Rebecca Vincent: In helping to whitewash Azerbaijan’s ever-worsening image, UK would only end up tarnishing its own
''In helping to whitewash Azerbaijan’s ever-worsening image, the UK would only end up tarnishing its own,'' writes former US diplomat and coordinator of the Sport for Rights campaign, Rebecca Vincent, on the website of the international organization Index on Censorship.
''For the first time since the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, the oil-rich, rights-poor nation of Azerbaijan is drawing widespread international attention. This June, the country is poised to host the inaugural European Games, which will bring an estimated 6,000 athletes from 50 countries to the capital city of Baku to compete in 20 sports,'' Vincent writes highlighting that ahead of the games, the Azerbaijani regime has spent a great deal of time and money to promote a positive image abroad. At home, however, particularly over the past year, it has been engaged in a brutal human rights crackdown working aggressively to silence all forms of criticism and dissent.
Vincent points that dozens of democracy activists, including Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award winner journalist Khadija Ismayilova, and Leyla Yunus, one of the country’s most prominent human rights defenders, have been jailed on spurious charges, with some facing prison sentences of up to 12 years. Meanwhile, press freedom campaigner Emin Huseynov is trapped in the Swiss embassy in Baku, facing arrest if he leaves. These individuals have been targeted for their work defending the rights of others and telling the truth about the situation in their country.
As the article has it, so far, the European Olympic Committees and the event sponsors, particularly the huge British oil and gas company BP, have been happy to look the other way, stating that they would not intervene in the affairs of a ''sovereign nation.” As members of the campaign, Article 19, Index on Censorship, and Platform, have written to the leaders of the UK’s Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, and Green parties on the eve of the general election. The campaign urged them to make statements condemning the on-going attacks on human rights and calling for the release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.
Sport for Rights also called on the party leaders to make their participation in the opening ceremony of the games contingent upon the release of the country’s jailed journalists and human rights defenders. ''This is not a call for a boycott of the games by athletes or the public, but a request for the next prime minister not to miss a key opportunity to take an important stand. In the face of growing repression in Azerbaijan, the response from the British government has so far been weak and sporadic,'' the publication reads highlighting that the UK was ''dismayed'' and ''deeply troubled'' by the verdicts against the human rights defenders Intigam Aliyev and Rasul Jafarov, but it stopped short of calling for their release. Beyond statements, little else has been done — at least in the public eye.
''For a country so intent on promoting its image as a modern, glamorous, international player, key political figures taking a public stand on human rights issues would have a real chance of impacting positive, democratic change,'' the human rights defender writes calling on the next prime minister of the UK to use the European Games to send the clear signal that human rights are important in the bilateral relationship. Conversely, attendance by the prime minister at the opening ceremony of the games in the current climate would only serve to effectively endorse an increasingly authoritarian regime.
Meanwhile, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) released a statement on its website, saying that on May 12, one month before the commencement of the European Games in Baku, it will be joining the Sport For Right Campaign, the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), the Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF), the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), Front Line Defenders, and ILGA-Europe for a protest addressing the severe crackdown on human rights in Azerbaijan.
According to the information, the protest, ''Silencing the Critics: This is #RealBaku2015'' will take place in front of the European Parliament at Place Luxembourg. It will be followed by a hearing in the European Parliament titled ''Baku Games: Run for Human Rights'' that will also be addressing human rights violations in the country and the release of political prisoners before the start of the European Games. Speakers at the event will include Dinara Yunus, activist and daughter of Arif and Leyla Yunus, along with Gerald Staberock, Secretary General of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), and Rebecca Vincent, Coordinator of Sport For Rights.
In his turn, speaking in Berlin, Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia Director Hugh Williamson said that European governments should not send any high-level representatives to the event, the German outlet Deutsche Welle reports.
Related:
On threshold of European Games London hosts Give Human Rights Sporting Chance in Azerbaijan
Newsfeed
Videos
Artur Vanetsyan: I think you'll see me more often at various events in future
