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 “Prison Watch” Public Association held monitoring of penal facility No. 15 of high regime with the assistance of Justice Col.-Lieu., Gasim Aliyev - deputy chief of the facility on operative regime issues. It was revealed during the monitoring that 795 convicts served sentence in the facility on the monitoring day. 76 of the jailed persons are educated on the specialities of plasterer, dyer, metal locksmith, electrician and carpenter. 54 inmates work in the table producing workshop functioning in the jail. Besides, some convicts were engaged in individual labour (rosary manufacture). 12 inmates work in the economy brigade. 83 inmates are kept in the hospital. During the monitoring, 27 convicts were held in the penal cell of the facility: 7 - in cell-type rooms, while 20 - in penal rooms. 11 convicts were placed under quarantine. |
 Official Baku thinks the views voiced at yesterday’s discussion at the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) are biased. “I think the views voiced by Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Democracy & Human Rights, representative of Freedom House Chris Walker do not reflect the reality, are biased and provocative,” Head of the Political Analysis & Information Department at the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Elnur Aslanov said to Trend News on 30 July. On 29 July, Washington hosted discussion at the Helsinki Commission of the situation in Azerbaijan, during which Mr. Walker and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Kramer criticized the Azerbaijani authorities on the issues regarding human rights, media and democracy. “Azerbaijan is an area which chose democracy as the priority for its national development strategy. During recent years Azerbaijan has been an intensively modernizing area, which pursues independent economic and political strategy,” said Aslanov. |
 The ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) has selected observers for the upcoming presidential elections. “Our observers will observe the voting all over the country,” Mubariz Gurbanli, deputy executive secretary of NAP and MP said to TrendNews. The presidential elections in Azerbaijan will be held on 15 October 2008. The Azadlig bloc, which unites three opposition parties - Popular Front party, Citizen and Development party and Liberal party, will boycott the presidential elections. The Civil Solidarity Party, Communist Party and Great Establishment Party will not nominate their own candidates for the elections. Eldar Namazov, head of For Azerbaijan public forum, Igbal Agazade, chairman of Umid party, Hafiz Hajiyev, chairman of Modern Musavat party, Mais Gulaliyev, chairman of Green Party and Gudrat Hasanguliyev, chairman of Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan have been nominated for the presidential elections. |
 The state program on the reconstruction of railways in Azerbaijan will be confirmed soon. APA-Economics reports that Azerbaijan’s Deputy Transport Minister Musa Panahov said the main directions of the program is to carry out corporate reforms in state railways of Azerbaijan, improve management of railways, renew infrastructure of the railway, improve normative legal base and extend international relations of the railways. A great part of the program is predominated by infrastructural projects. The projects envisage reconstruction of Azerbaijan’s state railways in line with modern standards. “Reconstruction of the railway will increase goods flow, create necessary conditions for the passengers, accelerate goods turnover, ensure security and deliver the goods to the owners in time. The project on reconstruction of railways approximately costs $2bn. |
 The United Azerbaijan Popular Front Party will hold Supreme Assembly on August 3, chairman of the party Gudrat Hasanguliyev told APA. He said that the party’s candidate for the presidential elections will be confirmed in the Supreme Assembly. Gudrat Hasanguliyev noted that the presidential candidates can be confirmed by the supreme bodies of the organizations only after the official start of the elections. United Azerbaijan Popular Front Party held its next congress on June 7 this year. Gudrat Hasanguliyev was re-elected chairman of the party and became the party’s candidate for presidency. |
 CIS Executive Committee will send initial mission to Azerbaijan after the government invites CIS to observe the presidential elections, CIS Executive Committee told APA. The mission will study the situation and determine how many observers will be needed. After that in mid-September, office of CIS election observation mission will be established in Baku. CIS plans to send both long-term and short-term missions to Azerbaijan. Long-term mission will arrive in Azerbaijan in mid-September. Short-term mission will observe the elections on the voting day. |
 “Azerbaijan Democratic Party has no intention to boycott the presidential elections. But there are proposals in connection with boycotting the elections and if the Supreme Assembly passes decision against participation, I will act in accordance with this decision,” chairman of Azerbaijan Democratic Party (ADP) Serdar Jalaloghlu told APA. He said that open discussions will be held at the meeting of the Supreme Assembly and everybody will be able to express his opinion. Serdar Jalaloghlu said he will not take active part in the discussions and added that he does not know what decision will be made. “A formal decision will be made in the Supreme Assembly. There are enough people who support boycotting. We will determine which proposal has more supporters,” he said. |
