Baku / 21.11.19 / Turan: In Azerbaijan, the conditions for political activity are close to zero: freedom of assembly is eliminated; people are not allowed to gather, to express an opinion. By using police violence, people are forced to give up political activity. This opinion was expressed in an interview to Voice of America by the deputy chair of the Popular Front Party, Seymour Hazi.
“Political activity is regarded almost as anti-state activity. In this, Azerbaijan is approaching the standards of North Korea. Activists can not only hold events, but also gather for a cup of tea. This is a depressing situation for a Council of Europe member state, that is preparing to sign a partnership agreement with the EU. Local and international community should draw very serious conclusions from this,” said Hazy.
The protest rallies of the National Council on October 8 in front of the Baku City Hall and October 19 in the city center showed that society was emerging from a prolonged apathy.
“This is an indicator that the Azerbaijani people are not indifferent to their fate. People massively came out to protest, despite measures of intimidation of the authorities, detention on the eve of the rally and this is the beginning of a new period of struggle,” continued Hazi.
In his opinion, the question of the unity of the opposition has already lost its relevance, because the people themselves are ready to go out.
Answering a question about the prospects for dialogue between the authorities and the opposition, Hazi said that the regime is not ready for this. Suppressing peaceful protests, the authorities themselves radicalize society.
“The conditions for dialogue would be the provision by the authorities of freedom of assembly and expression. However, the power actions of the authorities during the recent actions showed that they are not ready for this,” said Hazi. –16D06-
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