CLINTON PRESSES BAKU ON RIGHTS AMID VIOLENCE
Hurriyet
June 7 2012
US Secretary of State Clinton (L) urges the government to respect
rights. AFP photo
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Azerbaijan yesterday
to show greater respect for human rights during her visit to Caspian
Sea nation amid an upsurge of violence in the region.
In a roughly five-hour visit, Clinton balanced her concerns about
Azerbaijan’s rights record with U.S. interest in its energy resources,
making time to meet with activists for a more open government as well
as to tour an annual energy trade show. “We … urge the government
to respect their citizens’ right to express (their) views peacefully
(and) to release those who have been detained for doing so,” Clinton
said after meeting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The call came
as Azerbaijani forces killed an Armenian soldier in clashes in the
disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to Karabakh officials. The
incident came after recent killings of five Azerbaijani and three
Armenian soldiers in two days. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a
statement yesterday that they were watching the spread of incidents
in to the common border of Azerbaijan and Armenia with deep sadness
and concern, Anatolia news agency reported.
Compiled from Reuters, AFP and AA stories by the Daily News staff.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress