Azerbaijan, Baku, 30 March / corr. Trend S. Ilhamgizi/ The Council of Europe (CE) does not show its attitude to the egregious human rights violations in Armenia. Samad Seyidov, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation in Parliament Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Vice-President of PACE said to media on 30 March.
According to Seyidov, the CE held meetings with the leaders of the opposition and NGO members after elections in Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and other states. However, the Armenian opposition members have not been invited to the Council of Europe after the recent presidential election in the country.
"Unfortunately, CE does not pay the necessary attention to the gross infringement of suffrage, freedom of expression and the arrest of demonstrators in Armenia. CE states that there are problems of freedom of expression in Azerbaijan, but it turns blind eye to how the mass media outlets and even internet are closed down in Armenia. It shows that the position of CE toward Azerbaijan has assumed a political colouring," Seyidov said.
According to Seyidov, the CE criticizes the peaceful policy of Azerbaijan while it turns a blind eye to the infringement of law and human rights in Armenia. Azerbaijan has always opposed the double standards of the international organizations and Azerbaijani delegation will raise this issue in April session of PACE, he said.