Parliamentary parties support government efforts to combat COVİD-19

Baku / 17.04.20 / Turan: All nine political parties represented in the Milli Majlis issued a joint statement expressing support for government measures against the spread of COVİD-19 and the elimination of the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic.

The parties gave a positive assessment to the preventive measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, carried out by the government on the initiative and under the leadership of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

They praised the return of many thousands of Azerbaijani citizens from abroad at the state expense, measures for the social protection of the population, support for small and medium-sized businesses, pardon for people over 65 years of age, etc.

Parties called on members and supporters of their organizations to "approach responsibly the necessary and urgent preventive and restrictive measures implemented by the government, to fully comply with the established quarantine regime."

They also pointed to the need “to demonstrate social responsibility as part of the fight against coronavirus”, “to join the calls for national unity and solidarity, which are an important condition for combating the pandemic.” 

“We strongly oppose the use of the current situation caused by the coronavirus for political propaganda, turning the pandemic into an instrument of political struggle, using it for narrow political purposes, far from national interests,” the statement says.

The authors of the document called on all political parties, public organizations and civil society organizations to support the measures taken by the Government of Azerbaijan to quickly eliminate the COVID-19 pandemic and its possible socio-economic consequences.

Earlier, authorities accused opposition organizations - the National Council of Democratic Forces, the Popular Front Party and Musavat - of using the pandemic for political purposes and trying to destabilize the situation in the country. About two dozen activists were arrested on charges of violating the quarantine regime.

The opposition rejects the allegations and recalls that even before the introduction of the quarantine regime, it canceled mass events and protests and called on the population to isolate themselves socially. -03B06-