Official chronicle
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev took part in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Sports Center "Sarhadci"("Border Guard") in Baku on Aug.31, the state new agency AzerTag reported. The Head of the State was informed that the sports center, built near the Khalglar Dostlugu subway station, had the open and closed halls and hotel. The center has all the conditions for training athletes-border guards and the organization of competitions at various levels. The Azerbaijani President got familiarized with the center. Aliyev thanked the participants of the event and wished success to the athletes.
On Sept. 1, after overhaul and reconstruction, the building of Union of Azerbaijan Composers reopened, AzerTaj state news agency reported. President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the reopening ceremony. The 3-storyed building has been built in 1912 and is a sample of architectural constructions of the capital. The President and First Lady familiarized themselves with the restoration and reconstruction work. Firangiz Alizade, chairperson of the Union of Composers, expressed the composers` gratitude to the Head of State for high-level reconstruction work at the historically landmark building. President Aliyev congratulated the builders and wished future successes.
On Sept. 3, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made a trip to country's Hajigabul region, AzerTaj state news agency reported. The President visited the Heydar Aliyev monument and the Heydar Aliyev Museum there. The head of state participated in the opening ceremony of the Hajigabul Children's Medical Center. Aliyev got familiarization with the Hajigabul Culture House after the overhaul. The president also inaugurated the brick-making plant.
Despite that the economic crisis gripped the world economy, the Azerbaijani economy continues to move forward, said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday, speaking before the public in Hajigabul region of the country. "It is possible to say that the global financial crisis that has gripped the world, only slightly affected Azerbaijan," said Ilham Aliyev. He said it resulted from the current economic policy of Azerbaijan, political stability and the timely resolution of existing problems in the country. Sometimes, our economic success is connected with the energy sector in Azerbaijan. But look, in Azerbaijan, the non-oil sector develops more rapidly than the oil sector. Why?! Because we could efficiently use our opportunities and allocate funds to infrastructure projects. Great funds are allocated to develop agriculture and entrepreneurship and thus, Azerbaijan is developing comprehensively. "Over the past years, much have done in all regions of the country to improve the living conditions, including building schools, improving infrastructure, building medical facilities, power plants," said Ilham Aliyev. "This development is also observed in Hajigabul region of the country. Over the past five years, an increase in the production of various products, overall economic growth have been observed," said Ilham Aliyev.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree making amendments and additions to the Law on State register of territorial entities of the Azerbaijan Republic, AzerTAj state news agency reported. Within two months, the Cabinet of Ministers is in charge of submitting to the President the proposals on bringing existing legislation into conformity with the law, and also harmonizing the law with the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan and relevant bodies of executive power.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree to improve a logistics base of the Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh organization.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliev signed a decree conferring the title of "Honored Artist of Azerbaijan Republic" upon Rza Avsharov for his services in the field of the fine arts of the country, AzerTAj state news agency reported.
On Sept. 1, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on awarding the country's 50 schools, which succeeded in the contest "The Best Secondary School", held in 2008-2009 academic year, AzerTaj state news agency reported. Under the president's decree, 50 secondary schools in the country were awarded premiums worth 10,000 manat.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev congratulated the heads of Libya, Slovakia and Uzbekistan, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Ivan Gašparovič, and Islam Karimov on the national holidays of these countries. The Azerbaijani President congratulated his Libyan counterpart on the national holiday - the Day of the Great Revolution. In the letter of congratulations, the President expressed his confidence that the friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Libya will always be a strong foundation for the development of cooperation in all fields. The Azerbaijani President congratulated the head of Slovakia on the national holiday - the Constitution Day. In the letter of congratulations, Aliyev expressed hope that the relations between the two countries will always develop in line with mutual interests. The Azerbaijani President congratulated the Uzbek President on the national holiday - the Independence Day. The President expressed confidence in the continuation of joint efforts to strengthen bilateral and friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. The Azerbaijani President wished the heads of these states robust health and success, as well as solidarity and prosperity to the friendly nations.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev congratulated Nguyen Minh Triet, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the Independence Day, AzerTaj state news agency reported on Sep.1. President Ilham Aliyev also expressed confidence that the Azerbaijan-Vietnam relations will develop on the basis of friendship and cooperation. The head of Azerbaijan wished Minh Triet good health and success, the friendly Vietnamese people - peace and prosperity.
