The Russian military contingent should be withdrawn from Azerbaijan – J.Hasanli

The decision of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) to hold a rally is due to the fact that the authorities have not allowed citizens to exercise the right to freedom of assembly for five years, the chairman of the NCDF Jamil Hasanli, said in an interview with the Azerbaijani service of the “Voice of America” commenting on the opposition's decision to hold a rally in Baku on April 21. According to him, the NCDF intends to pay attention to the problem of political prisoners, whose number has reached 289 people. There will also be a demand for electoral reform.

In Hasanli's opinion, the last presidential elections on February 7, 2024 were again rigged and showed the relevance of the demands for free elections.  According to  Hasanli, the human rights situation in Azerbaijan has deteriorated so much that the country's delegation to PACE was deprived of a vote for a period of 1 year.

The opposition also intends to demand payment of "child allowances", which is the case in all countries of the region. According to him, Azerbaijan ranks last in the region in terms of per capita income. There are other social problems. The insurance system is not working, agriculture is in a difficult situation," Hasanli said. According to him, the authorities' ban on holding protest actions cannot last forever.

The NCDF also intends to demand the withdrawal of the Russian military from Karabakh. After the exodus of Armenians from Karabakh, the presence of the Russian army in the region loses its meaning, the opposition politician believes.

"The government should give clear explanations. At first, it was made up that the Russian military was guarding the weapons seized from the Armenians. As if Azerbaijan is not able to take these weapons into storage. Now the thesis has been thrown in that the "peacekeepers" will be engaged in clearing territories from mines. This should be carried out by specialized organizations. The contingent that arrived for peacekeeping has other functions. This is just an excuse to maintain the Russian military presence.

At the rally, we will demand explanations from the authorities why they still keep Russian troops in the country. This is a matter of the country's security," said the head of the NCDF.

What will the NCDF do if the authorities refuse to coordinate the rally? Answering this question, Hasanli said that after the response of the Baku Executive Authority, the NCDF will discuss the issue and make an appropriate decision.