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BAKU. September 7, 2010: Tina Kaidanow, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the State Department visited Baku on September 7. Tomorrow Kaidanow will have meetings with the high-ranking officials and representatives of the civil society, reported the U.S. Embassy to Azerbaijan (Turan).

BAKU. September 6, 2010: The forum “Support to Freedom of Speech and Expression” will take place in Baku on September 7-9. This is what Arif Aliyev, chairman of Yeni Nesil (New Generation) journalism union, organized of the forum, has told about the forum to Objective TV.

- What is the purpose of the forum?

- Almost a year and half ago we have decided to hold such a forum. We think that protection of freedom of speech is a public mission and at the forum we are going to find out if there is a public opinion in Azerbaijan and if people are ready to express their civil position.

- Has the government supported the forum?

BAKU. September 6, 2010: Special OSCE representative for freedom of press Dunja Mijatovic called on Azerbaijani authorities to abolish repressive defamation laws and promote independent media-accountability system.

"The existence of criminal defamation legislation, which is meant to protect honor and dignity of people , remains one of the most often applied means of legal pressure on independent media in the OSCE region.

It undeniably hampers the work of journalists by protecting the powerful from criticism. By generating the fear of prosecution, they impede free discussion of important public issues. This so-called chilling effect prevents the media from playing their watchdog function necessary to in a democratic society, namely from reporting on corruption, on the political process or from criticizing government officials.

BAKU. September 6, 2010: The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Igor Popov of Russia, Bernard Fassier of France, and Robert Bradtke of the United States, released the following statement today:

"As part of their efforts to facilitate negotiations for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassador Bernard Fassier of France; Ambassador Robert Bradtke of the United States; Ambassador Igor Popov of the Russian Federation) expect to be particularly active in the months leading up to the OSCE Summit.

BAKU. September 4, 2010: The government of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev should begin liberal economic and political reform now or it will run the risk of instability in the tightly controlled ex-Soviet republic as oil revenues drop, a leading think tank said in its report.

The International Crisis Group said Aliyev had surpassed his late father and long-serving leader Heydar in the level of control he exerts over society in mainly Muslim Azerbaijan, where oil-driven economic growth has helped ensure stability.

BAKU. September 4, 2010: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree setting the date of the parliamentary elections on November 7. According to the Constitution, the parliamentary elections are conducted every five years on first Sunday of November. According to the Electon Code, the date of the elections must be announced no later than 60 days before the vote (Turan).

BAKU. September 3, 2010: Today, the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Azerbaijan produced an important energy agreement. Russia's Gazprom has clinched a deal to double the natural gas purchase from Azerbaijan in a bid to control gas produced by former Soviet republics.

BAKU. September 3, 2010: Gunmen opened fire on Friday on a crowd outside a mosque, killing one person and wounding another, in Azerbaijan's Gumbashly village near the border with Iran, local media reported.

BAKU. September 2, 2010: Today, the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Baku. The Russian president paid a visit to the Alley of Martyrs and Heydar Aliyev’s grave. Today and tomorrow, Medvedev is expected to hold meetings with president Ilham Aliyev and other senior government officials of Azerbaijan. The parties are expected to discuss a broad range of issues, including the delimitations of borders between Russia and Azerbaijan, expansion of trade between two countries, and Garabagh problem.

NAKHCHIVAN. September 2, 2010: Pressures and provocations against journalists in Nakhchivan have strengthened on the eve of the upcoming parliamentary elections in November. IRFS reports that Elman Abbasov and Hakimeldostu Mehdiyev, the zonal correspondents of the Institution of Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), and Ilgar Nasibov, the representative of the NGO and Democracy Development Resource Center are among the persecuted people in Nakhchivan.

"Anyone who comes to visit our place are subjected to pressure. They are told that I am involved in bad things.” Sharur Department of the MNS is especially active in this process, Mehdiyev said.

In a separate incident, the representative of the communal department No. 5 approached Elman Abbasov in one of the central streets in Nakhchivan, and began to insult him, ostensibly for not paying for the communal services. "But I do not have any debts," Abbasov said.

 "The same unknown individuals meet me in the streets, and shout out the same phrases: "You are traitors." Some people call on my mobile phone and insult me," Nasibov said.

WASHINGTON DC. September 1, 2010: Yesterday, Freedom House announced that David J. Kramer had been chosen to serve as the organization's new executive director. Kramer has had a distinguished career both in government and in the nongovernmental sector. He served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor from March 2008 to January 2009. David Kramer is also known for his principled position on the issues of democracy and human rights in Azerbaijan. Responding to the question of Turan on the issue of human rights in Azerbaijan, David Kramer said the Freedom House would continue keeping the focus on the issues of human rights in Azerbaijan.

BAKU. September 1, 2010: On September 2, the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev starts his official visit to Azerbaijan.  A number of central streets in Baku will be closed on September 2 and 3, and traffic will be restricted due to the visit.  Jamshid Hanifayev from the Public Relations Department of Baku Traffic Police Office said the traffic in Neftchiler Avenue, Azneft Square, Bakikhanov Street, Huseyn Javid Avenue, and Gelebe square will be restricted.  On September 3 Neftchiler Avnue will be closed from the morning till evening.  The Traffic Police called on drivers to use alternative roads (Turan).

WASINGTON DC. August 31, 2010: Yesterday, TURAN’s Washington DC correspondent interviewed Gerard Libaridian, the former foreign policy advisor for the Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrossian. Libaridian, currently a professor of Department of History at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, agreed to respond to the questions of the Turan News Agency.

Question: How do you assess the recent military agreement between Russia and Armenia? Some local Armenian experts say Armenia has lost the last part of it independence, do you agree?

BAKU. August 31, 2010: Turan Information Agency reports that the members of the pro-government “Modern Musavat” Party held a picket in front of the OSCE Baku Office. The party demanded to call back the head of the OSCE Baku Office Bilge Cankered, according to the head of the party Hafiz Hajiyev.

Hajiyev said that “the OSCE Baku Office is preparing plans for making a coup on the eve of parliamentary elections.” For this purpose “secret meetings with some radical opposition groups have been held”, Hajiyev said. Hafiz Hajiyev and his “Modern Musavat Party” have often been used as an agent-provocateurs by the ruling regime in Azerbaijan whenever it needed to verbally attack or defame its political opponents, international organizations holding critical positions about the policies of the Azerbaijani government, and journalists who write critical articles about the Azerbaijani government. In this instance, Hafiz Hajiyev’s staging of a protest action followed the round-table discussion between the Azerbaijani government and opposition parties organized by the Baku office of the OSCE. Apparently, the Azerbaijani government is unhappy with the OSCE decision to hold such round-table discussions.

BAKU. August 30, 2010: The open joint-stock company “Bank Silk Way” completed last week the process of increasing an authorized capital by 45%, upping it by 32,19 million AZN (1 AZN is approximately 1.2 USD). Now it is among ten largest banks of the country due to the size of the authorized capital. Recapitalization of the bank has been carried out in the frames of the stocks emission by 9,99 million AZN. Placing of new stocks began on July 23. This process was accomplished in several stages.

The value of stocks has been paid by two shareholders of the Bank: Arzu Aliyeva, Azerbaijani president’s youngest daughter, and Zarifa Hamzayeva, wife of the head of “AZAL” national airline company.

Now each, Arzu Aliyeva and Zarifa Hamzayeva have a blocking (giving the right of veto) package of stocks: 35,6% and almost 11,5 million AZN value. The whole “Silk Way” Holding, which includes the “Silk Way” Bank, was established on the basis of the government owned “AZAL” Airlines Company.

BAKU. August 30, 2010: On September 2-3, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan, says Russian President’s official web site.

The program of the visit is not available to public. The Russian Foreign Minister said earlier that the presidents of two countries would sign several bilateral agreements related to the delimitation of borders and division of water resources of the border river Samur (Turan).

BAKU. August 30, 2010: Today at about 1.00 p.m. about 50 residents of Binagadi district of Baku staged an action of protest at the presidential administration to protest at demolition of their houses. The protesters were stopped by the policemen in front of the reception area, put into buses and driven to the Binagadi district executive administration, reported Turan’s correspondent.

