Your trusted source

The Azerbaijani delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the "EuroNest" will suspend its activities in the organization, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PA "EuroNest" Elkhan Suleymanov said in a statement, as the Azerbaijani news agency "Trend" reports. This decision is due to the adoption of the 32nd point of the European Parliament Resolution of 23 October 2013, where it is said that the elections in Azerbaijan did not meet international standards and concern is expressed about human rights violations in the country.

Suleymanov’s appeal reads that this paragraph "is a serious blow to the reputation of the European Parliament on monitoring the presidential elections in Azerbaijan." The appeal is addressed to the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, the OSCE chairman Leonid Kozhara, the president of the Council of Europe Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Ranko Krivokapić and all members of the European Parliament.

"At the beginning of July this year, Azerbaijan was not included in the list of the countries observing the presidential elections, and such a decision of European Parliament was regarded by us as a result of absence of serious problems in our country," Suleiman said.

However, as stated in the appeal of the head of the Azerbaijani delegation, "today it becomes clear already that behind the decision of the European Parliament in early July, of not sending election observation mission to Azerbaijan, plans for organizing riots and sabotage in our country were hiding."

By not including Azerbaijan into the list of countries where it was decided to send election observation missions, the European Parliament, according to Suleimanov, "tried to discredit and undermine the political authority of Azerbaijan in the international arena."
"For some reason, later, in early September, the European Parliament changed his mind and decided to send an election observation mission to Azerbaijan," he said.

As stated in the document "the positive assessments of the observation mission enraged the leadership of the House of freedom and Unity, which decided bring the 32nd paragraph as an amendment into the draft of the European Parliament Resolution, according to which the election failed to meet the standards and requirements of the OSCE." According to the Azerbaijani delegate, "The European Parliament should take into consideration that the ODIHR is one of the many organizations of the OSCE."

The statement also read that the delegation of the European Parliament, PACE and OSCE PA gave a positive assessment to the elections, and the European Parliament adopted the resolution basing on the "biased" resolution of the OSCE / ODIHR observing mission. This, according to Sulymanov, causes a serious blow to the image of the House of Human Rights, which is composed of Members of European Parliament as well as PACE and OSCE.

According to the head of the Azerbaijani delegation the OSCE / ODIHR report “was aimed at follow the orders of higher officials, securing interests of powerful countries in Azerbaijan, formation of a negative image of Azerbaijan in the international arena." However, as stated in the appeal, Baku will continue its policy.

As the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the "EuroNest" thinks, the European Parliament and other international organizations "continue to deceive the people of Azerbaijan and the international community" in the Karabakh conflict too. Thus, Suleymanov called the words of the President of European Parliament Martin Schulz about "Azerbaijan and Armenia solving this complex issue (Karabakh conflict. - Ed.) by themselves” "absurd".

"The persistent call of the European Parliament to base on the OSCE / ODIHR resolution, regardless the assessments of the elections observing mission of the European Parliament, is a part of the plans to organize provocations and disorders. Presumably, they are very disappointed because of the failed plans of sabotage after a positive assessment of the elections, in particular of the attempts to turn Azerbaijan into Libya or Syria," the head of the Azerbaijani delegation said in the statement.

Presidential elections held in Azerbaijan on October 9 did not meet international standards, reads the resolution adopted on the eve of the plenary session of the European Parliament. The organization calls on Azerbaijan to stop harassment of oppositionist activists as an indispensable condition for any agreement and to review the strategic partnership with Azerbaijan.

"The European Parliament deplores for the fact that the presidential elections in Azerbaijan, as the OSCE/ODIHR has concluded, has once again failed to meet OSCE standards," the document reads.