On September 3, the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow made a telephone call to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev. The Turkmen leader congratulated President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan on holy month of Ramadan, AzerTAj state news agency reported. President Ilham Aliyev in turn congratulated his Turkmen counterpart. They exchanged views on bilateral relations and a number of other issues of mutual interest. The Presidents also underlined the two countries have wide potential to further strengthen mutual cooperation.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sent a congratulations letter to the Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on occasion of the national holiday of Independence Day, AzerTaj state news agency said on September 5. Azerbaijani President expressed hope for further development of friendly relations between two countries.
Parliament
Following the amendments to the Family Code, marriage age for women will be increased from 17 to 18 in Azerbaijan. In 2008, about 5,000 from 96,000 marriages have been contracted by young people under 18. We are concerned on that. Marriages contracted in the immature age are fraught with negative consequences," Head of the permanent parliamentary committee on social policy, Hadi Rajabli told the official website of the ruling New Azerbaijan party. The law "On wedding ceremonies" is also on the agenda of the autumn session of Parliament. There were tense debates on this issue for a long time. However the public attitude to this issue is ambiguous. A group of people opposed to the law regulating marriage and funeral rites, Rajabli said. "The committee on social policy came to the decision that the law "On licensing" should be amended before submitting the law "On customs" for discussions. The Culture and Tourism Ministry should be entitled to license houses of wedding celebrations, where the ceremony is held. This is the right way to prevent evidences of waste and excesses that are taking place at the wedding parties in these houses. Hotels operates through licensing, why not to be apply such licensing with respect to houses of wedding celebrations?" Rajabli said.
Resuming the talks on the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia will have a positive impact on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the members of the Azerbaijani parliament believe. "Resuming the talks between Turkey and Armenia shows that the strategic projects in the Caucasus region are always on the agenda," Azerbaijani Parliamentarian, Zahid Oruj said to Trend on Sept. 1. On Aug. 31, Turkey and Armenia in the talks mediated by Switzerland reached an agreement to launch "internal political consultations" to sign the Protocol on Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and Protocol on Development of Bilateral Relations, the Turkish Foreign Ministry reported. Political consultations will be completed within six weeks, and following that two protocols will be signed and submitted to the two countries' parliaments for approval. At present Turkey does not plan to open the borders with Armenia, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davudoglu said. Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993. Oruj said the United States and Russia continue to implement projects related to the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border. "There is no doubt that this issue directly affects Azerbaijan's interests, so we worry about in what form, we will participate in this project. In addition, returning the issue worrying the Azerbaijani-Turkish society to the agenda, which was initiated by the Turkish political elite, gives a ground to say that we are on the verge of the major political processes," the parliamentarian said. He said that's why Azerbaijan should be fully prepared. "First and foremost, we must think about how the Turkish-Azerbaijani relations will be, if the 'roadmap', which will be approved at the Turkish and Armenian parliaments, contradicts the interests of Azerbaijan. Secondly, we have to specify in which form Azerbaijan will participate in the implementation of this plan in the future, and resist processes, which will be directed against our national interests," said Oruj. The parliamentarian said the unity of the Azerbaijani society with the national government is necessary. "Otherwise, it will be difficult to resist," said Oruj. The beginning of political consultations between Turkey and Armenia is part of the ongoing processes in parallel, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Security and Defense Aydin Mirzazade, told Trend . He said the talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are also part of this process. "A few days ago, President Ilham Aliyev stated about some progress in these negotiations. Hence, it is expected that certain steps related to the settlement of the conflict will be taken. Parallel to this, the talks on the normalization of the Turkish-Armenian relations may also be held," said the parliamentarian. He said Armenia is interested in leaving the blockade. "The only way to achieve this is to give up territorial claims on neighboring countries and to build civilized relations with them. If Armenia withdraws its troops from the Azerbaijani territories, to prepare for these processes, the talks can also be held with Turkey to restore the diplomatic relations," said Mirzazade.
Report by the Azerbaijani MPs was approved by the Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). "My report under the topic "Environmental impacts of noise and light pollution", approved at the meeting of the Committee on environment, agriculture and regional issues, will be discussed at the autumn session of the Assembly," a member of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE Rafael Huseynov told Trend on September 4. According to Huseynov, the report, which was discussed in the Paris office of the Council of Europe, deals not only with the problems of Azerbaijan, but also the problems of all European states. "Europe seriously approaches to address this issue and considers it not only as a problem of environmental pollution, but also violation of human rights," said the deputy. According to Huseynov, known French experts attended discussions on the report. "Other discussion on my report will be held in the spring of 2010 in Azerbaijan. This meeting of the Committee will be attended by both European and Azerbaijani MPs," Huseynov said.
The bill, prepared by Armenian Parliamentarians, that Armenians suffered genocide in Baku is absurd, Azerbaijani MPs said. "Armenians left Baku easily. They sold their houses and other property. Azerbaijanis were forcedly driven away from Armenia," MP, scientist-historian, Jamil Hasanli, told Trend on September 5. On September 4, the permanent parliamentary commission on foreign affairs of the Armenian parliament discussed draft statement 'Azerbaijani authorities' genocide towards the Armenian population living in Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in 1988-1992'. The Armenian parliament will raise this issue for discussion. Hasanli said that Azerbaijanis even helped Armenians to hide when any hard situation occurred. "This document is another slander as all other Armenian actions," chairman of the parliamentary commission on human rights, Rabiyyat Aslanova, told Trend . She said that no document, worked out by the Armenian side, was true. "It will be considered as next untruth against Azerbaijan. Entire world is aware of Armenians' actions," Aslanova said. Over 1 million refugees and forcedly displaced people live in Azerbaijan. About 250,000 people are ethnic Azerbaijanis driven away from Armenia in 1988-1992, 600,000 - from Azerbaijani occupied territories, 100,000 - from Azerbaijani and Armenian border regions. Thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed in Armenia.
A bill on peacekeeping forces will be discussed at the autumn session of the Azerbaijani Parliament, First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, MP Ziyafat Asgarov, briefed the media on Sept. 4. "I believe this bill is perspective and hope that it will solve the problem of peacekeepers. The bill will reflect the solution of peacekeepers' logistical problems," Asgarov said. Today, Azerbaijan's peacekeeping forces are serving in Afghanistan. A military doctrine is expected to be adopted. "According to the information, the document is under improvement," the MP said. The bill was expected to be submitted to the parliament for discussions at the last session.
Political movements
Secretary on the Press and Propaganda of the Azerbaijani National Independence opposition party, Ali Orujev, will nominate his candidature at municipal elections. "I will nominate my candidature at municipal elections from Binagadi region where I live. Organization men of the party intend to demonstrate their potential via active participation at elections," Orujev told Trend on August 31. Azerbaijani municipal elections are scheduled for mid. of December 2009. Municipal elections were held twice in 1999 and 2004. The Azerbaijani Parliament adopted the law 'Unification of several municipalities' in May. Number of municipalities was reduced from 2,757 to 1,766 in Azerbaijan. Orujev said that the Azerbaijani National Independence opposition party will nominate their candidatures on most of municipalities. "Opposition parties have no opportunities to nominate candidatures in all Azerbaijani municipalities in this situation," representative of the Azerbaijani National Independence opposition party said. Orujev said that the upcoming municipal elections will be held amid high activity of voters.
Azerbaijani opposition party will nominate 432 people at the municipal elections in regions. "The process to identify candidates to municipalities in different districts of Baku will be completed by Sept. 15," chairman of the Azerbaijani Liberal Democratic Party, Fuad Aliyev, told Trend on August 31. Azerbaijani municipal elections are scheduled for mid. of December 2009. Municipal elections were held twice in 1999 and 2004. The Azerbaijani Parliament adopted the law 'Unification of several municipalities' in May. Aliyev said that about 600 members of the party were elected to local municipalities at previous elections. "I think that that the number of members of our party, elected in municipalities, will not decrease at the upcoming elections," the chairman said. Liberal-Democratic party was established in 1999. Party chairman Zakir Mammadov died in 2000.
"The main reason is the low activity of voters in the regions and that the opposition's opportunities to control over the election at the regional level are significantly limited," head of the Great Establishment Party (GEP), MP, Fazil Mustafa, said. Azerbaijan will hold the municipal elections in December 2009. Before, Azerbaijan held municipal elections in 1999 and 2004. The Azerbaijani Parliament adopted a law on unification of municipalities. Under the law, number of municipalities decreased from 2,757 to 1,766. The opposition may gain a serious success in case voting is organized on high level and observation. Therefore, opposition's gaining several places seems important, Mustafa added. The opposition GEP was established in 2004 and registered in 2005. The chairman of the party Fazil Mustafa is member of Azerbaijani parliament. He won 2.4 percent of votes in the 2008 presidential elections. Victory of radical opposition in the municipal elections seems unpersuasive, chairman of the Liberal-Democratic party (LDPA), Fuad Aliyev, told Trend on Aug.31. The candidates from the constructive opposition parties have more opportunity to gain success. "I believe that the opposition parties which participated in the 2008 presidential election, will be more successful in the municipal elections," the chairman said.
