Azerbaijan: human rights activists tell about officials' arbitrariness in the NAR

At the press conference held in Baku at the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) journalists and human rights activists Khyakimeldostu Mekhtiev and Elman Abbasov told about the bureaucrats' arbitrariness and total flouting of human rights reigning in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR). Earlier, Mekhtiev and Abbasov, being regional correspondents of the IRFS, for two years had been monitoring the situation with human rights in the NAR.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, Mekhtiev and Abbasov emphasized that local authorities enforce regulations which break the rights of NAR residents as Azerbaijani citizens. "Thus, while citizens of Azerbaijan may any time freely visit Turkey without visas, the Nakhichevan customs restrict the freedom of travel of residents of the autonomy. They can visit Turkey again only 15 days after their previous return from this country," said Mekhtiev. Similar restrictions exist for their trips to Iran.

According to his story, first of all, it is a blow on the poor layers of the population, who earn their living by doing shuttle trading.

In general, according to the human rights activist, because of monopolism, prices on foodstuffs in the NAR are higher than elsewhere in Azerbaijan. The authorities of the NAR, according to his story, forbid imports of meat and meat products from Baku and at the same time prohibit exporting fish.

Mr Mekhtiev believes that this policy even more worsens the life of the NAR population, which is without it for more than 20 years in heavy social and economic situation because of the blockade of the autonomy by Armenia.

Another form of regional arbitrariness, according to the human rights activist, is in unofficial collections for electricity. Controllers go from house to house and demand, apart from what electricity meters show, 40 manats more (about 48 US dollars) from a family. Those who refuse to pay are disconnected from power supply.

Apart from breaking economic and social rights, other civil and political rights of NAR residents are roughly encroached on, in particular, the right to receive and disseminate information, Elman Abbasov said. According to his story, state agencies either have no press services or they refuse to give information. The region with 200,000 people receives only 30 copies of oppositional and independent newspapers daily. Satellite aerials are dismantled from houses, and one collective antenna is put instead, which receives Turkish TV Channels only.

The available Internet is very low, and the only provider is a structure of the local Ministry of Communications, which often blocks access to the websites, which criticize the situation in the NAR.

Citizens' electoral rights are also violated in the NAR. While electoral commissions of Azerbaijan include oppositional members, although in minority, in the NAR such commissions, even when include non-party members, are completely controlled by the authorities. The local parliament has no oppositional MPs.

Oppositional parties are paralysed, and oppositional activists are sacked and exerted to moral pressure.

The press conference also heard about violations of property rights of NAR residents, mass demolition of their commercial objects to please the interests of the local business elite.

Messrs Abbasov and Mekhtiev announced establishment by them of a new NGO - Public association for Human Rights Monitoring in Regions.

The roundtable was attended by representatives of the OSCE, embassies of Norway and Italy, and other international agencies.