WASHINGTON. August 28, 2010. The statement released by Azerbaijani-Americans for Democracy (AZAD) condemns the decision by the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan to uphold the sentence of bloggers Adnan Hajizada and Emin Milli (Abdullayev). The organization, reflecting the views of concerned Azerbaijani-American Diaspora, considers the high court’s decision as the final evidence that the case against bloggers was a fabrication initiated by the authorities as a punishment for their public criticism of the government’s policies.

The case of bloggers clearly demonstrated that the judicial system in Azerbaijan acts as a convenient tool in the hands of the government to persecute its opponents and that the regime in Baku has no respect for basic human rights and liberties, states AZAD press-release. It also recalls that the government in Azerbaijan blatantly disregarded the pleas of international community, including the calls by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on behalf of the US government.

WASHINGTON. August 27, 2010: The 65th session of the UN General Assembly will open in New York on September 14. The agenda of the session includes the resolution on situation with the occupied Azerbaijani territories. The resolution has been put for discussion for the third time, along with Georgia’s resolution on Frozen Conflicts among the GUAM member-states and Their Consequences for Entire World, Security and Development.

BAKU. August 27, 2010: Special representative of the OSCE on Freedom of Media Dunja Mijatovic will arrive in Baku on September 6. The Baku Office of the OSCE reported that Mijatovic will attend the international conference on mass media. Mijatovic’s visit to Azerbaijan will continue till September 9 (Turan).

By Mark Tapscott, Published by The Washington Examiner

Former Sen. Conrad Burns appeared on this site earlier this week touting President Obama's nomination of Matthew Byrza as U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan.

Part of the reasoning for the former Montana Republican senator's endorsement of Byrza and his encouragement that the Senate not delay the confirmation was his reluctant endorsement of President Obama's "apology tour" last year in which the chief executive sought to cultivate Muslim support in return for American admissions of previous mistakes in our dealings with the Islamic nations of the Middle East and elsewhere.

BAKU. August 25, 2010: The imprisoned journalist Eynulla Fatullayev has brought an action against the Office of the Attorney General in Baku, Elchin Sadikhov, Fatullayev’s lawyer told Turan.

Fatullayev’s lawyer said the claim was submitted to the Sabail District Court. The plaintiff claims that the OAG of Baku violated the principle of presumption of innocence when it made statements about Eynulla Fatullayev’s culpability prior to the court verdict on his case.  The OAG had made that statement on February 2, 2010.

BAKU. August 25, 2010: Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission made the following statement: “The High Representative regrets the decision by the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan on 19 August 2010 to uphold the prison sentences against youth activists Emin Abdullayev and Adnan Hajizade. The High Representative considers that the shortcomings of the trial, notably with regards to international standards of fairness and transparency, and its conclusion, send a negative signal with regard to the situation of freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.

BAKU. August 24, 2010: Today, during an OSCE organized conference on “The role of mass media at the upcoming parliamentary elections,” an interesting exchange of accusations took place between Ali Hasanov, the chief of the public-political department of the Presidential Administration and Isa Gambar, leader of Musavat party. The mini-debate started with Ali Hasanov accusing the opposition media of waging a black PR war on the Azeri government. “The opposition started the black PR... They write whatever they want. Writing that the son of so and so minister grilled and eat a bear. It is a shame! Tell the newspapers you founded to stop writing such things,” said Ali Hasanov facing Isa Gambar.

BAKU. August 24, 2010: “The role of mass media at the upcoming parliamentary elections” was the topic of the roundtable organized by the OSCE Baku Office today, with participation of the representatives of Central Election Commission (CEC) and Azerbaijan’s authorities, as well as heads of the political parties and mass media.   Mass media is free in the coverage of all stages of the election campaign, said Ali Hasanov, the chief of the public-political department of the Presidential Administration.   “There are no restrictions imposed by the government, and mass media can cover the competition among the candidates, organize their debates”, Hasanov noted.  epresentatives of the opposition who participated in the OSCE activity said they did not trust the statements of the Azeri government officials about the democratic conditions during the parliamentary elections. “Here representatives of authorities speak the right things, but in fact, everything is quite the opposite. Everybody knows that the authorities are going to falsify the elections again,” said Isa Gambar, leader of Musavat Party. It is absurd that the authorities refuse to give time for candidates on the state TV.

