Journalists' organizations of Azerbaijan call to resume foreign broadcasting

The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) and the Institute of Media's Rights (IMR) have made a joint statement today, where they resolutely condemned the utterances of Azerbaijani officials that broadcasting of foreign companies in FM-frequencies will not be restored.

Let us remind you that by decision of National Television and Radio Council (NTRC) of Azerbaijan, since January 1, 2009, in Azerbaijan, broadcasting of the Radio Liberty, Voice of America and BBC in local FM-frequencies was stopped. The decision was motivated by provisions of the legislation of Azerbaijan, which prohibit broadcasting of foreign radio stations in local FM-frequencies.

The joint statement of the IRFS and IMR, which has arrived to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, runs that numerous appeals of the local and international democratic public to resume the broadcasting were responded by Azerbaijani government "vaguely."

"However, in these recent days, the head of the public-political department of the Administration of the President and Nushiravan Magerramli, head of the NTRC, made unequivocal statements about impossibility of foreign broadcasting in local FM-frequencies," said Emin Guseinov, director of the IRFS.

The IRFS and IMR regard these statements as "contradictory to public interests and call the government of Azerbaijan to make urgent amendments to the legislation and restore the broadcasting of Radio Liberty, Voice of America and BBC in national FM-frequencies."