Author: Kanayan Tamar

Pepsi factory launches production of Sandora juices in Armenia

June 14, 2014 | 14:19

YEREVAN. – Production of Sandora juices has been launched in Armenia,
General Director of “Jermuk International Pepsi Cola Bottler” company
said during a press conference on Saturday.

President Sargsyan attended the opening of new production line that
has already provided ten new jobs. In total 4 million euros was
invested in new production that will provide another 25-30 jobs in
coming year.

Armenia has been importing Sandora juices from Ukraine, but from now
on local production will be used. Manasaryan said the company is also
holding talks to export juices to CIS countries.

Koryun Nahapetyan, Tevan Poghosyan to participate in Rose Roth seminar in Baku

13:39 14/06/2014 >> POLITICS

Baku has provided security guarantees to Armenia and head of the
Armenian delegation to NATO PA Koryun Nahapetyan and delegation
member, Heritage parliamentary faction secretary Tevan Poghosyan will
leave for Azerbaijan on June 15 to participate in NATO PA’s Rose Roth
seminar in Baku on June 16-18, Tevan Poghosyan told Panorama.am.

Koryun Nahapetyan told Panorama.am earlier that the seminar agenda
includes numerous issues of interest to Armenia, in particular the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.

Source: Panorama.am

ARMENIE
Le >, le bateau arménien du Moyen-ge navigue désormais sur le Sevan

Le fameux bateau arménien > (Kilikia) construit sur le
modèle des bateaux arméniens du Moyen-ge par le club >, après
avoir parcouru la Méditerranée ainsi que plusieurs autres mers et
océans était revenu en Arménie.

Aujourd’hui le > sillonne les eaux un peu plus calmes du
lac Sévan. Aussi, les citoyens d’Arménie ou les Arméniens de la
diaspora qui auront la chance cet été de se trouver au lac Sevan
pourront admirer ce magnifique bateau qui nous vient de l’histoire.
Celle du Royaume de Petite Arménie -ou Arménie cilicienne- qui
disposait de ports sur la Méditerranée.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 14 juin 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

ARMENIAN IT STARTUPS TO GET TAX RELIEF

YEREVAN, June 13. /ARKA/. Armenia’s parliament passed in the first
reading the bill about state support in IT sector and amendments to
the country’s laws about income tax and profit tax on Thursday.

The first deputy minister of economy Garegin Melkonyan said the law
envisages a new system of state support to IT. He said IT sector is
a priority and is quite a promising field that may contribute to the
country’s economic development. The bill suggests creating favorable
conditions for start-up companies in terms of taxation.

A simplified procedure is set for creating start-ups that will have to
pay 0% income tax and only 10% profit tax during the first three years.

Both new IT companies and software developer groups of not more than
15 employees that have operated without registration so far and have
IT promotion ideas can take the advantage of the bill, Melkonyan said.

The deputy minister also said the new tools will allow creating up
to 300-350 new jobs every year and at least triple the number of
start-ups every year. In particular, the privileges will help bring
the number of start-ups to 30 compared to about 10-12 per year today.

In 2000, Armenian government announced IT sector is of priority in
the country’s economic development. As of January 1, 2014, there were
over 380 IT companies in Armenia, 159 of them have foreign capital
involved. Armenia’s IT sector records about 20-25% growth every year.

Its share in the country’s GDP is 3.8%. IT growth was 22% as of the
end of 2013. Annual turnover of the sector is $380 million. According
to the country’s IT development strategy, the turnover is expected
to rise to $1 billion by 2018. -0–

– See more at:

REPUBLICANS WANT TO ALLOW ALCOHOL ADVERTISING IN INTEREST OF BUSINESSMEN: MP

06.12.2014 18:37 epress.am

The bill to permit alcohol and cigarette advertising in the media is
simply lobbying by some in the business community, which some MPs are
at the forefront of, said secretary of the Armenian National Congress
(HAK) faction Aram Manukyan (pictured) during discussion of the bill
making amendments to the RA Law on Advertising in Armenia’s National
Assembly today.

He said that even discussing the issue is embarrassing, since the
“entire civilized world” moves to ban the advertising of alcohol and
cigarettes, while the opposite is being proposed in Armenia.

According to Manukyan, HAK, the Heritage Party, and the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) factions voted against the
bill in the committee meeting.

Also speaking out against the bill was Prosperous Armenia Party
MP Tigran Urikhanyan. He admitted that the media needs to be
financially independent (sustainable), which can be achieved by
securing advertising; however, it shouldn’t be so that “at the heart
of the bill are not the rights of media but of businessmen.”