 OSCE Chairman-in-Office Special Envoy Heikki Talvitie has held press conference on outcomes of his visit to Azerbaijan today, APA reports Talvitie touched upon Nagorno Karabakh conflict and noted that he supported continuation of dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia and expected meeting of Foreign Ministers of the two countries. Special Envoy noted that it would better if Foreign Ministers of the two countries met before the elections. “We hope that dialogue between the sides will be conducted after elections as well. Dialogue based on core principles and will further continue on these principles. Nagorno Karabakh conflict should be solved within the framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Territorial integrity and status of Nagorno Karabakh are not in contradiction with each other. Same situation has occurred in Moldova and Georgia. |
 The first intergovernmental economic conference of the Caspian states will take place in Astrakhan, Russia on October 3-5. APA-Economics reports quoting RBK that government representatives of Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran will participate in the conference. Business projects on the themes “Trans-border cooperation on effective use and storage of biological resources for continuous development of the Caspian region”, “Formation and development of transport-logistic system of the Caspian: tendencies, goals, prospects”, “Complex use of mineral resources of the Caspian region” and “Caspian region - area of increasing investments”. |
 Next meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers on the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be held in Moscow on August 1, APA reports Novosti Armenia Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told a press conference that the meeting was organized by OSCE MG co-chairs. He noted that Foreign Ministers woul hold one-on-one meeting and with participation of delegation. Nalbandian stated that discussions would be conducted basing on Madrid proposals and stressed that Armenia was ready to conduct negotiations basing on these proposals. “This way will assist solution to the conflict,” he said. |
 Groundbreaking ceremony of Management Center is planned to take place in Baku in September within the framework of the project on “Establishment of intellectual management system of transport”, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Transport Minister Musa Panahov said, APA-Economics reports. Deputy Minister said that agreement had already been signed with the contracting company. Panahov noted that researches were carried out on all the roads of the capital to apply management system effectively and so that the system could have influence on the management of public transport. Azerbaijan’s Transport Ministry and Korea’s Ministry of Construction and Transportation signed Understanding Memorandum on cooperation in the field of intellectual transport system in April, 2007. |
 Azerbaijani opposition party Musavat is to establish an election bloc. “If we will decide to participate in the upcoming presidential elections we will take serious steps in this direction,” Arif Hacili, Head of the Central Executive Administration of Musavat, told Trend News. Azerbaijan will host the presidential elections on 15 October 2008. The Assembly of Musavat took a decision to participate in the elections in December 2007. Musavat will nominate Isa Gambar’s candidature. However, the party reconsidered the issue regarding participation in the elections after the recent supplements and changes introduced into the Election Code. Hacili said that the party would announce the final decision regarding participation in the elections on 2 August. “If we will make a decision to participate in the elections with Isa Gambar’s candidature then we will try to collect political parties and public organizations around him,” Hacili said. |
 Special Representative of the European Union (EU) for South Caucasus Peter Semneby is going to discuss in Baku Azerbaijan’s upcoming presidential elections, Semneby’s advisor Claire Delessard said to Trend News on 30 July. Semneby will arrive in Azerbaijan on 31 July to discuss in Baku the ways of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other issues regarding country’s policy. Semneby’s visit program includes a meeting with the representatives of Azerbaijani government, NGOs and the heads of European diplomatic missions accredited in Azerbaijan. |
 Turkish MPs suggested official marking in Turkey of Azerbaijan’s Khojali tragedy. The suggestion was made at the Turkish Parliament during discussion of the Istanbul terrorism act on 30 July. MPs discussed the crimes committed in Azerbaijan by Armenians and suggested official marking of the Khojali tragedy in Turkey. Representative of the National Movement Party Reshat Dogru noted the need to inform the Turkish and international community of the Khojali massacre. “Turkey must even more seriously support Azerbaijan on this issue,” said Dogru. A member of the Justice & Development Party, MP Aladdin Kaya backed his colleague’s idea. He again informed the MPs of massacre of 613 innocent civilians in Khojali. According to Kaya, marking of the Khojali tragedy in Turkey will be a new fact demonstrating Turkey’s friendship and solidarity with Azerbaijan. |
 The U.S. Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) noted a minor progress in human rights in Azerbaijan after the parliamentary elections of 2005, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Democracy & Human Rights, representative of Freedom House Chris Walker said in Washington during discussion at the Helsinki Commission of the situation in Azerbaijan on 29 July. Walker positively assessed participation of local NGOs in observations of upcoming presidential elections scheduled for 15 October. Helsinki Commission believes Azerbaijan has a chance to hold the elections in October in conformity with its engagements to OSCE. Walker focused on media situation and democratic reforms. He called on the authorities to soften their actions towards journalists, to pay attention to the calls of international organizations and to abolish the laws making journalists answerable for their professional activities. |
