The appearance of the bill Freedom Support Act to Azerbaijan in the US Congress is the result of the repressive policies of Baku. The number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan exceeds the number of those in Russia and Belarus together. This was said in an interview with Turan by the head of the National Council of Democratic Forces, a history professor Jamil Hasanli, who returned from the academic trip to the US.
According to him, the civil society is suppressed, political leaders are thrown into prison, as well as activists of youth organizations, journalists, representatives of religious organizations and believers. Most of them have been arrested for political reasons.
"The international community has repeatedly asked to release political prisoners, but there is no progress in this respect. As a result, the US Helsinki Commission has developed the Act of Democracy in Azerbaijan, providing for sanctions against violators of human rights in Azerbaijan," he said.
The act is associated not only with political prisoners. It provides for an action plan needed for democracy in Azerbaijan, in particular in the sphere of freedom of press, speech, free elections, respect for human rights and freedoms.
Hasanli did not agree with the government's claims that the act is directed against Azerbaijan. "It is about measures against the Azerbaijani government. It is wrong to consider only Chris Smith the author of the bill. The Helsinki Commission includes 9 Congressmen from the Republicans and Democrats each, and one employee of the US State Department and the Pentagon each, stressed Hasanli.
"In order to prevent passage of the bill, urgent measures are needed, which are not available. Perhaps Baku hopes for lobby groups, but now the opinion in the US is wary of groups lobbying the interests of the official Baku.
Work should be conducted in the country in the first place to release political prisoners," said Hasanli.
He is skeptical about the prospects for dialogue between the authorities and opposition in the conditions of deepening crisis. "The authorities are not ready for dialogue. This power prefers monologue rather than dialogue. They have never conducted dialogue with the real opposition, and only simulated it with pocket organizations," said Hasanli.
The opposition has already submitted its proposals to resolve the crisis and addressed them not only to the authorities, but also to society.
"It's just that the Azerbaijani authorities have neither the desire nor the economic thinking nor the political will to bring the country out of crisis," concluded Hasanli. -06D--
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