Operating Chairman of OSCE called for ensuring democratic freedoms in Azerbaijan

Audronus Azhubalis, operating Chairman of OSCE and Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, called for democratic reforms in Azerbaijan. Azhubalis declared at a meeting with the leaders of political parties of the country on March, 14, that Azerbaijan had a great potential to become the closest partner for Europe.

It should be reminded that Audronus Azhubalis arrived in Baku on March, 14, within the framework of his tour over the countries of Southern Caucasus, in particular, in order to discuss problems of stability, security and cooperation. On March, 15, Azhubalis left for Georgia and on March, 17 and 18, he will visit Armenia.

"Azerbaijan is of great importance from the point of view of security and energetics, it also has a great potential to become the closest partner for Europe. However, development of democracy is necessary for that", Azhubalis said at the meeting with the politicians in Baku.

He stressed the necessity of ensuring political pluralism, freedom of press, expression of opinion and assembly in the country. "Free election is the basis of democracy, however the last parliamentary election in Azerbaijan showed that that there was a need for significant democratic development in this sphere", operating Chairman of OSCE said.

He remarked that political parties should have free access to all kinds of mass media and called for improvement of legislation on political parties in Azerbaijan to provide them with proper conditions for political activities in the Parliament and outside it as well.

At the same time, Azhubalis said that establishing democracy would "not take one of two years but it would be a long-run process". "But this process should be consistent", Head of OSCE emphasized.

Asim Mollazade, Deputy of the Parliament and Leader of the Party of Democratic Reforms of Azerbaijan, in his turn, concentrated upon the problems of freedom of assembly in the country.

At the same time Mollazade said that confrontations including the Karabakh one were a general problem putting obstacles in the way of developing democracy in the region. He called for OSCE to give more attention to settlement of conflicts which go on carrying away lives of innocent people.

Iljas Ismailov, Head of the Party of Justice, and Khangusein Kazimli, Leader of the Party of Social Prosperity, also touched upon settlement of Karabakh problem. Meanwhile, Kazimli expressed his disagreement with OSCE observers' opinion on the Parliamentary election of November, 2010, in Azerbaijan. He thinks that the election has been a multi-party one and has met international standards.

Further on the meeting lasted without participation of mass media.