The Azerbaijani Greens Party (AGP) and the opposition Umid party began to develop joint document on cooperation. "The document may be favorable basis for the creation of the coalition. The basic principles in the document include maintaining parties' independence, equal participation in elections and sharing logistics base of the parties. The document is expected to be developed by late this week," Mais Gulaliyev, chairman of the AGP told Trend on Sep.1. The cooperation in the upcoming municipal, parliamentary and presidential elections will be reflected in the document. After its completion, the document will be discussed at both parties' meeting and then submitted for the public discussions. The both parties do not want to hurry the development of the document. If the document satisfies the both parties, it will be possible to jointly participate in municipal elections, Gulaliyev added. Gulaliyev believe this document may be an example for the opposition camp. "Unity between the parties should not be in words, but be based on a serious document," the chairman of the AGP said.
The Azerbaijani National Socialist Party is compiling a list of candidates, who may participate in the municipal elections. The party decided to attend the elections independently. At present, the party determines candidates, who will be nominated from the municipalities. The final list is still to be prepared, the ANSP chairman's deputy on public relations, Rustam Shahsuvarov, told Trend on Sept.2. Azerbaijan will hold the municipal elections in December 2009. The party's regional organizations have launched preparations for the municipal elections. The preparations are under the party leadership's control, the representative of the party said. The ANSP has over 20 regional organizations and at present the party conducts work on establishment of its l organizations in six regions, Shahsuvarov added. The ANSP was founded in October, 2008 and so far, has not passed a state registration.
The Azerbaijani People's Socialist Party (APSP) and Azerbaijani Left Democrats Party (ALDP) do not hurry to unify. Both parties will attend individually the forum of the left forces scheduled for October. Discussions on unification of the parties will be continued after the forum, the APSP deputy head on public relations, Rustam Shahsuvarov, told Trend on Sept. 3. The APSP and the ALDP negotiate on the unification of the parties, chairman of the ALDP, Elshan Manafov, told Trend earlier. A political decision may be made to unify the parties before the municipal elections, Manafov added. According to Shahsuvarov, the unification of parties is real. "The parties are quite close to each other from ideological and political points of view," Shahsuvarov added.
The union, which unites several opposition parties, is likely to hold protest action in front of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. The rally supported by the Karabakh Liberation Organization will demand to refuse from the Madrid principles on the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, head of the Azadlig party represented in the Union for Democracy told Trend on Sept.3. "We will appeal to the Baku Executive Power to sanction a protest action to be held at 12:00 on Sept.24. We will attempt to hold the rally regardless of reply," Oruj said.
The ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) is devising the concept concerning the municipal elections. "The party's regional organizations have begun to prepare for the elections. Some local organizations have established the election headquarters," the NAP Deputy Chairman and MP Ali Ahmadov told journalists on Sept. 5. It is expected that the municipal elections in Azerbaijan will be held in mid-December. The country's youth are not enough represented in the municipalities," said Ahmadov. "The Azerbaijani youth and young party members must actively participate in the municipal elections. The party also created all the opportunities for women to widely join the municipalities," he said. The municipalities are undergoing a process to improve their activities," he said. "This year our main goal is to increase work capacity of municipalities. The party has strengthened its work in this direction," said Ahmadov.
Elections
The number of people in Azerbaijan who wish to participate in the municipal elections, which powers have not been completed, has increased. "22 municipalities have applied to the Central Election Committee to ensure their participation in the upcoming municipal elections, even though their terms are not yet over.The commission is looking at these applications," Secretary of the Central Election Committee, Natiq Mammadov, told Trend on August 28. The repeat and additional municipal elections held in Azerbaijan in 2006 covered 81 municipalities. Their terms will be over by 2011. Azerbaijani municipal elections are scheduled for mid October 2009. The number of people who have applied to the Central Election Committee increased by 6 early this week. "Each municipality chairman has the right to give up his authority. If a person does this and has no other obligations in this regard, his powers must be passed to other person, since the authority in the municipalities must continue to work", Mammadov said. The Secretary of the Central Election Committee is organizing the participation in the upcoming municipal elections, hoping for more campaigning opportunities and a wider audience.
