The European Parliament adopted a draft report on pre-election situation in Azerbaijan in Strasbourg on Thursday.
Having regard to its previous resolutions on Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus and, in particular, its resolution of 9 June 2005, its resolution of 20 November 2003 on 'Wider Europe - Neighbourhood: A New Framework for Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours', to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Azerbaijan, which entered into force on 1 July 1999, the EU Statement on Azerbaijan of 6 October 2005, reports by the OSCE ODIHR, publicized in September and October 2005, The European Parliament decrees - the forthcoming parliamentary elections on 6 November 2005 will put to the test the commitments made by the Government of Azerbaijan to pursue the democratic process.
-The Council's decision on Parliament's request to extend the ENP to the three countries of the South Caucasus provides Azerbaijan with new instruments for relations with the EU and the framework in which to integrate into EU policies beyond the present Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, вЂ" the ENP recognises Azerbaijan's European aspirations and the importance of Azerbaijan as a country with strong historical, cultural and economic links to the EU, and whereas a genuine and balanced partnership can only be developed on the basis of the shared values of democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, respect for minorities and civil liberties,
вЂ" Deeply concerned about the events which took place on 25 September and 1 and 9 October 2005 when the police violently prevented thousands of opposition activists belonging to the Azadlig bloc from holding a rally in Baku in defiance of a government ban, beating up journalists and arresting dozens of protesters,
вЂ" Worried about the situation concerning the opposition media and cases of abuse and attacks on journalists as well as threats and acts of defamation, pressure and harassment against human rights defenders,
вЂ" the OSCE Minsk Group's US, Russian and French co-chairs have recently met in Washington to discuss the current stage of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and in particular their planned meeting with the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers in Ljubljana,
- Deplores the refusal of the Azerbaijani authorities to grant authorisation for opposition rallies in the requested places in the centre of Baku and condemns the disproportionate and violent measures taken by the police against the demonstrators since September 2005;
- Calls for the immediate release of all those detained, asks for a full and fair investigation into the abovementioned events, including the responsibility of the law enforcement units, and urges Azerbaijan to guarantee the fundamental human rights of detained persons;
- Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to grant and respect freedom of assembly and to ensure that the forthcoming parliamentary elections will fully meet recognised international standards and the long-standing recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission,
- Urges the Azerbaijani authorities to do everything within their power to bring to justice those responsible for the murder of Elmar Husseinov,editor of the opposition news magazine 'Monitor';
- Feels strongly that the Minsk Group offers the best mechanism for settling the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and fully supports the efforts made since the beginning of 2005 by the Azerbaijani and Armenian governments to improve dialogue;