NGOs are urging President Zeman to ask about political prisoners
Published: Apr 2, 2014 Reading time: 2 minutes
The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has been invited to visit the Czech Republic in April by President Milos Zeman. In response, non-governmental human rights organizations sent an open letter to the leaders of the state – the President of the Republic, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Senate. This letter asks politicians in the to talk about the issue of human rights violations and the existence of political prisoners in the Caucasus with the President of Azerbaijan. It also demands an open discussion through a public press conference with the President of Azerbaijan while he is visiting the Czech Republic.
Azerbaijan is a Republic located in the southern Caucasus with approximately 9 million people and large oil deposits. Azerbaijan provides the Czech Republic with ¼ of its annual consumption of raw oil. Additionally, the Aliyev Clan has reigned over Azerbaijan for 21 years and they have caused hard repression and built a solid dictatorship on oil revenues. Azerbaijan is infamous for many things including the manipulation of its elections at all levels, the suppression of freedom of speech, the questionable disappearances of non-governmental organizations, violent persecutions, and the imprisonment of independent journalists and political opponents. The dismal state of human rights in this country are regularly documented by international organizations such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others. “Azerbaijan is a classic example of a dictatorship built on prominent cults and oil revenues. This allows the President to buy the favor of many countries and politicians,” explains Peter Tkac from NESEHNUTÍ.
The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has been invited to visit the Czech Republic in April by President Milos Zeman. This visits program will include formal meetings with Czech politicians and other representatives. Therefore, non-governmental human rights organizations have asked Czech officials not to forget the issue of human rights when discussing economic relations and cooperation with Azerbaijan. "We are aware of the strategic importance of Azerbaijan for the Czech Republic and the European Union and we are confident that our representatives will not ignore or overlook the suffering caused by Ilham Aliyev and his followers everyday. Therefore, we are pleading with the representatives from the Czech Republic to do everything in their power to help the innocent people who have been convicted and persecuted while they are in meetings with President Aliyev,” says Tomáš Urban in the open letter from People in Need. “Oil should not gag our country by preventing us from expressing our support to people who are in Azerbaijan. It should invoke respect for human rights and democratic values,” adds Peter Tkac from NESEHNUTÍ.
Contacts:
Peter Tkáč, NESEHNUTÍ , peter.tkac @ nesehnuti.cz , tel: 736 704 785
Tomáš Urban, People in Need, Tomas.urban @ clovekvtisni.cz , tel : 777 787 943