France, Strasbourg, October 1 / Trend , A.Maharramli /
"I regret to note that there is other Council of Europe with other standards." This idea was expressed by the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE Samad Seyidov on Oct. 1 during debates on the report "The future of the Council of Europe in the light of its 60 years of experience" by the French MP Jean-Claude Mignon, held as part of the autumn session of the organization.
"The issues, problems and discussions that have been raised many times are very important. It is important for all countries, in particular for my country - Azerbaijan. About ten years ago, we joined the Council of Europe high hopes and big ambitions. We have worked together with our friends, and naturally feel a sense of pride in it. We have cancelled the death penalty in our country, completely changed the legislation of the country, created a new environment for NGOs and public organizations, all of which are important steps in ensuring freedom of speech. As you know, all these were done through the efforts and initiatives of the organization. In 2005, the organization adopted a resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh, which is part of my country. Assembly acted against terrorism and human rights violations and supported the establishment of democracy in the territory. I also welcome organization's activities against violations of women's rights. However, I regret to note that at the same time there is another Council of Europe with other standards. We see the Council of Europe, which has different approaches to similar problems, in different ways relates to the large and small countries, as well as various political parties. For example, let us look at the processes occurring in the European Democratic Group (EDG). Here there are some of our friends who are trying to change the rules of the game during the game. But it is unacceptable for the organization. I hope that we will keep all valuables left for us as a legacy by our founders, and we must do everything possible to do so," Seyidov said in his speech.