The Azerbaijani Central Election Commission (CEC) can answer the appeal from the Azerbaijani opposition group, the Civil Movement for Karabakh and the Republic. The movement made an appeal for a report on some Election Code articles. The CEC comment on the Election Code articles is not unusual. It would be better if the political parties were to appeal to the relevant commission of the Azerbaijani Parliament, Director of Parliament's Law Department, Irada Hajiyeva, told Trend on Sept.2. The Civil Movement for Karabakh and the Republic was established on the eve of the referendum held on March 18. The Popular Front of Azerbaijan, the Citizen and Development Party, Liberal Party, Democratic Party, the Musavat and Umid parties, as well as a number of public organizations, are represented in the Civil Movement for Karabakh and the Republic. Azerbaijani municipal elections are scheduled for mid December, 2009. Furthermore, Hajiyeva said she he has not received any appeal so far. "The CEC General Department may receive this appeal," she added. The movement has made an appeal to the CEC, Chairman of the Citizen and Development Party, represented in the movement, Ali Aliyev, told Trend on Sept.2.
Foreign policy
Head of the Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan parliamentary working group believes the Caspian littoral countries should seek to demilitarize the Caspian Sea. Usually, the officials of the Caspian littoral countries states on the demilitarization of the Caspian Sea. In this regard, it will be better to demilitarize the Caspian Sea, Head of the Azerbaijani parliamentary Azerbaijani-Turkmen parliamentary working group, Astan Shahverdiyev told trend News. Turkmenistan to quickly create a naval base of the Defense Ministry and border guards at the Caspian Sea, said on Sunday at the enlarged meeting of the State Security Council of Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, RIA Novosti reported. Speaking at an expanded Security Council meeting, the President stressed that Turkmenistan, along with land borders also has a long maritime border, which must be carefully guarded, Turkmen television reported. "On my instructions, special work is currently carried out to strengthen our maritime borders and for the protection of the Caspian coast, related to our state, from foreign attacks," Berdimuhamedov said. He said he would be an effective system of locating and optical monitoring of the marine waters. According to Shahverdiyev, Turkmenistan is the sovereign country and the establishment of the naval base on the Caspian Sea is its own business. "However, I think that Turkmenistan seeks to evolve a problem to the Caspian littoral counties with this," Shahverdiyev added.
The members of the Azerbaijani Parliament believe Turkmenistan's intention to create a naval base to protect its sea borders will not cause tensions amongst Caspian littoral countries. "Turkmenistan as a sovereign country uses its rights and takes the steps which each country takes to protect its borders," Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, Aydin Mirzazade said. Turkmenistan to quickly create a naval base of the Defense Ministry and border guards at the Caspian Sea, said on Sunday at the enlarged meeting of the State Security Council of Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, RIA Novosti reported. Speaking at an expanded Security Council meeting, the President stressed that Turkmenistan, along with land borders also has a long maritime border, which must be carefully guarded, Turkmen television reported. "In this connection, on my instructions, special work is currently carried out to strengthen our maritime borders and for the protection of the Caspian coast, related to our state, from foreign attacks," said Berdimuhamedov. He said that would be an effective system of locating and optical monitoring of the marine waters. Mirzazade said everybody should respect this right of Turkmenistan which is a neighbor and friend with Azerbaijan. "If an assistance is asked from Azerbaijan on this issue in the future, I think, Azerbaijan will not refuse it, because Azerbaijan has a great experience on this issue and professional naval forces which is recognized by the world," the parliamentarian said. The deputy chairman of the committee said there will not be any danger from Azerbaijan, as one of five Caspian littoral countries, to Turkmenistan. "Azerbaijan is a peace loving country and respect territorial integrity and sovereignty of neighbor countries," Mirzazade stressed. "Almost the Caspian littoral countries have naval forces and so, this step of Turkmenistan is normal," Chairman of the Great Establishment Party, Fazil Mustafa, told Trend on Aug. 31. Mustafa said if Turkmenistan creates naval forces for its military purposes, this indicates a danger. "It is not real that Turkmenistan will take this step in the Caspian Sea, because serious problems can occur with Russia and Iran," the parliamentarian said.
An agenda of the next meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the "Organization for democracy and economic development - GUAM" will be prepared by the organization's national coordinators in Kiev, GUAM Secretary General Valeri Chechelashvili, told Trend news on Sept.2.
The national coordinators of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Moldova will meet in Kiev on Sept.10-11, Chechelashvili said."Generally, their meeting will be dedicated to formulation of the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Council of GUAM countries' Foreign Ministers to be held at the UN General Assembly in New York in late September," the Secretary General said.
