Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan commented on the latest resolution of the European Parliament that criticized the democracy and human rights situation in Azerbaijan and also called for the release of a leader of the "Republican Alternative" (ReAL) movement Ilgar Mammadov. In his comments on the latest resolution Novruz Mammadov, the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration and Head of the Foreign Relations Department, said that recent campaign against Azerbaijan became systematic and consistent.
"Lately, driven by the objective to pressure the country, certain European institutions release statements and adopt groundless decisions in connection with Azerbaijan. Latest resolution on Ilgar Mamaddov’s case is just one of those. However, such decision cannot but overshadow our relations with Europe. Representatives of European institutions and the heads of the European countries must be more attentive in such issues and be aware of the consequences of such actions.
First I wish to stress that we dismiss the resolution and reject it as the one that defies all the democratic norms. As you may know the European Parliament is comprised of 754 members, whereas such resolutions are voted for by 15-16 persons at the behest of certain groups. Isn’t it a monopolization of the rights of the absolute majority by a small group? What democratic principles are we talking about when the very European Parliament violates them? I must say that scrutiny of the statement evokes amazement. Who gave those European MPs the right to use such an authoritative tone while speaking to Azerbaijan?
We believe that such a tone is inadmissible and it casts a shadow upon our relations with Europe. We have come a long way. In the meantime, Azerbaijan has made leap forward in the development and we will not tolerate haughty rhetoric. We did not fight for our independence just to fall into another one. We do not need second Kremlin. We stand for justice in everything and are ready to grasp fair criticism. Here is my question to those quarters. Are you really committed to justice? Have you even tried to demonstrate just position on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict for the last 20 years? Because it is not the first year that the rights of over 1 million Azerbaijanis forcibly expelled from their native lands are trampled. Therefore, one should not pretend to be deaf and blind. Azerbaijan is an independent country pursuing independent policy, and as such, we accept no conditions and dismiss this commotion with respect to one person.
Besides, we have numerously urged our European partners to determine the principles for definition of a "political prisoner" but they have always evaded the discussions and continued to blow the matter out of proportions. On one hand, you are calling for bolstering closer ties with Azerbaijan but on the other, adopt some obscure documents. How should we trust the sincerity of European institutions?
Lately, in all our conversations with Western politicians the issue of Ilgar Mammadov is constantly raised. Why do they fail to mention others? The explanation is simple – they need him. We must not be forced to disclose everything we know about him. They have gone out of their way to speak of him not as the citizen of Azerbaijan but as one of their blue collars. This is wrong. Let it be known to all those groups that Azerbaijan is not a puppet country. Are not there other problems in the European countries that they are so overwhelmed with the problems in Azerbaijan? The situation in European countries is before our eyes. We all observe the negative processes there, from poverty to unemployment, from Islamophobia to police violence. But no European politician wants to talk about that" said Mammadov.
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