Recall, the bill proposed by Republican Party of Armenia MPs Arman
Sahakyan, Samvel Farmanyan, Naira Karapetyan, Tajat Vardapetyan,
and Levon Martirosyan and independent (no party affiliation) MP Edmon
Marukyan proposes allowing advertising of locally produced brandy.

HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK: VAHAN HOVHANNISYAN HOSPITALIZED

10:18 12/06/2014 >> DAILY PRESS

The health of Armenian Ambassador to Germany, former MP, ARFD member
Vahan Hovhannisyan has deteriorated sharply, Haykakan Zhamanak says.

He is currently in a hospital in Germany.

Citing diplomatic sources, the newspaper says that Hovhannisyan’s
health deteriorated after surgery. The responsible bodies, however, are
in no hurry to officially confirm the information, the newspaper adds.

Source: Panorama.am

THE FLOWER SELLER OF ALEPPO

The Majalla Magazine
June 11 2014

An Armenian-Syrian remembers his blooms and the city he loves

by Hannah Lucinda Smith

BACKGAMMON blog: A board game played in smoky cafes from Beirut to
Baghdad. Backgammon’s earliest ancestor is five thousand years old
and was unearthed in southern Iraq. ‘Backgammon’ covers the state of
play in the countries spanning the Fertile Crescent: Syria, Lebanon,
Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq.

“Flowers, I love flowers!” exclaims Krikor. “I used to skip school
so I could go and pick flowers. Everyone in Aleppo knew me by my
nickname–I was Krikor, the flower seller!”

His eyes shone bright as he talked about the job and the city he
loved. Krikor was as intertwined with Aleppo’s Armenian quarter as
the honey-colored bricks of the old Orthodox churches. Everyone knew
him, he says–he didn’t have friends, he had customers. They would
go to see him for important and happy occasions–their weddings, new
babies and birthdays–and he would lovingly put together a bouquet
for them, made up of Aleppo’s finest blooms. “I swear, I was loved,”
he says. “Any events that occurred, I enjoyed them. And at the end
of the day, I would say ‘Thank God!'”

Two generations earlier, Krikor’s grandparents were famous too. “They
were the za’atar makers!” he says. Za’atar is a fragrant blend of
dried herbs, sumac and sesame seeds.”They were the best za’atar makers
in all of Aleppo. All the survivors [of the massacre of Armenians in
Turkey in 1915] came to them to buy their za’atar.”

Krikor’s grandparents were also survivors of the atrocities committed
in 1915 at the hands of the Ottomans. They fled their hometown of
Konya, in central Turkey, and like thousands of others they settled
in Aleppo and built the foundations of the city’s thriving Armenian
quarter. A century later, 70,000 Armenians lived in the city, working
as artisans and running businesses, speaking in Arabic with other
Syrians but in Armenian among themselves, and worshipping in the
Armenian churches.

Like many others, Krikor started small. In the third grade he started
selling flowers on the street. His father was ashamed. “He said that
Arabs were known as flower sellers,” says Krikor. “He told me that
no one would want me to marry their daughter.”

But Krikor loved flowers and so he continued, selling them day after
day on the streets of his city. His business grew and he became well
known. By the time he left Aleppo he had his own shop and he had just
put down the deposit on a house. “Everything I had I paid for with the
sweat off my brow,” he says. “That was the first house I ever owned.”

But throughout the searing summer of 2012, as the conflict began to
encroach on Aleppo, everything started to change. The bombs and the
curfews were the impersonal signs, but it was the sudden change in
Krikor’s business that told the human story of what was happening. No
one was getting married anymore; no one wanted to celebrate their
birthdays. His customers started asking him to arrange funeral wreaths.

Krikor was one of the first Aleppines to flee: when the Armenian
government sent a plane to Aleppo to collect its citizens, he boarded
it with his wife. She held an Armenian passport and he knew that his
ancestry would afford him safe passage. They settled in Armenia’s
capital, Yerevan, and hoped they would only be there for a few months.

But that was two years ago, and they are still here. Krikor can’t sell
flowers in Armenia, so instead he paints doors and dreams of the day
when he will be able to go back to Aleppo. His house is still there
and so are his parents. Until seven months ago he used to travel
back to see them regularly, taking the coach south through Turkey,
crossing over a rebel-held border crossing and boarding the rickety
bus to Aleppo city.