BAKU. August 23, 2010: Azerbaijan is ready to offer $500 million for the North-South gas pipeline that carries Russian gas to Armenia via Georgia, said Vugar Bayramov, the President of the Azerbaijani Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD).

Bayramov said that it was difficult, at this moment, to speak about the actual amount of the proposed deal.

BAKU. August 23, 2010: Ceremony of commemorating of the memory of Abulfaz Elchibey, the leader of the national-democratic movement in Azerbaijan, took place on Saturday at the headquarters of Musavat Party.

It was noted that Elchibey was one of the prominent figures in Azerbaijan’s modern history, and he played a great role in restoration of Azerbaijan’s independence. “That event became a victory of Azerbaijan’s national-democratic forces and of Azerbaijani people,” said Arif Hajili, head of Central Office of Musavat Party.

BAKU. August 21, 2010: Azerbaijan believes that Russia will never use the 102^nd military base against Azerbaijan as it promised, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry press officer Elhan Polukhov told Turan while commenting on the recent Russian-Armenian agreement on the extension of the term of the Russian military base in Gyumri.

The spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said Russia promised not to use the Russian military base in Armenia against Azerbaijan when in 2006 it transferred part of the ammunitions and weapons from the Russian military base in Georgia to Armenia.

BAKU. August 20, 2010: The Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) is considering holding its annual party congress in the light of the venue restrictions imposed by the unwillingness of the Azerbaijani government to provide the party with the space to hold an activity.  The intial date of the PFPA Congress was  August  21, but it was postponed for September, the leader of the PFPA  Ali Karimli  told  Turan and the Internet TV "Objective TV".

YEREVAN. August 20, 2010:  Today the Armenian media reported about the official visit of the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to Armenia.  Armenia’s position on the Karabakh and other conflicts remains unchanged because we think that they should be resolved through the peaceful means, only, without resorting to the use or threat of force, in accordance with international norms, said the Armenian president Sege Sargsyan during a joint press-conference with the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

BAKU. August 19, 2010: The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan rejected the appeal of the imprisoned Azeri bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli sustaining the lower court’s verdict against them. The bloggers were arrested charged with hooliganism and sentenced to two and two and a half years of imprisonment respectively, after having been attacked by two sportsmen in a restaurant. Many local and international organizations accused the Azerbaijani government of a foul play suspecting that the bloggers were actually imprisoned due to their activism against the authoritarian and corrupt rule in Azerbaijan.

MOSCOW. August 19, 2010: Speaking about the recent  agreement about the Russian deliveries of the anti-missile defense systems to Azerbaijan, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the zenith-missile units C-300 were defense weapons and they would not destabilize the situation in the region.  Lavrov made this statement during an interview to Realpolitic program.   “I am sure that none of the countries in the region plans to begin military actions. In August 2008, the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili tried to resolve problems of South Ossetia using inappropriate methods, but he failed to achieve his goal. I am absolutely sure that both Armenia and Azerbaijan will not make such attempts.

YEREVAN. August 18, 2010: Today, the Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has made a statement about the status of 102^nd Russian military base in Gyumri. The Armenian foreign minister said Armenia and Russia were expected to sign an agreement prolonging the presence of the Russian military base in Armenia till 2044.  The agreement will be signed during the visit of the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to Armenia on August 19.

BAKU. August 18, 2010: The political situation in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR) of Azerbaijan remains difficult on the eve of elections, and is characterized by the suppression of political freedoms in that area.  Malahat Nasibova, the head of NGO and Democracy Development Resource Center in Nakhchivan, compared the atmosphere in Nakhchivan with the Stalin rule in the Soviet Union.

Nakhchivan has always been famous for its truth-loving people, and now they are forcibly thrown into the hospitals for the mentally ill, Nasibova said.

BAKU. August 17, 2010: Strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Turkey exists since Azerbaijan has gained its independence in 1991, said Rasim Musabayov, political expert and former foreign policy adviser to the Azerbaijani president, commenting on the Azeri-Turkish agreement on strategic partnership and mutual understanding which was signed yesterday.

