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Aliyev revealed himself as a braggart and a bully in Strasbourg at OSCE meeting this week, reads the article of the British MP Paul Flynn published on the site of Covcas bulletin magazine.

Flynn notes that he was given 30 seconds to ask Aliyev a question in the Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg. And he asked, “I have met bloggers and journalists who have been falsely accused and imprisoned in Azerbaijan, elections have been rigged. Will your presidency mean that Azerbaijan will be elevated to the COE standard of human rights or will other states see their standards of human rights degraded to your deplorable level?”

“He lost his temper as he did with all challenging questioners,” writes Flynn.

According to the British MP Perhaps Mr Aliyev should read the OCSE monitors’ report on his 2013 election. ‘The 9 October election was undermined by limitations on the freedoms of expression, assembly, and association that did not guarantee a level playing field for candidates. The counting was assessed in overwhelmingly negative terms, with 58 per cent of observed polling stations assessed as bad or very bad. IEOM observers reported clear indications of ballot box stuffing in 37 polling stations. They also reported from seven polling stations that voters who had already been inked were allowed to vote.’ “This is the election that President Aliyev assesses fair,” the MP notes.

The author notes that the organizations have warned that Azerbaijan does not fit for the role of the CoE chair.

Hugh Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director of Human Rights Watch said: •“It’s sheer irony that Azerbaijan presides over a body whose standards it so flagrantly violates. The Council of Europe’s leadership should not miss this opportunity to urge Aliyev to free people who are behind bars for nothing more than speaking their minds and to allow independent groups to operate,” he stated.
Paul Flynn writes that unfortunately the arrests of journalists and bloggers continue in Azerbaijan. Not a whisper of regret from Aliyev. “He boasted that only 800 demonstrators had protested against his election last year. No surprise, as previous demonstrators were beaten to pulp by Aliyev’s police.”

According to him Aliyev’s vast oil wealth is being used to seduce the world and convince us of his bottomless virtue. Inevitably his speech this week contained the usual complaint about the West’s lack of intervention in the frozen conflict in Ngorno-Karabach. At the same time Aliyev hinted on some action.

“Observers of the conflict expressed fears to me that he may be planning military action. Our best hope to avoid bloodshed is to ensure the conflict remains in permafrost,” the British MP concluded.