Jamil Hasanli: National Council Preparing for Next Rally

Baku / 13.02.19 / Turan: The effect of the opposition rally on January 19 was much more than the number of its participants, the head of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), Jamil Hasanli, said in an interview with the Сhetin Sual (Difficult Question) program of the Turan news agency commenting on the impact of the action on the socio-political situation in the country.

Hasanli said this was the 20th meeting of the NCDF, which was the most massive demonstration of the will and strength of citizens.

"The rally does not mean that everyone should be in the square. The participation of the politically active part of the population means the demonstration of the determination and will of the people. Therefore, the effect of the opposition rally on January 19 was much greater. The authorities understood what crisis the society has been brought to.

The authorities were convinced they had already suppressed civil society, the opposition and there was no longer any force capable of resisting its policies. The rally refuted all this," said Hasanli.

The authorities were forced to listen to the voice of the people and they finally decided to meet the families of martyrs, who were ignored for three months.

Then the head of state raised the minimum wage by almost 40%.

For the first time, the head of state went to Shamakhi and visited the families affected by the earthquake, although he had not done this before.

Why did the authorities react now?

Answering this question, Hasanli noted that the consequences of the 15-year-old administration of Ilham Aliyev began to be fully felt only now and were not so obvious.

First of all, it concerns the large-scale facts of corruption, which have become the subject of investigations by the international journalistic network.

According to Hasanli, the tragedy of any government begins when it causes irony. For the Azerbaijani authorities, it began with a change in the Constitution and the appointment of the First Vice-President.

Today"s political activism is a consequence of all this.

NCDF will continue rallies and the authorities will be forced to sanction them.

"If the authorities disagree, it means they will violate the Law on Freedom of Assembly, the Constitution, and the international obligations," Hasanli said.

According to him, the next rally will be devoted to the topic of problem loans.

Regarding the possibility of the National Council's participation in the elections, Hasanli said the electoral legislation and practice should be changed in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

"In fact, the institution of elections in Azerbaijan does not work. The power is usurped and this is the source of the country's main ills," Hasanli stressed. -0-