Published: December 03, 2005
United States Condemns Police Attack on Azerbaijan Demonstrators
By Jeffrey Thomas, Washington File
But U.S. is encouraged by President Aliyev's attempt to address election flaws
Washington -- The United States is condemning the use of force against peaceful protestors in Azerbaijan but also says it is encouraged by the attempts of President Ilham Aliyev and his government to address shortcomings in recent parliamentary elections.
The violence took place at an opposition rally November 26 protesting the elections, which gave a landslide victory to Aliyev's party but were deemed by international observers not to have met international standards.
"The United States was very disappointed and very perplexed when the police used excessive force against peaceful supporters of the opposition Azadliq bloc in Baku, who were exercising their right to freedom of assembly on November 26," U.S. diplomat Julie Finley told the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) December 1 in Vienna, Austria.
The United States has said it believes that the November 6 parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan showed "improvement over previous elections in some areas," but it shares the view of international observers that the elections did not meet a number of international standards.
Ambassador Finley, the permanent U.S. representative to the OSCE, described what happened: "Police rushed into the square where the demonstrators were rallying, wielded truncheons and turned water cannons against them," she said. "Many were injured, including women and children," she added.
"The United States strongly condemns this unjustified and unprovoked use of force," Finley said. "It contravened citizens' rights to freedom of expression and assembly and violated core OSCE principles. We urge the government to investigate the incidents and punish those responsible."
The United States Embassy in Azerbaijan put out a statement shortly after the incident condemning the violent breakup of what it said was a peaceful opposition protest.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack addressed the violence again during the daily press briefing November 28: "We would expect that the government of Azerbaijan hold to account those responsible for the violence against peaceful protestors."
McCormack noted that the United States has expressed serious concerns about the recent elections in Azerbaijan and that the international election observation mission judged the election process not to have met all the international standards for a free and fair election.
But there have also been some positive developments, he added. He cited as one example the fact that the government has fired several individuals who were found to be involved in fraudulent voting. "That is certainly positive," he said.
Once the election process has been completed "in the not too distant future," McCormack promised journalists November 28 "to have an overall assessment." But he declined to offer an overall assessment of the elections before all the results are certified and all the final investigations into allegations of fraud have been completed.
In her remarks to the OSCE Permanent Council, Finley, too, noted some of the positive post-election developments: "My Government was encouraged by the response of President Aliyev and his government as they began to address flaws in the election process and respond to the findings in the report of the International Election Observation Mission," she said.
As positive examples, she cited the annulling of results in four constituencies and the promise to rerun those elections at a future date; the overturning of two results in favor of opposition candidates; the firing of three local government officials for election interference; and the opening of at least 15 criminal cases by the Prosecutor General.
"We considered these actions to be important first steps in correcting problems in the elections, although more remains to be done," Finley said.
"Finally, during this tense post-election period, we urge all Azerbaijani citizens and authorities to remain calm and exercise restraint," Finley said in concluding her statement to the OSCE.
The United States repeatedly has called on all citizens of Azerbaijan to address complaints about election violations through legal and peaceful channels and to refrain from violence and simultaneously the has urged the government of Azerbaijan to allow for peaceful freedom of assembly and to exercise restraint in responding to protests. (See statement.)
The Statement of preliminary findings and conclusions on the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan is available on the OSCE/ODIHR Web site.
Source: U.S. Department of State
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