With the support of the Council of Europe (CE), Azerbaijan will host an international youth conference. The international conference titled "The Realities of Youth" will be held in Baku and Ganja with the support of the CE and the Organization of the Ministry of Youth and Sport and the Center "Salto Youth Resurs". The event will take place on Oct. 19-25, according to information released by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The conference aims to publicize youth policy, implemented in Azerbaijan, to hold discussions on various topics and have a broad discussion of future projects of the "Youth in Action" program. The event will be attended by members of the Council of Europe, officials from national councils and youth organizations in Turkey
Regnum news agency often makes reports that form a contradictory image about the agency, its staff potential and general policies, said Elnur Aslanov, department head of Azerbaijan Presidential Administration, commenting on the recent report of the Regnum agency about the meeting, held yesterday under the chairmanship of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, on the Turkish-Armenian agreements. If to take into account that this is a Russian-based agency, so it needs to see such provocative pranks of Regnum news agency as an effort to sow discord between Azerbaijan and Russia, to mislead the public opinion of the CIS countries. Such information insinuations are contrary to the policy, which is implemented by the heads of the two states, which found its reflection in the Treaty of Friendship and Strategic Partnership. Effective and mutually beneficial relationships based on trust and partnership have developed between the two countries. Concerning the report made on September 1, it is possible to assure that firstly, no emergency meeting took place with the participation of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Azerbaijan's position on the agreements reached and future prospects for the opening of Turkish-Armenian border was expressed in the statement by the Foreign Ministry. Secondly, we are confused and concerned over knowingly false information concerning any orders given by the tax authorities of Azerbaijan to conduct extensive inspections of all businesses with Turkish capital. Azerbaijan is a country of democratic traditions, where foreign capital can feel at home. It is necessary to note with deep regret that since its establishment, Russia's Regnum news agency has been taking a one-sided position in covering the processes in Azerbaijan, in particular on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Permanent distortion of facts, fictions, provocation and disrespect for the principle of territorial integrity were a key theme in the work of this news resource. Specific pro-Armenian position of the agency's management, lobbied by the Armenian capital, and the highly questionable political statements such as: "Russia and Armenia need independent Kurdistan" in general perplex and fully contradict to the policies of fairness. We clearly know the purpose of such reports prepared by the Armenian agitprop, which are not only insulting, but also used to harm the relations between Azerbaijan and its neighbors, which are based on friendship and mutual understanding.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov spoke with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, over the phone on September 3. At present, Ahmet Davutoglu is in Egypt, Turkish information agency, Anadolu, said. The two ministers discussed the development of Turkish-Armenian relations, including the recently reached agreement on establishing diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia.
Turkey and Armenia reached the agreement to launch internal political consultations, concluding the 'Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations' and the 'Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations' at Monday's talks, which were held under mediation by Switzerland.
China supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, urges the parties to follow the relevant resolutions from the UN Security Council and is for a peaceful solution to the conflict with the support of the international community, said Zhang Yannian, the Chinese Ambassador to Azerbaijan. "China supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict [...],as Azerbaijan supports China's territorial integrity and sovereignty, does not hold any official meetings with Taiwan and recognizes China's common and legitimate government," the ambassador said at the Center for Strategic Studies in the presence of the Azerbaijani President on Sept. 4. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
The relations between China and Azerbaijan are developing rapidly, the ambassador said. The countries support each other in important issues, and China provides assistance to Azerbaijan for rapid entry into the WTO, he added. "There is growing business cooperation between our countries and over the past year the trade turnover between the two countries totaled $800 million," the diplomat said. "Furthermore, there are 15 large Chinese enterprises in Azerbaijan, with a total investment of 500 million dollars," he said.
According to the ambassador, currently there is no problem for mutually beneficial cooperation.
Ian Micallef, President a.i. of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan to assess the situation of local democracy in the country after the constitutional referendum of 18 March 2009, statement placed on the official website of Council of Europe says. Visit is scheduled for September 10-14. He will meet Speaker of the Parliament Oqtay Asadov, Head of the Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Justice Minister Fikrat Mammadov, as well as members of the Azerbaijani delegations to the Congress and to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE). There will be an exchange of views with representatives of the opposition parties. Further background discussions are planned with NGOs, the media and with representatives of the diplomatic community in Baku. Ian Micallef will report on the results of the visit to the Bureau of the Congress, meeting in Strasbourg on 21 September 2009.
Human rights
The U.S embassy to Azerbaijan and Counterpart international organization repaired a bathroom in the boarding school for hard-of-hearing children No3 of Nizami region of Baku within 'Project of small reconstruction'. Repair was made under cooperation and financial support of the U.S Department of State. Director of Сounterpart international program on CIS countries, Sergey Khromchenko, said that the program has been implemented for 12 years. The program distributes humanitarian aid among vulnerable layers of the population. The program is implemented in eight countries of the former USSR. About $65 million was spent for humanitarian aid within the program for 12 years. They have helped nearly 1 million people, 70 percent are internally displaced people, Khromchenko said. Three of six projects implemented in Azerbaijan are aimed at the work with orphanages, the rest three - at assistance to internally displaced people and their children.