On his last trip there, in October 2013, he fell foul of the conflict’s
ruthless sectarian edge, which he had feared since the earliest
days of the uprising. In between the border and Aleppo, the bus he
was traveling on was stopped at a checkpoint controlled by Al-Nusra
Front, one of the most extreme Islamist rebel groups. The fighters
checked all the passengers’ passports, and those with Muslim names
were allowed to go. Krikor, with his Armenian surname, was arrested,
detained and tortured. His only crime was being a Christian.

Out on the streets of Yerevan, Krikor unrolled the Syrian flag with
two stars that he carried with him in his coat pocket and held it
between outstretched arms, proud and unafraid. He did not want to
talk about politics, or Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, or who is
right and wrong. All he wanted to speak about was his love for his
city and for flowers.

“I believe things will get better,” he says. “And if things get better,
I will go back.”

ARMENIA TO SOLVE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE PEOPLE

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
June 11 2014

11 June 2014 – 1:58pm

Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to VK

The Armenian authorities have recently published a statement saying
that prices for electricity are going to be increased by 3.8-4.3
drams or by 10 percent. The authorities explain that the increase
is necessary in order to secure the financial stability of energy
companies and a stable power supply.

Within the last two or three days various energy companies, including
the Armenian atomic power plant, the Yerevan thermal electric power
station and the Sevano-Razdansky hydro-electric power station have
been saying that they are facing financial problems, as they have to
pay back loans and modernize their facilities. The companies have been
saying that the only way to solve these problems is to increase tarifs
for power. In such a case the companies will be able to overcome the
deficit. Experts believe, however, that in future the companies will
face the same problems.

Some media reported that the Armenian authorities are negotiating
the sale of the Electricity Network of Armenia private corporation,
which now belongs to RAO YeES, to Gazprom. So in order to make the deal
more favourable to Gazprom the authorities are trying to increase the
company’s efficiency. The fact that at the moment the company does not
operate efficiently has been confirmed by its chief executive Yevgeni
Bibin. According to him, in 2012 the company functioned at a loss,
while in 2011 its profits decreased by 75 percent.

This means that the company is a bankrupt. Its assets constitute around
$250 million and it has loans worth $240 million. In other words,
the company cannot pay its loans back and needs further investment.

According to the official data, in first quarter of 2014 the
consumption of energy decreased by 4-5 percent. “The demand for energy
depends on prices. That is why the population and businesses are
trying to consume less power. The decrease is already quite tangible
and production costs more for the energy companies,” lawmaker from the
Flourishing Armenia party Mikael Melkumyan says. According to him,
the production of bread, vegetables and construction materials will
also be affected by the issues, since these kinds of products demand
a lot of power.

Some experts believe that the reason for this is the cabinet’s
inability to draft an adequate development programme for business.

They say the government should develop a scheme, in the framework of
which all the loans should be paid back within 25 years.

Another reason is that the authorities conduct an unwise policy towards
energy production. The authorities have launched the construction of
new energy facilities, while the demand for power is on the decrease.

One more reason is that the cabinet does not control the operation
of the Electricity Network of Armenia, which is in fact a foreign
company. The firm has the unique right to deliver energy to the
country, which is acquired on the condition that all the necessary
investment will be provided. How can one explain how a company,
which was profitable 10 years ago, is now facing bankruptcy?

Some experts point out that it is unacceptable to solve the problems
the company is facing at the expense of the population and businesses
while the social and economic situation is very difficult. In addition
to that, prices for energy already increased 30 percent last year
for daytime use and by 40 percent for nighttime. Experts believe the
state should find other ways to cope with the matter.

JOIN THE ARMENIANS, SEE THE WORLD

Irish Times
June 11 2014

An Irishman’s Diary about oppressed minorities

by Frank McNally

Photo: A 14th-century Armenian gospel with jewelled binding in the
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. “In the production and reproduction
of holy books, the medieval monks of Armenia far outdid their vaunted
Irish counterparts. And a byproduct of this is that, today, there may
be as many Armenian books in Dublin as actual Armenians.” Photograph:
Paddy Whelan

My mention of the Loyal League of Yiddish Sons of Erin last week
(June 6th) provoked an email from, of all places, Hawaii. Patrick
Fitzgerald Donovan was drawing attention to the existence of an even
more select group of exiles. In poker terms, he was seeing my LLYSE
and raising me IASZ – the Irish Armenian Sons of Zion.

The group was formed, Patrick says, back in the early 1970s, in
Bennington, Vermont. He and the other founders, Eliot Cohen and
Charles Bergamian, were relaxing “with a few beers”. Then, as often
happens with beer, they decided to form a representative organisation
to embrace their collective ethnicities.

They considered several names, including “Irish Jews in Search of
Armenia”, before settling on the IASZ. And although the group remains
a small one, it’s still going, unlike the LLYSE. “We have been in
existence now for over 40 years”, writes Patrick, “and have a number
of younger members ready to carry on into the next 40”.

It’s not clear (and it seemed indelicate to ask) whether any of the
younger members are the result of interbreeding between two or more of
the diasporas involved. By the law of averages, I suppose, there must
be a few genetically Irish-Armenian Jews somewhere. And if there are,
they must feel uniquely oppressed.

On top of their history of invasion and dispossession, the Armenians
have the added affliction that the world has largely forgotten what
happened to them, even though the worst of it is still less than a
century old.

What is now known as the “Armenian Genocide” of 1915 was called
something else then, because the word genocide was not coined until
1944. But that another genocide had happened by 1944 was in part a
consequence of international indifference to the earlier one.

Here is Hitler briefing his generals in 1939 about the need to
obliterate Poland, and explaining why they’ll get away with it:
“Only in this way will we win the lebensraum that we need. Who,
after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

The email from Hawaii reminded me that we live on a small planet. I
read it while strolling through central Dublin in the footsteps
(probably) of that celebrated Irish Jew, Leopold Bloom. And it
persuaded me to make a short detour, via Dublin Castle, for an
overdue visit to that wonderful museum, the Chester Beatty Library
of Oriental Art.

Among the treasures there, I knew, were more than 100 Armenian books
and manuscripts of varying antiquity, part of a tradition for which
that country was long famous.

Indeed, in the production and reproduction of holy books, the medieval
monks of Armenia far outdid their vaunted Irish counterparts. And a
byproduct of this is that, today, there may be as many Armenian books
in Dublin as actual Armenians.

Not that I saw the books this time, to be honest. They’re mostly in
storage, and I was in a hurry. So I confined myself to the museum’s
suitably exotic Silk Road cafe, where I toasted the IASZ with coffee
and a date biscuit. I think that qualifies me for honorary membership.

Speaking of honorary membership, and closer to home, I’ve also
been hearing from Mark Minihan in Co Wexford, whose late father
Andy once enjoyed such status with the LLYSE. Andy Minihan is now
perhaps best remembered as the council chairman – or “Mister Mayor”
– who in 1963 welcomed JFK to New Ross, and whose irreverent wit
caused much laughter from the visitor. In the years following, he was
invited to lead St Patrick’s Day parades with the mayors of New York,
Chicago, and Jersey City. And it was while in NY that he was elected
an honorary member of the LLYSE. In typical fashion, he accepted on
condition that they didn’t expect him to have the “operation”.

The Dublin-born league chairman Mike Mann, a New York union boss,
subsequently raised money for the JFK Arboretum in New Ross and
travelled over for the opening with fellow union leader Harry Van
Arsdale, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers.

With such powerful allies, Mark Minihan and a friend of his were not
stuck for jobs when they went to the US on J1 visas the following
summer. Sure enough, Mark got work with an electrical contractor in
the New York Times offices.

His friend’s fortunes, meanwhile, were even more dramatic. He rose
rapidly in the Big Apple. Then he went down, just as fast. Then up
again. And so on all summer. You guessed it. He was a lift operator
in the Empire State Building.

U.S.-AZERBAIJAN RELATIONS: THE DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS DIMENSION

US Department of State
June 11 2014

Testimony
Thomas O. Melia
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Written Testimony to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in
Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission)
Washington, DC
June 11, 2014

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission, thank you for inviting me to
speak to you today about the democracy and human rights dimension of
U.S.-Azerbaijan relations in advance of your visit to Baku later this
month for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Annual Session. My colleagues
at the State Department and I greatly appreciate the dedication of
you and your fellow Commissioners and your staff to the OSCE and its
institutions – especially to the enduring principles enshrined in the
Helsinki Final Act and the body of commitments that comprise the OSCE’s
“human dimension.” We also greatly value our regular consultations
with you and your staff.

