Experts condemn the Law on Mass Media

Yesterday the Milli Majlis passed the Law On Mass Media in the second reading. Speakers said that the bill had been discussed among a sufficient number of experts, and journalists liked the new law.

But the truth is different.  Experts who were not invited to the Milli Mejlis discussion on social networking sites voiced their opinions against the Law. Let us acquaint you with some of the written reviews.

Emin Shaig Ibragimov draws readers' attention to the fact that Azerbaijan currently is ranked 167th among 180 countries in line with the media freedom index. What is their goal now, after passing this reactionary media bill?  Where do you want to be? We have become a plaything of these reactionaries," Ibrahimov writes.

Journalist Rauf Mirgadirov: The opinion of the press was not taken into account at all.  In fact, they are right. In a country where there is no free press, there is nothing to pay attention to.  

Lawyer Khaled Agali writes:" from the draft Law "On Mass Media": "...the application for establishing an online media entity shall be accompanied by an opinion of the body determined by the relevant executive authority. That is, full state control.

Political scientist Arastun Orujlu, after finally reading the new media bill, writes: he realized that one of the main goals is to take control over Internet platforms and manage their activities.

"The result will be that Internet resources inside the country will be silenced while the center of power will move outside the country. If I'm not mistaken, the authorities already got into it once, why do it a second time?"

Osman Gündüz, chairman of the multimedia public association, doesn't understand the reason for such a rush in passing the law. "At today's meeting of the Milli Majlis, a draft law "On Mass Media" has already been approved in the second reading. Just six days have passed since it was passed in the first reading.   The rather voluminous draft which is a combination of 3 bills, has already passed the main readings, for which only a few hours were spent. The fact that a draft of this type, which is of interest to all segments of society, has been prepared behind closed doors and immediately submitted for discussion, and passed two readings with lightning speed, is thought-provoking. What is the reason for such haste?

By the way, this draft law is the first time in Europe that not only requires registration of Internet TV, but even licensing which is a more conservative approach. The President often makes statements about the complete freedom of the Azerbaijani Internet. In this regard, I hope that the bill will not be adopted in this form, nor signed by the President.

Let me remind that the Law "On Access to Information" which is highly appreciated by European and many international institutions, we were able to pass with difficulty for 3-4 years. Apparently, we have significantly advanced, if the laws that were previously adopted in 3 years, now we can adopt in 3-4 days," said O. Gundyuz, summing up his remarks.

Journalist Nurlan Libre Gahramanly: Journalist Sahavet Mammad became the first victim of the draft Media Law. He was summoned to the prosecutor's office for an article he had written and was fined 500 manats by the court. The free media cannot be silenced!-0-