raided ADL headquarters. They discovered “evidence of a nationwide intelligence network accused of keeping files on more than 950 political groups, newspapers, and labor unions and as many as 12,000 people” (L.A. Times, April 9, 1993). The ADL paid an out-of-court settlement. In 2007, the police chief of Arlington, MA said his department could get information from the ADL that it could not legally acquire on its own.   So is the ADL an organization that truly upholds civil & human rights and follows the law?

The Suffolk leadership’s divisive actions have not honored its graduates, their families, and the law.

The Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights wishes graduates long and successful careers.

 

Filed Under: Articles, Genocide Tagged With: ADL, BOSTON, Foxman, Human rights, Suffolk

Moscow urges UNSC to discuss Syrian rebels’ siege of Christian town of Kessab

April 2, 2014 By administrator

April 01, 2014

RT Russia urged the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in Syria’s Christian majority town of Kessab, after Al-Qaeda-linked militants reportedly attacked the town, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.

Kessab Syriai“The UN Security Council should discuss the situation in Kessab and give it a principled evaluation,” it stated. “We condemn extremists’ actions in Syria. We believe that the Syrian government and the opposition should join efforts to eradicate terrorism on the Syrian land.”

On March 21, jihadists reportedly crossed into Syria from Turkey and seized the town in Latakia province, home to over 2,000 ethnic Armenians. The attack caused hundreds of local families, mainly Armenian, to flee their homes and seek shelter in the city of Latakia.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry noted that there were no military objects on the attacked territory and added that the only fault of the families, who were forced to flee, was their loyalty to Syria’s government.

Syria’s permanent representative to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, told RT Arabic that Syria is hoping the UN will help resolve the situation in Kessab. In the past week, Syria sent five letters to the UN Security Council and the General Secretary. “These letters contain detailed information about Turkish direct involvement in the crisis by providing protection to terrorist groups that are operating in the Kessab area,” Jaafari said.

He further added that military groups managed to get to Kessab under the cover of Turkish artillery strikes, Turkish aviation, and tanks, which were all used as a distraction.

“This allowed the terrorists to avoid direct clashes with the Syrian army…unleashed [the terrorists’] hands to carry out their heinous, unspeakable crimes.”

Earlier, the Armenian government also called on the UN to protect Kessab, evoked the Armenian genocide of 1915, and accused Turkey of allowing jihadists cross its border to attack Kessab. In turn, Ankara slammed the accusations and condemned the charge as “confrontational political propaganda.”

The attack on Kessab was reportedly carried out by fighters from the Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Syria, and the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham brigade, part of the Islamic Front alliance.

Earlier this week, the Syrian army launched an operation to force the militants out of the town.

The situation escalated on March 23 when Turkey shot down a Syrian Air Force jet at the Kessab crossing. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the plane was intercepted after it violated his country’s airspace.

In response, Damascus accused Ankara of “blatant aggression,” saying the fighter jet had been over Syria. The Syrian pilot said a Turksih aircraft fired a missile at him while he was pursuing terrorists within Syrian territories, SANA news agency reported.

 

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Conflict, Crime, Human rights, Law, Russia, Security, Syria, Turkey, UN, Violence, war

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