Iran: Navy forces back Azerbaijani ship in Caspian Sea
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 21, 2002

 

Text of unattributed news report from "What else is new?" column, entitled: "Intrusion of a vessel from the Republic of Azerbaijan is repulsed", published by Iranian newspaper Iran web site on 21 February

Naval vessels of the Islamic Republic of Iran, near Astara border on Tuesday [19 February], forced back an Azerbaijani border patrol ship which had illegally entered the fishing ground of Iran's territorial waters in the Caspian Sea.

A responsible security official, who requested to remain anonymous, said: On Tuesday evening, a border patrol vessel from the Republic of Azerbaijan entered Iran's fishing territorial waters near Astara. As a result Iran's coast-guard ships were dispatched from the port of Anzali [to repulse them].

The official added: As soon as the intruding Azerbaijani ship saw the approaching Iranian vessels, it left the area and moved north towards deep coastal waters of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Over the past several weeks, there has been repeated instances of confrontation between the two countries' coast-guard vessels.

Source: Iran web site, Tehran, in Persian 21 Feb 02 p16

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.

Azeri trade unions' activities restricted in joint ventures
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 20, 2002

Text of report by Azerbaijani news agency Turan

Baku, 20 February: The Azerbaijani trade unions' activities usually come to an end in joint ventures working with the US or British capital, the chairman of the committee of the trade union in the oil and gas industry of Azerbaijan, Cahangir Aliyev, told Turan.

According to him, this has been the case in many joint ventures. First, the companies stop the transfer of membership fees to the trade unions' account and then demand that the committees must be convened. Afterwards, the newly-elected chairmen are either ignored or offered other jobs. For instance, there was such a trade union in the Azerbaijani-Turkish AzPet Oil joint venture (which is presently called the Qarasu Operating Company, where the US Moncrief Oil company is an operator).

There are also trade unions that operate in some joint ventures, including the Azerbaijani-British Sirvanoil, the Azerbaijani-Turkish-Malaysian Anshad Petrol and the Azerbaijani-German AzGerneft, but their activities are restricted.

The primary role of trade unions in the operating companies engaged in the Azerbaijani oil and gas projects remains unclear. This problem was periodically raised by different human rights bodies in the last few years. In all probability, this issue will not be resolved without the intervention of the country's leadership.

Source: Turan news agency, Baku, in Russian 0913 gmt 20 Feb 02

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.

Azerbaijan no more corrupt than any other country, US envoy says
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 20, 2002

 

The USA will not abandon monitoring human rights in Azerbaijan because of Baku's assistance in the anti-terrorist campaign, US envoy to Azerbaijan Ross Wilson has said in an interview with the Azerbaijani Turan news agency. The envoy said that his country was paying special attention to press freedom in this country. Saying that the previous elections had not met international standards, Wilson expressed hope that future ones would be steps towards improvement on this field. The following is a text of report by Azerbaijani news agency Turan:

Baku, 20 February: No meeting has been planned between [Azerbaijani President] Heydar Aliyev and US officials in Washington during his stay in the USA, US ambassador to Azerbaijan Ross Wilson has said in an exclusive interview with Turan news agency. At the same time, he did not rule out that certain changes could take place in Aliyev's plans since his arrival in the USA. He also said that Washington was "interested" in Aliyev's health after he went to Cleveland.

Asked about cooperation between Washington and Baku on fighting terrorism, the ambassador said that the USA was totally satisfied with the help and assistance rendered by Azerbaijan in fighting this evil.

The ambassador rejected Armenian media reports that US state bodies had allegedly included Azerbaijan on the list of countries involved in international terrorism. Azerbaijan does not figure among countries supporting terrorism, the ambassador said. At the same time, Wilson did not rule out that "traces" of various organizations or people engaged in terrorism could be found in Azerbaijan, but there are too many countries of this sort, he added.

Wilson expressed dissatisfaction with the notion that Washington would turn a blind eye to human rights violations in Azerbaijan given Baku's participation in the anti-terrorist operations.

"The anti-terrorist operations are actions ensuring people's security. There is a need for democracy involving greater strata of population and the establishment of a stable society in order not to allow acts of terrorism such as the tragedy on 11 September to happen again," the ambassador said.

Wilson said that human rights remain the chief priority for the USA. He said that the State Department's annual report on human rights was expected to be published next week. This report will also mention Azerbaijan several times. One of these issues, which causes the USA's concern, is the holding of free and fair elections.

What is more, the Americans are paying constant attention to the free press. "We are pleased with the steps on relaxing tension over the free press taken by the president at the end of last year," Wilson said. On the whole, the ambassador said, certain progress was observed in establishing a free society in Azerbaijan last year.

Asked about the USA's attitude to [Azerbaijani president's son] Ilham Aliyev as a possible successor, Wilson said that he did not want to share "speculation about certain people". "Our position on this issue will be based on processes, not an attitude to certain people. The Azerbaijani constitution envisages a procedure for presidential elections. We hope this procedure will be observed," the ambassador said.

Confirming that all previous elections in Azerbaijan did not meet international standards, the ambassador also said that there was a tendency for positive changes on this issue. This gives him grounds to assume that future elections will be another step towards improvement compared to previous years.

Asked about corruption in Azerbaijan, the diplomat said that this problem was pressing in many post-Soviet republics. "I do not see any reason to say that corruption is greater in Azerbaijan than in any other country," he said, and expressed satisfaction with the Azerbaijani government's "positive" attitude to fighting corruption.

Speaking about tasks to be solved, the envoy said that there was a need for conditions to be created to increase local and foreign investment in the country's economy.

Touching on the activity of humanitarian organizations in Azerbaijan, Wilson rejected a statement by the Ministry of National Security on the US humanitarian organization ADRA's involvement in the propagation of Christianity in Azerbaijan. The envoy said that ADRA had nothing to do with the Adventist Church and that this organization did not carry out any religious activity.

The US diplomat also rejected various media reports that Washington was allegedly dissatisfied with the Azerbaijani-Russian agreement on the status of the Qabala radar station. "This is an affair of Azerbaijan and Russia. It would be incorrect to say that the USA is pleased or displeased with this agreement as Azerbaijan has made no commitments on this issue. We are satisfied with the fact that Azerbaijan has resolved this problem with Russia," Wilson said.

At the end of his interview, the envoy summed up the results of the 10th anniversary of establishment diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the USA and said that the USA was pleased with the current level of cooperation with Azerbaijan. Wilson said that the relations the USA and Azerbaijan were establishing would promote stability and peace, as well as the development of democracy in the region.

Source: Turan news agency, Baku, in Russian 1120 gmt 20 Feb 02

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.