I would like to start by referring to a key principle of the OSCE,
as set forth in the 1991 “Moscow Document” and notably reaffirmed
in the 2010 Astana Summit Declaration, in which OSCE participating
States agreed unanimously that:

“issues relating to human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy
and the rule of law are of international concern, as respect for
these rights and freedoms constitutes one of the foundations of the
international order. They categorically and irrevocably declare that
the commitments undertaken in the field of the human dimension of the
OSCE are matters of direct and legitimate concern to all participating
States and do not belong exclusively to the internal affairs of the
State concerned.”

This concept linking respect for human rights within states to lasting
security among states is reflected in our multilateral interactions
and in our bilateral relationships with all OSCE participating States,
including Azerbaijan. It forms the basis on which the United States
continues to support efforts to advance democracy worldwide. In
Azerbaijan, this constitutes one of three equally important core goals,
which Deputy Assistant Secretary Rubin has just spoken to. U.S.

officials at all levels in Baku and Washington regularly highlight
the importance of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,
rule of law, and other basic building blocks of democracy, publicly
and privately. U.S. officials regularly meet with a variety of
Azerbaijanis, ranging from government officials to civil society
activists and opposition political party representatives.

While serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, I have visited
Azerbaijan three times, holding valuable meetings with leading
government officials, including President Ilham Aliyev, as well as with
opposition political leaders, civil society actors, and journalists. I
have been joined on these missions to Azerbaijan, as well as to other
countries, by senior colleagues from the Department of State’s European
and Eurasian Affairs Bureau, USAID, and the Department of Justice. I
believe these are important opportunities to listen to Azerbaijanis
inside and outside of government, to share with them our thoughts,
and to demonstrate that we do care about all three dimensions of the
relationship. Indeed, I would like to visit Azerbaijan again soon to
continue these conversations.

The United States also provides assistance to support Azerbaijan’s
democratic development efforts, with an emphasis on support for civil
society, independent media, and rule of law. The largest part of this
assistance is provided by our colleagues at USAID, and we in the State
Department work very closely with them to ensure that these programs
are neatly lined up with our overall policy priorities. Similarly, we
work closely in Washington and Baku with the legal experts provided by
the Department of Justice in the Overseas Prosecutorial Development
Assistance and Training program. Our inter-agency partnership is
working very well.

Just two weeks ago, on May 28, Azerbaijan celebrated the 96th
anniversary of the day in 1918 on which it became the first majority
Muslim, democratic republic in the world. The Azerbaijan Democratic
Republic lasted only 23 months, until it was invaded by the Soviet Red
Army and forcibly incorporated into the nascent Soviet Union, where
it remained captive for more than seven decades. Since Azerbaijan
regained its independence in 1991, it has begun to modernize, and
its people have become more integrated into the wider world.

With regard to building democratic institutions and developing
democratic norms, Azerbaijan has taken some positive steps. For
example, it established six administrative government service centers
in Baku and the regions (known as “ASAN,” which means “easy” in
Azeri) intended to eliminate corruption by public officials at the
local level. More broadly, however, we have been seeing increasing
constraints on fundamental freedoms that increase the risk of domestic
instability, undermine confidence the rule of law will be respected,
and prevent Azerbaijanis from reaching their full potential.

Five years ago, it was already difficult for advocates of democratic
reform – especially opposition political parties – to participate in
the political life of the country, but it was still possible for NGOs
and independent activists to operate. The environment has worsened
significantly since then, beginning with the 2009 incarceration of
young democracy activists Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade. Although they
were released in 2010, the suppression of peaceful dissent increased
in 2011, with the arrests of young Azerbaijani activists who sought
to organize peaceful pro-democracy rallies in Baku. The Milli Mejlis
(Azerbaijan’s parliament) passed legislation significantly increasing
fines on participants and organizers of unauthorized protests in
November 2012, which resulted in the detention of numerous peaceful
pro-democracy activists for baseless administrative violations. Since
early 2013, the space for peaceful dissent has narrowed more
dramatically, and the exercise of fundamental freedoms has become still
more tenuous. A number of leading peaceful democracy advocates, civil
society activists, and journalists have been incarcerated, including
presidential candidate and chairman of the democratic reform-oriented
REAL Movement, Ilgar Mammadov; opposition journalist and Musavat Party
Deputy Chairman Tofig Yagublu; members of democratic youth movements;
blogger Abdul Abilov; religious scholar and activist Taleh Bagirzade;
Khural Editor Avaz Zeynalli; and the chairman of NDI’s local election
monitoring partner, the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies
Center (EMDS), Anar Mammadli.

