What Does the Congress of Journalists Discuss?

The VI Congress of Journalists of Azerbaijan was held in Song Theatre, whish is named after Rashid Behbudov. At the beginning of the meeting, participants laid flowers on the graves of Heydar Aliyev and of Hasanbey Zardabi, founder of Azerbaijan's press, but did not acknowledge journalists killed in Karabakh and those killed for their publications.

The agenda of the Congress includes a report of the Press Council and the head of the Auditing Commission, amendments to the charter and the code of professional conduct and ethics for journalists, and the election of new management.

Ali Hasanov, head of the Public Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, read out a congratulatory message from the President. It argues that the country guarantees freedom of the press, the government cares about improving the social status of journalists and strengthening the material-technical base of the media.

Aflatoun Amashev, head of the Press Council, expressed his gratitude to the President and the First Lady for the arrangements for the treatment of journalist Nijat Daglar, who suffers from leukemia. Amashev also expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the country for the construction of a house for journalists.

In the report, Amashev argued about the development of freedom of press in the country, the determined struggle against racketeer journalism, and protection of journalists.

Amashev said that the country has no journalists arrested for their professional activities. However, it is necessary to remove even the "theoretical" possibility of arrest of journalists and adopt a law on defamation, he said.

Amashev also said that the Press Council now intends to embrace the Internet media.

At the Congress, they will increase the number of full members of the Board of the Press Council from 15 to 17. There will be five elected "reserve" members.

Of the 17 full members, eight will be selected from print media, three from Internet portals and six from the public.

Congress participants received ballots with a list of candidates to the Board.

The papers included the names of 24 print media journalists, 18 members of the public, and nine representatives of Internet media.

The Press Council was established in 2003 with the support of the Council of Europe as a body of media self-regulation.

Subsequently, however, the Press Council turned into an improvised power structure not able to articulate the problems of the free press, or to protect it from government pressure. Due to these perceived limitations, nearly all leading independent journalists and media left and ignore the Press Council. -03C06-