A group of Azerbaijani MPs have made a proposal on forced marriage contracts. The Azerbaijani Family Code does include marriage contracts, but they are not compulsory. The MPs who are for making marriage contracts mandatory believe that otherwise, this article of the code is not efficient. Many experts argue that a general mentality prevents the spread of the practice of signing marriage contracts. For six months of 2008, marriage contracts were made in only 13 of 33,400 marriages, the Justice Ministry's Central Registration and Notary Department reported. In 2007, marriage contracts were signed in only 16 of 81,756 marriages, in 2006 it was 33 of 79,000 and in 2005 only 19 of 71,619 marriages. The marriage contract is an agreement between couples getting married and defines the spouses' property rights and obligations during marriage or upon divorce. The marriage contract is prepared in writing and approved by attorneys. A marriage contract defines the rights and responsibilities for both parties' mutual maintenance, the sharing of household expenditure and each other's income and it determines the rights for the division of property between the parties in a divorce settlement. Marriage contracts apply to spouses' existing and future properties. The contract can be signed before or after the marriage; it enters into force when the parties enter into marriage. The contract defines the legal organization of the property. It is unacceptable to make marriage contracts by force, Judge of the Supreme Court, Asad Mirzaliyev, told Trend . He said the law gives a person the freedom to choose the contract. "If it was revealed that the case involved coercion, then the contract would be deemed invalid," said the judge. Lawyer Gurban Mammadov spoke in favor of a mandatory marriage contract. If it is in society's interests, freedom to choose it can be limited, Mammadov said. "The interests of hundreds of disadvantaged women and children require forced marriage contracts," said the lawyer. Despite the relative increase in marriage contracts, the practice is not widespread, the Justice Ministry's Central Registration and Notary Department reported. The department connects the reason to a general mentality. An employee of the Justice Ministry sees the way out of the situation not in coercion, but in promotion of the marriage contract. Lawyer Leyla Madatova is also opposed to forced marriage contracts. She said that coercion violates the principle of freedom of contract. Signing marriage contracts won't solve the problem, says the lawyer.
"Our legislation has enough articles defending the interests of both husband and wife. Marriage contracts are very important in protecting individuals, but people are just not interested in dividing the property. People with low-incomes do not need to sign marriage contracts," said Madatova. Forced marriage contracts are not practiced in the world, Madatov said, adding that the problems of divorced and homeless women must be addressed in a broader context. "A lot could be achieved by providing women with apartments, education and employment. It is impossible to solve women's problems by forcing their husbands to sign marriage contracts. Contracts will not solve homeless women's problems," said the lawyer. According to statistics, the large number of property conflicts dealt with in court is the result of family conflicts and the characters of the property in question. Signing marriage contracts would lead to a reduction of cases such as these.
The fate of 50 missing people was clarified in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People removed names of 50 people from the list of people missing during the Nagorno-Karabakh war, AzerTAj state news agency reported. It was found out that 18 of these individuals survived in the battles and environments, 20 died during combat operations and were buried after the identification of the bodies, eight people were repeatedly named in the list, as well as four people missed not in the conflict zone. "The total number of missing people and hostages is 4,166 people. Of them, 3,364 are military and 795 civilians. Amongst civilians, 47 are under-age children, 255 - women and 354 - old people," the same source said. The analysis of materials received by the State Commission established that 552 people died in captivity - they were killed or died for various reasons. The names of 137 people are known and the names of 74 people remains unclear. "Through the efforts of the Commission, were freed 1,396 prisoners and hostages, including 343 women and 1353 men," said in the message.
The Chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliamentary Committee supports an amendment to the "Immigration" Law.
