The Head of the Committee for External Relations of the European Parliament Elmar Brock rejected criticism of official Baku that the resolutions are biased and do not reflect the opinion of the whole of Europe.
During a meeting with a group of journalists from the "Eastern Partnership" on the last Saturday in Brussels , Turan's reporter asked him to comment on the Baku assertion that the critical European Parliament resolution on violations of human rights and democracy in Azerbaijan was accepted by a small group of members who do not like Azerbaijan, and their opinion is not of the whole of Europe.
"Resolutions and statements of the European Parliament are not anonymous, they are taken by MPs representing their countries and groups of deputies . Therefore, it is incorrect to say that they do not reflect the opinions of Europeans.
However, when we take resolutions on the Karabakh conflict, those in Baku greet them and say that this view is not of a group of MPs, but of the entire European Parliament. Such logic is incomprehensible to me," said Brock.
Asked to comment on the pre-election situation in Azerbaijan, where two weeks later a presidential election will be held, Brock said he discussed the matter two months ago in Baku with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
"I asked him a few questions - if it is possible to expect that the opposition candidate wins the election, if the country has a freedom of assembly, if the candidates can meet with voters and hold a meeting, if they have free access to television and whether the country has political prisoners. If a positive answer to this question cannot be given, it is not worth talking about democratic electoral environment," said Brock.
When asked what he might wish to democratic forces and their candidate in the upcoming elections, Elmar Brock said we can not lose optimism in even the most complicated situation.
"The objective of your Democrats is to continue to convince their citizens of the values of democracy and not to give up. I know how difficult your situation is, but look at Russia - there is no better. However, at the election of the mayor of Moscow a representative of the opposition won, according to the official data, about 30 % of the vote . Here's an example of how suddenly and quickly things can change. Be persistent and do not give up," he said. - 02B-
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