 The Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan (CEC) has developed set of standard acts on the upcoming presidential elections. The first volume of the book has already been published, CEC said to TrendNews. CEC is still focusing on improving the standard acts regarding presidential elections. CEC has developed and published new volume of the Election Code including new supplements and changes approved by the parliament on 2 June. According to CEC decision, 20 standard acts including direction, regulations and rules were made public by means of periodicals and official websites of CEC (www.msk.gov.az; www.cec.gov.az; infocenter.gov.az.). |
 Prospects of bilateral relations will be discussed during the upcoming official visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Indonesia. The Foreign Ministries of Azerbaijan and Indonesia are coordinating the date of the visit, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Indonesia Ibrahim Hajiyev said to Trend News on 29 July. During his Baku visit in May, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda passed to Azerbaijani President the invitation from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to visit his country. “Indonesia is waiting for the official visit of Azerbaijani President with great interest. That will be the first official visit of Azerbaijani President to the country,” said Hajiyev. |
 The Special Envoy of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Heikki Talvitie and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov discussed in Baku on 29 July the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its settlement ways. Talvitie intends to discuss in Baku the elections to take place in Azerbaijan. After the meeting at the Foreign Ministry, Talvitie will meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the representatives of political parties. |
 The Appeal Court of Baku city has postponed the process on the appeal of the Election Monitoring Center (EMC), whose registration has been canceled. The executive director of the Center Anar Mammadli said to TrendNews that the reason for postponing of the process is the appeal they lodged in the Supreme Court against the decision of Khatai district court on the immediate cancellations of EMC registration. According to Mammadli, they opposed the immediate fulfillment of court’s decision and appeal against this decision was rejected. The Appeal Court of Baku postponed the examination of appeal of EMC until Supreme Court issues decision on this appeal. On 14 May, Khatai Distric Court decided to cancel registration of EMC on the basis of the appeal of Registration and Notary Department of the Ministry of Justice. EMC submitted its documents for registration to the Justice Ministry on 14 March 2006. |
 Establishment of a new political party in Azerbaijan was temporary suspended. “Several members of the Organizing Committee are outside of Baku at the moment. Therefore, the process has been temporarily suspended,” a member of the organizing committee, which is intended to establish the new party and includes 11 people, Aydin Guliyev said to Trend News on 29 July. Previously, A.Guliyev was the secretary of the opposition Azerbaijan Democratic Party (ADP) headed by Azerbaijan’s ex-speaker Rasul Guliyev, and was a member of the Supreme Assembly of the party. At the beginning of last year, R.Guliyev and his supporters split from ADP and established the Open Society Party (OSP). A.Guliyev was an advisor of the OSP leader Rasul Guliyev. In September, 2007, he retired and left the party. |
 The voting in presidential elections in Azerbaijan will begin at 8:00 a.m. on 15 October and will last until 7:00 p.m. on 29 July, the Central Election Commission approved the Timetable on Actions and Measures on Preparation and Conduct of Elections. The election campaign will start 75 days before voting. The candidates will be nominated for the presidential elections and their nomination will be registered till the end of August. According to timetable, the information about the process of voting and number of voters will be released 5 times during a day (at 10:00 a.m., 12:00 a.m., 03:00 p.m., 05:00p.m. and 07:00p.m.) by the Elections Information Center at the CEC. |
 Etibar Mammadov, the leader of the opposition Azerbaijani National Independence Party (ANIP), will not participate in the presidential elections. “My participation in the presidential elections is not expected,” Mammadov, the leader of the ANIP, told Trend News on 29 July. Mammadov did not exclude the possibility of the ANIP’s participation in the elections with another candidate. “If the party nominates other candidate, I will support that candidate,” Mammadov said. He did not tell the reason of his non-participation in the elections.. The party does not intend to boycott the coming presidential elections, Ali Orujov, the deputy chairman of the ANIP, told Trend News. “We intend to participate in the elections and majority of the party’s members is for the participation,” Orujov said. |
 Representatives of the Azerbaijani opposition, who intend to participate in the presidential elections, will not change their decision. “I do not intend to change my decision on participation in the elections,” Eldar Namazov, the head of the Social Forum of ‘For Azerbaijan’, told Trend News on 29 July. Musavat and the Democratic Party, which announced their participation in the elections at the beginning of 2008, will publicize their final decision on participation in the presidential elections on 2 August. The ruling New Azerbaijan Party intends to nominate Ilham Aliyev, its chairman and the current Azerbaijani President. |
 Ayaz Mutallibov, ex-President of Azerbaijan and co-chairman of the left Azerbaijani Social Democratic Party (ASDP), will publicize his decision on participation in the presidential elections this week. “The ASDP’s position on the elections will become clear on 2 August,” Araz Alizade, the other co-chairman of the ASDP, told Trend News on 29 July. Alizade did not speak about a decision of the party. “We are against boycotting the elections. We want to participate in the elections with own candidate,” Alizade said, refusing name their candidate. |
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