Additionally, two rounds of legislative amendments since March 2013
have restricted NGO funding and activity. Officials have pressured
Azerbaijani and international NGOs, including some USAID implementing
partners, which in some cases have been subject to investigations
by the tax and justice ministries. Authorities also launched a
criminal investigation of EMDS – which has been a recipient of
USAID and European assistance – and another election monitoring NGO,
the International Cooperation of Volunteers (ICV) Public Union, soon
after the flawed October 2013 presidential election. Such actions have
resulted in an increasingly hostile operating environment for civil
society, especially for those activists and groups advocating respect
for human rights, fundamental freedoms, and government accountability;
thereby depriving citizens the open channels through which they
can voice their concerns. Pressure on independent defense lawyers
has resulted in a decreasing number of such lawyers ready to defend
individuals in sensitive cases.

Restrictions on the ability of selected Azerbaijani activists to travel
outside of the country are also a problem, calling into question
the extent of the government’s commitment to freedom of movement, a
founding tenet of the OSCE. For example, since 2006, the government
has prevented the foreign travel of opposition Popular Front Party
Chairman Ali Karimli by refusing to renew his passport.

Today in Bern, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights is discussing the important role of human rights defenders
in OSCE participating States. Sadly, one of Azerbaijan’s leading
human rights defenders, Leyla Yunus, was unable to attend the event,
because Azerbaijan’s authorities confiscated her passport – as well as
her husband’s – in April. This confiscation occurred in the context
of the April 19 arrest of well-known journalist Rauf Mirkadirov,
the subsequent questioning of Leyla Yunus and her husband about
Mirkadirov, and their poor treatment by police authorities. All three
have been strong proponents of people-to-people diplomacy, which helps
build ties between Azerbaijanis and Armenians and is crucial to the
peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The peaceful
resolution of this conflict will open borders, increase security,
and create new opportunities to trade, travel, and engage across the
region. Authorities also have prevented some in the international
human rights community from visiting or returning to Azerbaijan.

These are not the kinds of actions the United States or the broader
international community wants to see from a partner, an OSCE
participating State, and currently the chair of the Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe.

When President Obama spoke last month at the West Point commencement,
he explained that:

“America’s support for democracy and human rights goes beyond idealism
— it is a matter of national security. Democracies are our closest
friends and are far less likely to go to war. Economies based on free
and open markets perform better and become markets for our goods.

Respect for human rights is an antidote to instability and the
grievances that fuel violence and terror.

And he noted that,

“In capitals around the globe — including, unfortunately, some of
America’s partners — there has been a crackdown on civil society.”

We recognize that Azerbaijan lives in a very difficult neighborhood
and that its government seeks stability. The United States strongly
supports Azerbaijan’s long-term stability, security, and prosperity.

The best way to guarantee such a future is to strengthen democratic
processes and institutions to buttress respect for the rule of law
and fundamental freedoms. Doing so will foster long-term internal
stability, create the most inviting environment for economic investment
and growth, and make Azerbaijan the very best that it can be, by
giving every citizen the freedom and space to achieve his or her
full potential, thereby maximizing the contributions of all of its
people. We consider this to be in both the short-term and the long-term
interests of both the people and the government of Azerbaijan. The
U.S. Embassy in Baku and we in Washington have been active on these
issues and have made these points. For example, Ambassador Morningstar
has been doing an outstanding job in advocating publicly as well as
privately for an environment conducive to a vibrant civil society
and in raising specific impediments to such an environment.

The United States believes that Azerbaijan will have greater stability
and prosperity, and will more quickly reach its full potential, by
allowing a more open society. We therefore will continue to support
Azerbaijani efforts to advance the country’s democratic potential,
including respect for rule of law, human rights, and fundamental
freedoms. We will continue to urge Azerbaijan to live up to its OSCE
commitments and other international human rights obligations. We will
also encourage Azerbaijan to take advantage of its chairmanship of
the Council of Europe to take concrete steps on important democracy
and human rights issues. The positive changes we advocate would
benefit both the people and the government of Azerbaijan. Such changes
would also make it easier for us to expand and deepen our bilateral
relationship, since our strongest relationships are with democratic
states that respect the full range of human rights of all of their
citizens.

As President Obama indicated in his recent message marking Azerbaijan’s
National Day, and to return to where I began, we encourage Azerbaijan
to reclaim the leadership role on human rights and fundamental freedoms
that its people and government demonstrated 96 years ago.

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for this opportunity to discuss
democracy and human rights trends in Azerbaijan and our overall
bilateral relationship.