April 23, 2003 - 20:42 AMT
CE STATES VIOLATION OF RIGHTS OF ARMENIANS AND REFUGEES IN AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan is a country, where rights of refugees, foreigners, religious minorities and Armenians are being violated. A report prepared by the Council of Europe Commission on Struggle against Manifestations of Racism, Xenophobia and Anti-Semitism says. According to Baku sources, as reported by "Arminfo" agency, the CE experts visited Azerbaijan last March, where they held meetings with officials, as well as human rights advocates and representatives of non-governmental organizations. Meanwhile a number of Azeri human rights proponents, who had meetings with the European experts, expressed surprise on such wording in the CE report. Specifically, chairman of the Democracy and Human Rights Committee Chingiz Ganizade stated that in a conversation with the CE experts no problem of minorities in Azerbaijan was concerned. "Unfortunately, there are people, who send inadequate information aboard," - he supposed.