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- 23 August 2018, 11:22
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German Chancellor Makes First Trip to South Caucasus
This week marks German Chancellor Angela Merkel"s first trip to the South Caucasus region, where she will visit Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan for meetings with each country"s leader. She is expected to discuss a range of topics including bilateral relations, energy policy, and the impacts of armed conflicts in the region. But all three countries face critical human rights issues, and this is an important opportunity for Chancellor Merkel to raise these concerns with her counterparts.
In Armenia, Merkel will meet newly elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who swept to power in May following popular protests. Pashinyan inherited a country plagued with corruption and serious economic woes. Its human rights problems include a lack of accountability for law enforcement abuses, high levels of domestic violence, violence and discrimination against LGBTI people, and barriers for children with disabilities, who are often institutionalized, accessing quality education. Merkel should raise those issues, and also insist the new leadership"s quest to restore justice and end corruption fully respects due process rights and does not turn into selective or politicized justice.
Azerbaijan has been engaged in a crackdown against critics, jailing dozens of human rights defenders, political activists, and journalists. The government also adopted a range of draconian laws and regulations, impeding independent groups" work, and their ability to secure funding. Last week, authorities released leading opposition figure Ilgar Mammadov, after more than five years of unjust imprisonment, but imposed travel restrictions and other conditions on his freedom. Others in jail, following politically motivated prosecutions, include youth activist Ilkin Rustamzade, blogger Mehman Huseynov, journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, and civic activists Giyas Ibrahimov and Bayram Mammadov. Merkel should urge President Ilham Aliyev to end this attack on government critics and release all those unjustly jailed.
Georgia"s leadership will be eager to show the visiting chancellor the impact of Russia"s occupation of two of its regions. But the visit also provides a chance for Merkel to signal concern about domestic rights issues, including harmful criminal drug policies, lack of accountability for abuses committed by law enforcement, and labor rights.
Moreover, Merkel should meet not just political leaders in the three countries, but also civil society groups. She can amplify their voices by making it clear to the authorities that the path to closer political and economic ties with Germany lies through respect for fundamental rights.
Want to say
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"Human rights" derive their foundation from justice. Justice is natural and connected to creation. From the moment of birth, this right is naturally granted to every person. Law, however, is something given — limited to what parliaments deem appropriate for us. The extent to which parliament represents justice and fairness is always a matter of debate.
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Why the Azerbaijani authorities use various institutions for the purpose of arresting journalists, writers, commentators, scientists, and activists is incomprehensible.
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In Ukraine, a brutal, bloody war caused by Russian aggression continues, claiming lives, destroying homes, demolishing infrastructure, and inflicting incalculable harm on the environment and surrounding natural ecosystems. Ukraine, more than anyone else in this world, strives for peace, as we bear the daily brutality of this Russian-Ukrainian war. We are at the forefront of the struggle for the right to life, freedom, and justice. Ukraine seeks a just peace that will lay a solid foundation for a stable future for Europe and the World, and the only way of achieving this is to implement President Volodymyr Zelensky's Peace Formula (the Ukrainian Peace Formula).
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On the eve of a large-scale flood approaching Baku, a disturbing incident occurred in the village of Buzovna, where a Lada Priora car fell into the ground, literally collapsing the road beneath it. The driver miraculously remained unharmed but vowed to seek justice, promising to file an official complaint with the prosecutor’s office against Azersu OJSC, the state-owned water supply and sewerage company, often associated with deeply rooted corruption.
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