BAKU. August 17, 2010: Today Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev received Murad Bayar, the Turkish Defense Ministry Advisor.  The press office for the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported that during the meeting the parties exchanged opinions on the agreement on strategic partnership and mutual assistance signed by the presidents yesterday and discussed "dynamics of military cooperation" between Turkey and Azerbaijan (Turan).

BAKU. August 17, 2010: On the second day of his official visit Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited the North-Western regions of Azerbaijan. On Tuesday noon, the Turkish president arrived to Zagatala and Sheki towns. In Sheki he visited the KhanPalace and the graves of Turkish soldiers who protected Azerbaijani population from during the turbulent years of 1918-1919. The Turksih soldiers who died in battle for the independence of Azerbaijan were buried in Zavzid village of Sheki (Turan).

YEREVAN. August 17, 2010: The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his wife will make a state visit to Yerevan on August 19. Russia and Armenia are expected to sign a number of agreements during this visit, including the document on prolongation of the presence of the 102nd Russian Military Base in Armenia.  "The agreement will resolve the problem of keeping the balance of forces in the region, and will prevent military resolution of the Karabakh conflict, said a member of Armenian parliament from Republican Party Eduard Sharmazanov.

BAKU. August 16, 2010: Today at 2.00 p.m. Turkish President Abdullah Gul started his three-day official visit to Azerbaijan, reported the press office of the Turkish embassy to Turan News Agency. The Azerbaijani and Turkish presidents are expected to discuss the bilateral relations between the countries in a face to face meeting.

BAKU. August 16, 2010: The Office of Attorney General has refuted the news reports in local and foreign media about the illegal organ transplant business in Azerbaijan.   The local and Ukrainian media reported that organ donors from Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Russia sold their kidneys to transplant them to the clients in Israel. These operations have been performed in Ecuador and Azerbaijan.

BAKU. August 15, 2010: On Friday August 13, a single -storey house was destroyed in an explosion . The destroyed house was located at the corner of Rasul Rza and Fizuli streets of Baku, in an area currently being cleared to create a winter park. Click here for photos The local residents in the neighborhood accuse the Mayoral Administration of Baku, which they think plotted against them to evict them from that area. The Mayoral Administration has been trying to evict the residents of that area for a long time. The officials of the Baku Mayor's Office have denied that the city authorities had anything to do with an explosion in a house in the city centre.

ISTANBUL. August 13, 2010. Yesterday, Azerbaijani Airlines (AZAL) Airbus 319 plane has veered off the strip during landing at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport at 10:40 AM on August 12, 2010. The plane sustained some damages, including the breaking off of the nose section. No passengers or crew members were injured. However, the questions are being raised whether the plane’s crew failed to follow the commonly accepted safety procedures and thus has put the safety and lives of passengers at risk.

BAKU. August 13, 2010: On August 12 in the evening and on August 13 early in the morning there was an exchange of gunfire between the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops in Khojavand, Terter and Fizuli regions. The Defense Ministry reported no casualties (Turan).

BAKU. August 12, 2010: Head of the Department to produce vegetable reserves in the Ministry of Agriculture Sabir Veliyev spoke about the grain reserves and monopoly in the agricultural market.

Question: What other obstacles are there for the producers?

BAKU. August 12, 2010: The jailed journalist Eynulla Fatullayev has decided to run for the parliament from jail. This information was passed to Turan News Agency through Fatullayev’s lawyer Elchin Sadigov. Eynulla Fatullayev plans to engage in an active election campaign. Eynulla Fatullayev’s campaign slogans are “Down With YAPartheid!” and “For Your and My Freedom.” The first slogan uses the name of the ruling Yeni(new in English) Azerbaijan Party (YAP), by likening the YAP regime to apartheid. The second slogan was the motto of the Monitor magazine, a courageous independent publication which continued criticizing the Azerbaijani government until its editor-in-chief Elmar Huseynov was shot dead in front of his apartment on March 2, 2005. Eynulla Fatullayev’s decision to run a parliamentary campaign against the Azerbaijani government coincides with the time when the pro-government media in Azerbaijan actively attacks Eynulla Fatullayev (Azerireport).