Azerbaijani politicians and public figures urge BBC not to stop broadcasting

The democratic society of Azerbaijan is deeply disappointed by the decision of the BBC Corporation to stop broadcasting in the Azeri language and to switchover the work of the service, along with some other groups, into the format of Internet resource. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told about it by politicians, human rights activists and public figures of the country. They call the corporation to continue broadcasting in the Azeri language.

Let us note here that on 26 January the bosses of the BBC Corporation announced that the Azerbaijani, Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish and Vietnamese services would stop broadcasting on air and move to work in the form of Internet resources.

"The small but professional team of the Azerbaijani service of the BBC was preparing high-quality programmes, both news items and programmes on cultural and scientific life of Azerbaijan, and on country's history. Besides, the Azerbaijani audience received information in their native language on latest developments in international life, achievements of world culture and science," Rashid Gadjily, Director of Media Rights Institute (MRI), told the "Caucasian Knot" in his comments on the decision of the BBC managers.

However, as he continued, this radio, which presented alternative views on the events in the country and the world, was not apparently welcomed by Azerbaijani leaders; and 2 years they stopped the BBC broadcasting in local frequencies.

After that, the source has noted, the corporation had probably decided that shortwave broadcasting was ineffective. "However, this decision is highly questionable, since the Azerbaijani BBC service was a source of information not only for the audience of Azerbaijan, but also for the BBC World Service," said Gadjily.

Isa Gambar, leader of the "Musavat" Party, said that "although the decision to stop broadcasting was caused by economic problems, at was also affected by the earlier Azerbaijani decision to stop BBC broadcasting in local frequencies."

The situation around the restriction of operation of the BBC Azerbaijani Service was a subject of a special discussion of journalists, civil society and youth activists at the roundtable held by the Baku Media Centre.

While speaking at the event, Mirvari Gakhramanly, head of the Committee to Protect Oilers' Rights, expressed the view that it was on air of the BBC that civil society activists and independent experts could speak on the issues of corruption, bureaucratic arbitrariness and abuse of human rights. "We consider the termination of the BBC broadcasting as a barrier for the civil society of Azerbaijan to contact the international community," he emphasized.

In the opinion of Khadidzha Ismajlova, observer of the Azerbaijani service of Radio Liberty, the termination of the BBC broadcasting in the Azeri language deprives the independent journalism in Azerbaijan of a good "textbook".

In her turn, Pauline Clark, an official of the British Embassy, who took part in the roundtable, has noted that the step taken by the BBC is "an independent decision of the corporation and has no relation to the Government of the United Kingdom."

Nevertheless, an appeal to the British government was approved at the roundtable with a request not to stop the broadcasting of the Azerbaijani service of the BBC.