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AZERBAIJAN
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the
press and specifically outlaws press censorship; however,
the Government in some cases did not respect these rights
in practice. The Government gradually eased press
censorship and then abolished censorship in August.
Nonetheless, government actions created an atmosphere in
which journalists exercised self-censorship.
Prominent politicians criticized the Government without
reprisal; however, in one case, former president Elchibey
was charged with slander after he accused the President
of having helped organize a terrorist organization during
the Soviet era. The charges were dropped in early
1999.
While the
press debated a wide variety of sensitive topics for part
of the year, a limited form of censorship somewhat
restricted the public’s ability to be informed about
and discuss political issues. Most newspapers are
printed in the Government’s publishing house.
Until August they had to submit their copy to government
censors. However, the censors tended to be
inconsistent in exercising their power to prevent
publication. The Government’s near monopoly of
publishing facilities and its control over the price of
newsprint gave it leverage over the press, a critical
matter given the precarious finances of most opposition
newspapers. In April the Cabinet issued new
licensing requirements for all print and broadcast media,
but the enforcement and effect of this measure was not
clear at year’s end.
In February
police, citing no legal authority, seized all remaining
issues of the monthly magazine Monitor from newsstands,
claiming, along with other government officials, that an
article in that issue contained material insulting to the
Azerbaijani nation. Three individuals then sued the
magazine for defaming the Azerbaijani nation. The
court awarded a punitive fine on the magazine exceeding
that demanded by the prosecution, which has since
prevented the magazine from publishing. In
addition, according to the Human Rights Watch annual
report, in April the Minister of Internal Affairs sent
journalists from the Monitor a letter demanding that they
retract an article on torture published in the February
issue that police had seized. In November senior
government officials brought libel suits and demanded
large punitive damages against the two largest opposition
newspapers for articles they claimed were
defamatory. The court decided against the
newspapers, but as of year’s end, the newspapers
were appealing their cases; no fines had been paid; and
no newspapers were closed.
Police or
other government officials beat a journalist in
February. According to the Committee to Protect
Journalists, police attacked 34 journalists as they were
reporting on an opposition rally in Baku on September 12
and also attacked 4 journalists as they were protesting
peacefully the defamation trial against Yeni Musavat on
November 13.
There were no
further developments in the beating of a journalist in
1996. In 1997 the investigation was reported as
continuing, but no charges had been brought.
The
independent and opposition press played an active,
influential role in politics. Articles critical of
government policy and high government figures, including
the President, and discussing sensitive areas of domestic
and foreign policy, appeared routinely in the opposition
and independent print media. Newspapers and
broadcast media openly discussed censorship itself prior
to its abolition.
A large number
of newspapers continued to publish. One reliable
source put the number of registered newspapers at 375,
and the number actually publishing at nearly 100.
These included independent newspapers and newspapers with
links to major and minor opposition parties.
Government-run kiosks and independent news distributors
distributed opposition and independent newspapers.
However, the
Government tightly controlled official radio and
television, the source of information for much of the
population. Opposition parties had virtually no
access to the official electronic media, except for
television spots for registered presidential candidates
during the election campaign. The Government
periodically used state television to conduct campaigns
of denunciation and harassment against political parties
and leaders critical of the Government. There are a
limited number of private television stations, whose
broadcasts can be received only in Baku or in local areas
outside the capital. Independent radio, preferred
by the overwhelming majority of listeners, is largely
entertainment oriented, but one independent station airs
political topics, although news is only a small portion
of its program.
Government newspapers made a number of references
to the ethnic affiliation (Jewish) of the director of the
Azerbaijani service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL) in the context of criticizing RFL/RL for
unbalanced coverage of events in the country.
The Ministry
of Justice continued to deny registration to 15
independent television stations, 13 of which did not
broadcast. Six independent television stations
operate in Baku and other regions. Four of six
independent television stations operating outside of Baku
were ordered to close; they are now rebroadcasting but
without frequency licenses. Several foreign
television stations and radio programs are rebroadcast
locally through Azerbaijani facilities and are seen and
heard in most parts of the country. The Government
shut down for 2 weeks the local retransmission of Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty in April; however, broadcasts
were also available on short-wave bands during the
shutdown. There are no restrictions on reception of
foreign stations via satellite. The Government
granted no new broadcast licenses this year, despite
several applications that remained pending. Of the
three stations licensed since 1993, one television
station is aligned with the Government, and one
television and one radio station are entertainment
oriented.
The Government
has limited Internet access by licensing only two
Internet providers and denying transmission licenses to
several others.
Appointments
to government-controlled academic positions are heavily
dependent on political connections. Nevertheless,
several professors with tenure are active in opposition
parties. There were no complaints of violation of
academic freedom or of censorship of books or academic
journals.
Commentary
Since we work primarily with television and radio
stations, this comment is limited to those sectors.
As the report mentions, the main problem is
licensing. Despite strong pressure from the OSCE
and other international organisations, it is still
impossible to get a license unless you have strong
connections with the government. Only one station
has got one since new licensing legislation was passed in
April 1998, and the president of that company (ABA) is
the son of the deputy of state television. However,
what the report fails to mention and I think is important
is the flawed nature of the licensing legislation itself.
According to
the law, stations must receive technical certification
from State TV (their main competitor) before they can get
a license. But how can a station raise the funds to
buy the required equipment if it does not have a license
to broadcast and cannot raise advertising revenues?
The only stations that have a chance are the ones that
have been broadcasting illegally but are continually shut
down and harassed by local and national officials.
For these stations, registration with the Ministry of
Justice is not the main problem as the report
suggests. Registering with the Ministry of Justice
is extremely difficult but possible. What is
impossible is getting a frequency from the frequency
commission, the second to last step in the licensing
process. This cumbersome committee, consisting of
the Minister of Defence, Minister of the Interior, and
Ministry of Security, to name a few, has yet to meet
since it was formed, though seven stations have been
waiting for a reply to their frequent requests for a
ruling for months.
An Anonymous Statement
from an Organization Defending the Freedom of the Press
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