2001
was challenging year for Azerbaijani mass media. According to Arif Aliyev,
chairman of the Azerbaijan Journalists’ Union “Yeni Nesil”, 30 court
judgments punished 21 newspapers during the year. “These newspapers have had
to pay fines totaling 700 million Manats (ca. US$150,000). The rights of
journalists were violated 120 times, and journalists were exposed to 55 of
assaults and beatings, and nobody has been charged for these excesses. 4
newspapers were closed, and the broadcasts of the ABA TV channel were halted.

The
culmination of the standoff between authorities and mass media representatives
was the dissolution of a meeting against suppression of freedom of speech on
December 12, 2001. 

At
this event, representatives of opposition mass media decided to hold an
unsanctioned meeting in front of the headquarters of the ruling “Yeni
Azerbaijan” (YAP) Party. The locale for the action was not an accident. At
the second summit of YAP,  three
newspapers “Yeni Musavat”, “Azadlig” and “Hurriet” were criticized
by YAP for undermining the statehood of the country, something which according
to the opposition press was followed by increased pressure from authorities.
About 100 journalists attempt to hold the demonstration in spite of failing to
receive permission to do so. The were prevented by the police. Numerous
journalists were beaten. After this incident, international organizations,
anxious about the pressure on the media, decided to render assistance to the
Azerbaijani mass media. The International Federation of Journalists decided to
allocate financial support to Azeri journalists having lost their jobs. The
International organization Reporters
sans frontières requested the President of Azerbaijan to put an end to
the suppression of the press.    

The
Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Walter Schwimmer, also appealed to
the Azerbaijani authorities. He asked Baku to undertake all necessary measures
to prevent such action against the press in the future and to respect freedom
of expressions and the mass media in accordance with Azerbaijan’s
international obligations.

On
December 18, President Heydar Aliyev decided to meet with representatives of
the mass media. During a three hour meeting, a sharp exchange of opinions on
the condition of mass media and on the political situation in the country took
place. The main focus was on problems preventing the development of mass
media, and on freedom of speech. The President made the important statement
that the negative appraisal of opposition newspapers’ activity sounded at
the second YAP summit was wrong. “I had not seen this document before the
summit, and after it was released, I expressed my negative attitude and asked
the executive secretary and other leaders of the party to correct the
mistake”. The President explained that while addressing the summit, he
called on members of the party to rebuff groundless accusations against the
opposition, which should not be considered as signal for press suppression. 

In
their turn, representatives of independent and opposition mass media expressed
anxiety for the increasing tension between authorities and the press. In
particular, they attracted the President’s attention to the closing of
several newspapers, the arrest of journalists, and their harassment by the
authorities. Discussions were held on economic measures specifically
introduced to hinder the activities of the press. An example was the named
prohibition to print opposition press in publishing houses, and the obstacles
for newspapers distribution. The meeting resulted in the freezing of
newspapers’ debts to publishing houses for one year, the resumption of
opposition newspapers’ publication by  the
state publishing house Azerbaijan, and the signing of a presidential decree by
the President “on additional measures on increasing state attention to mass
media”.

On
December 28, 2001, the  parliament
(Milli Mejlis) unanimously adopted a law “on amendments and changes to the
mass media law”. The amendments to the mass media law meant a significant
liberalization, and henceforth the press is allowed to be financed from all
sources that are not explicitly prohibited by law. Besides, limitations on
advertisement in printing and electronic mass media were repealed. The
existing system of mass media registration was also abolished. Legislation
allowing the bodies of executive power to suspend the activity of mass media
was also cancelled. The amended version of the law allows the suspension or
closure of mass media only according to court decision or a decision by the
owners. The item permitting authorities to deprive the accreditation of
journalists was also abolished.

At
the beginning of the New Year, President Aliyev called on all government
officials to cease legal actions against mass media representatives. In reply
to this Huseyn Huseynov, head of the state concern “Azeravtonagliyyet” and
mayor of Baku Hajibala Abutalibov repealed lawsuits against the newspapers
“Avropa” and “Criminal”. Ramiz Mekhtiyev, head of the presidential
administration, did the same thing on January 10. He waived a lawsuit against
Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the “Milletin Sesi” newspaper, which had
been closed by court decision. 

Immediately
after these events, results of traditional annual opinion polls provided by
the Committee on protection Azerbaijan
journalists’ rights italic">, showed that journalists and experts considered that President
Aliyev had become the number one “Friend of the press” in 2001. The second
and third places went to Chairman of the “Adalat” party Ilyas Ismailov,
and to Foreign Minister Vilayet Guliyev. Interestingly, parliamentary deputy
Jalal Aliyev, the  brother of the
President, was termed the number one “enemy of press” by an overwhelming
majority of respondents. The runner-ups in the list of enemies were Siyavush
Novruzov, deputy executive secretary of YAP, and Ramiz Mehtiev, the head of
the Presidential Administration.

In
the opinion of Arif Aliyev, the chairman of “Yeni Nesil”, The
President’s attitude to mass media should be an example for everyone, which
instills hope that the condition of the Azerbaijani mass media would improve
in 2002.

Gulnara
Ismailova,
a freelance journalist based in Baku, Azerbaijan.