Eynulla Fatullayev speaks at the World Democratic Forum

The First World Democratic Forum took place in Strasbourg recently, where Azerbaijan was represented by a human rights activist and journalist, the head of the NGO "For Human Rights," Eynulla  Fatullayev.

Unofficially, this forum is called the "Davos Political Summit." It was attended by up to 1,000 public figures, heads of international organizations and journalists. Eynulla Fatullayev’s speech was about the responsibility of the media in a democracy.

Fatullayev talked about the work of the press in the absence of democracy. He said that not every Western journalist is able to work in anti-democratic conditions, because faced with losing their freedom and their lives, they will not dare to tell the truth or to conduct a journalistic investigation.

In the absence of democracy, public and private institutions do not cooperate with journalists to comment and provide information.

"In Azerbaijan, commercial information is practically considered a state secret. In that case, how can we talk about cooperation with the press?" said Fatullayev.

If a journalist receives information that any official owns a business, the journalist has no right to clarify the information, as under the law, information about the owners can not be issued. 

Referring to the popularity of Facebook in Azerbaijan, Fatullayev said no-one wants to risk their freedom and their lives. Journalism is losing its popularity because it is a highly responsible and dangerous profession.

"Civil journalism in Azerbaijan can only exist on the Internet. It is a social anomaly or social phenomenon, which is typical of totalitarian or authoritarian countries where there is no place for alternative opinions," said Fatullayev, who spent more than four years in prison.

At the same time, it is positive that the Internet has attracted society to the process of democratization, returning a civic consciousness to the people and a sense of responsibility for the future, said Fatullayev. -05D04-