Your trusted source

The tension between the Council of Europe and Azerbaijan was further intensified after the country took the chairmanship of the CoE Committee of Ministers. In Strasbourg banners announcing the chairmanship of Azerbaijan were removed, writes the French online edition of the Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace.

The article notes that in Strasbourg it is accepted to honor the country taking the chairmanship of the CoE Committee of Ministers. Since 2009, special events are being held in the city related to the chairmanship of this or that state that is included in the organization. Thus, at first the flags of that country are raised in front of the City Hall, then, the trams are repainted in the colors of the flag of the chairing state. And finally, as part of an event cultural programs are being organized, the publication writes.

"Since the beginning of Azerbaijan's chairmanship everything was as usual: in early May, as it was planned, the flags were raised. However, a few days later there was an incident connected with Baku: Azerbaijan refused a visa to the member of the French Socialist Party René Rouquet who at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe heads the French delegation and is the vice-president of the PACE," DNA notes.

According to the publication, he had to take part in a meeting in the Azerbaijani capital. His refusal the official Baku substantiated by the fact that Rouquet had previously visited Nagorno Karabakh. As a sanction PACE decided to cancel all activities planned in Baku for the next two years.

"For many years, a number of human rights organizations pay attention to human rights violations in Azerbaijan. Also, in April, Nils Mujzhnieks, the Commissioner of the Council of Europe for Human Rights made a rather critical report on the situation in Azerbaijan," reads the article.

Navel Rafik, the responsible for European Affairs at the City Hall of Strasbourg, explained that even if the country registers human rights violations, Strasbourg does not turn his back to it. "However, in the Rouquet’s case occurred disturbance in the Council of Europe, and we cannot accept this," he said.