Recommendations of the conference on improving the situation of freedom of expression
A conference “Safe to Speak: Securing Freedom of Expression in All Media” took place on May 2 at the “Exselsior” hotel . The conference was organized on the occasion of the World Day for freedom of speech.
The final declaration of the conference is about international commitments of Azerbaijan in the field of freedom of speech, press and expression. The importance of freedom of media during elections and electoral campaigns is highlighted.
The participants pointed to the incompatibility of censorship, threats, arrests and other methods of silencing critical voices and freedom of elections.
The statement expressed concern about the killings, death threats, blackmail, kidnapping, imprisonment, ill-treatment, deportation, and other methods of harassment of journalists in Azerbaijan and the continued growth of these facts.
Such actions are not only crimes against journalists and activists, but also have a negative impact on the overall situation of the acquisition and dissemination of information.
Impunity for crimes against freedom of expression encourages new attacks to silence criticism.
The declaration calls for end to the persecution of freedom of expression, to find and punish those who have committed crimes against journalists and activists.
The document's authors also called on the Azerbaijani authorities to stop the harassment of users of social networks, the immediate and unconditional release of journalists, bloggers and civil society activists, to comply with international commitments to eliminate the commission on the Internet with the Press Council, to abandon plans for the licensing of online TV and radio, to ensure the confidentiality of correspondence in Internet, to take measures to prevent hacker attacks on alternative web-based resources, develop the infrastructure of the Internet in rural areas, etc. -03B06-
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- Economics
- 2 May 2013 16:21
Politics
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
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