Statements by Jean-Claude Mignon Subject to Evaluation

Public statements of the head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Jean-Claude Mignon in Baku received a mixed reaction from the civil society in the country.

Note that in an interview with reporters Mignon said that "development is observed in Azerbaijan, which is impossible not to notice," impressed by the reduction of poverty from 50% to 6%.

He also saw in Azerbaijan "strong will" to make progress to meet the criteria of the Council of Europe. At the same time, "you can not expect too much from a country that has just taken the path of democracy," said Mignon.

"Such statements cause confusion and a lot of questions," said the head of the Legal Education Society Intigam Aliyev.

According to him, the same Mignon also spoke at a closed meeting with representatives of civil society, the details of which were not disclosed for confidentiality.

However, if the Council of Europe considers that the requirements of Azerbaijani activists to ensure the freedom of assembly, to stop political persecution and corruption are too high, it does not make sense to be a member of the Council of Europe.

According to Aliyev, Western politicians are increasingly demonstrating conformity to human rights violations in Azerbaijan. Looking at it, you begin to believe in the authors of the report "Caviar diplomacy."

Among Western policymakers it is believed that excessive pressure on the Azerbaijani authorities may have the opposite effect and the country could sink to the level of Belarus, which was once expelled from the Council of Europe.

However, according to Aliyev, "In some areas the situation in Azerbaijan is much worse than in Belarus. "The government of Azerbaijan does not only beat, arrest and slander their opponents, but it also spends huge amounts of money stolen from the people to bribe the opposition, journalists and human rights defenders. Moreover, it is also done to international organizations, foreign diplomats, MPs, and members of foreign governments.

The "caviar diplomacy" report of the Council of Europe describes this in detail. In a country where teachers and doctors get paid 150-200 euros, many villages have no gas, light and water, the government spends funds on the organization of Eurovision - more than Germany, Sweden, or Norway. It spends millions to renovate the Louvre Museum, open a park named after Heydar Aliyev in Mexico and other similar events," said Aliyev.

In recent years, international organizations, including the Council of Europe, fully surrendered to the reluctance of governments of a number of post-Soviet countries to meet their obligations to these organizations. "For a long time, international organizations, giving advantage to the policy of "carrot," hoped it could encourage the governments to reform. But they did not understand that, being not amenable to reform," said Aliyev.

However, according to the executive secretary of the civil movement "Republican Alternative> (ReAl), Natig Jafarli, Mignon's overtures toward Baku are diplomacy. Mignon belongs to the category of politicians who prefer not to annoy anybody with public statements, but to actively influence during private talks.

During a meeting with civil society activists Mignon made it clear that the Council will seek to implement the January session of PACE, which contains requirements for democratic reforms. In connection with the forthcoming chairmanship of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers (May - November 2014), Baku will have to take serious steps in the sphere of democracy and human rights. -06B-