People of Azerbaijan have their own real value-Ali Hasanov

31 May 2012 12:02 (UTC+04:00)

The leadership of Azerbaijan considers non-governmental organizations partners.

Head of the socio-political department of the Presidential Administration Ali Hasanov has told the statement to conference "The Role of NGOs in the development of civil society", organized with the assistance of the Council of State Support to NGOs under the President of Azerbaijan.

"In recent years, relations between NGOs and government agencies have come a long way of development. After the leadership of Azerbaijan adopted the concept of providing support to NGOs and established the Council of State Support to NGOs under the President of Azerbaijan, many foreign communities and organizations reacted to this with envy and tried to present all this as if the Azerbaijani authorities were trying to stifle NGOs, to keep them under control and prevent their free activity", he stressed.

Nevertheless, Hasanov said the elapsed time showed that there was no interference in the activities of nongovernmental organizations by the leadership of Azerbaijan.

"The Azerbaijani authorities don’t pursue such policy," the official said.

"Many international organizations and world communities are all the time trying to advise Azerbaijan how to properly develop. International organizations such as Amnesty International, Freedom House and Norwegian human rights organizations consider Azerbaijan a backward country.

They think that as soon as they set foot on the territory of Azerbaijan, all political parties and nongovernmental organizations will run to them to bow and act on their orders. But the people of Azerbaijan have their own real value," he said.

According to him, the people of Azerbaijan established a democratic state back in 1918.

"We were the first ones to equate the rights of men and women, gave women the right to vote. Azerbaijan is not only a developed country, but is ahead of many countries. Some European countries have chosen the democratic path of development only 10-20 years after the Azerbaijani people established the first democratic state in the East.

But they are trying to view us like a backward African state. Azerbaijan is not only an advanced the eastern country but the people of Azerbaijan are also one of the world's leading nations. Our people have always contributed to world culture", Hasanov underlined.