"Recently, the flow of immigration to Azerbaijan has increased. The number of visitors from China, Afghanistan and Pakistan has increased," the Chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, Rabiyat Aslanov, said on the ruling New Azerbaijan Party's official website. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree to apply the "single window" principle to the immigration management in early 2009. According to official information, the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry registered over 54,000 immigrants. The majority of the immigrants are from Georgia, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, China, Nigeria and other countries. Aslanova currently believes the main duty of the state is to establish the status of immigrants. "Azerbaijan's socio-economic development has drawn the world's attention. The increase in immigration is connected to this fact," said the committee chairman. The majority of immigrants in the country are workers. "Of course, this matter is regulated in accordance with the law and the increase in the flow of immigration necessitates an amendment to the relevant legislation," said Aslanova.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The Turkish oppositional National Movement Party (MHP) considers that negotiating with Armenia, Turkey will not take steps contrary to the interests of Azerbaijan. "Turkey will not take steps against the interests of Azerbaijan, for the sake of diplomatic relations with Armenia", Turkish MP from the MHP, Shenol Bal, told Trend over the telephone. During the negotiations under the mediation of Switzerland, Turkey and Armenia reached an agreement to launch "internal political consultations" regarding the signing of the "Protocol on establishment of diplomatic relations "and" Protocol on the development of bilateral relations," Turkish Foreign Ministry said. The political consultations will complete within six weeks. Afterwards, two protocols to be submitted for approval by the parliaments of two countries will be signed," the same source added. "Turkey's objective is to achieve the best relations with its neighbors and ensure peace and stability in the Caucasus," Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davudoglu, said in an interview with NTV TV channel. Ankara would consider the interests of Azerbaijan at each stage of normalization of the relations with Armenia, Davudoglu added. The Turkish prime minister, formally guaranteed Azerbaijan that the border with Armenia will not be disclosed until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflictis settled," Bal said. "Turkey has always been side by side with Azerbaijan. Ankara will never take action countering the brotherly nation's interests," Bal added.
Opening of the Armenian-Turkish border without the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict contradicts Azerbaijan's national interests, official Baku believes. "Azerbaijan's position on this issue bases on numerous statements by the Turkish senior officials. Thus, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking at the Azerbaijani Parliament on May 14, said: "Turkey closed its borders with Armenia after Armenia occupied the Azerbaijani lands. The borders can be opened after the end of the occupation. We will not change this position until our Azerbaijani brothers agree with it. Everything is interconnected and cannot be divided," the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's Spokesman, Elkhan Polukhov told Trend . The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry once again reports that the definition of relations with other states, in principle, is the sovereign right of every state. "However, regarding that this issue directly affects the national interests of Azerbaijan, opening of the Armenian-Turkish border without the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is contrary to the national interests of Azerbaijan," Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said. On Aug. 31, Turkey and Armenia in the talks mediated by Switzerland reached an agreement to launch "internal political consultations" to sign the Protocol on Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and Protocol on Development of Bilateral Relations, RIA Novosti reported with the reference to the Turkish Foreign Ministry. "Political consultations will be completed within six weeks, and following that two protocols will be signed and submitted to the two countries' parliaments for approval," the ministry said. ""Both protocols create a base for normalizing bilateral relations," the Turkish Foreign Ministry stressed. Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993.
"Normalization of bilateral relations will further guarantee peace and stability in region. Turkey and Armenia are determined to make overall efforts under the support of Switzerland," the Turkish Foreign Minister reported.
On Aug. 31, the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire at Azerbaijani troops from the names heights and areas outside the Gulustan village in the Goranboy region at 13:35-13:45 and 16:50-17:22, from the names heights in the Terter region at 14:00-14:15 and on Sept. 1 from the areas outside the Kuropatkino village in the Khojavand region at 00:40-00:55, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported. The Azerbaijani troops answered their fire. No causalities were reported.
On Sept. 1, the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire at Azerbaijani troops from areas outside the Kangarli village in the Agdam region at 03:40-03:50 and from the nameless heights and near the Kuropatkino village in the Khojavand region at 05:40-05:55, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported. The Azerbaijani troops answered their fire. No causalities were reported.
On Sept. 2, the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire at Azerbaijani troops. The shots were fired from the Kuropatkino village of Hojavend region at 17:30-17:35, Garakhanbayli village of Fizuli region at 18:50-19:00, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said. The Azerbaijani troops answered their fire. No causalities were reported.
The ceasefire has been violated by 199 times on the Azerbaijan-Armenia contact line from mid June to early September, Spokesman of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, Eldar Sabiroglu said on Sept.3. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations. The OSCE has held regular monitoring since the ceasefire agreement was achieved.
According to Sabiroglu, the ceasefire was broken mostly in Khojavand, Goranboy, Agdam and Tartar.
In 2009, the OSCE held only four monitoring on the Azerbaijan-Armenia contact line, Sabiroglu added.
On Sept. 4, the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire at Azerbaijani troops from areas outside the Shuraabad village in the Agdam region at 05:20-05:40, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported. The Azerbaijani troops answered their fire. No causalities were reported.