Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-09-Speech-4-181"
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"en.20050609.30.4-181"2
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".
Mr President, no political transition is easy. It is no doubt even more difficult for some of the former autonomous republics of the Soviet Empire: the conflicts taking place at the moment in the three countries of the South Caucasus are largely due to the ghastly legacy of Stalin who, in his ‘divide and rule’ strategy, had reattached Ngorno Karabakh to Azerbaijan.
Today, the deadlock over Ngorno Karabakh is one of the main reasons for the stagnation of the region. As long as it remains unresolved, no prospect of development can be hoped for in that region, which is, however, a natural bridge between the European Union and Asia. Azerbaijan’s difficult economic, social and political situation is a direct outcome of this tense status quo, if only as a result of the large number of refugees and of displaced persons from within the country itself, who are a heavy burden on the country. Whilst there are renewed hopes of an improvement in the overall situation in the country, thanks to the opening of the Baku–Tbilissi–Ceyhan pipeline and the dividends accrued from extracting oil from the Caspian Sea, that in no way excuses the repressive attitude of the authorities towards the opposition.
Azerbaijan voluntarily made the decision to turn towards Europe by requesting accession to the Council of Europe. Europe laid down the rules of democracy for guidance. By first of all signing an initial Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in 1999 and by integrating it in its new Neighbourhood Policy, the European Union then indicated its willingness to support Azerbaijan in its democratic process. Today, the Union has a right to expect progress along those lines.
Whilst there is reason to be very pleased about the release of political prisoners and the presidential decree calling for international laws to be enforced with regard to respect for citizens’ democratic rights, the events that took place in Baku in May – the ban on meetings held by opposition parties and the arrest and imprisonment of opposition activists – are not acceptable.
In view of the fact that we wish above all to support our friends in the South Caucasus, in general, and in Azerbaijan, in particular, we call on President Aliyev and his Government to make every effort to ensure that the forthcoming legislative elections in November 2005 are conducted in a legitimate and transparent manner and that the opposition candidates can freely conduct their campaigns, in complete safety and with fair access to the media. That will be a powerful token of the government’s willingness to make a more in-depth commitment to the road to democracy, to which it had made an official commitment during the meeting with our parliamentary delegation."@en1
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