OSCE Office expresses concern over banning of political rally in Baku

BAKU, 19 May 2005 - The OSCE Office in Baku today expressed its concern over the refusal by the Baku Mayor's Office to authorize a rally of opposition parties planned for Saturday, 21 May.

"The decision taken by the Mayor of Baku seems to contradict the spirit of the 12 May Presidential Decree, which ordered the local administration to authorize political rallies and find appropriate venues for them," said Ambassador Maurizio Pavesi, Head of the OSCE Office in Baku. "Such a decision raises doubts about the implementation of the Decree."

The Mayor's Office has said that the 21 May rally would interfere with preparations for the official opening ceremony of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which will take place on 25 May.

"The fact that no public manifestations of the opposition have been allowed in the city in the past 19 months is another example of the position taken by the Baku Executive Authority, which violates the constitutional law," added Ambassador Pavesi.

The OSCE Office in Baku hopes that the right to freedom of assembly will be immediately restored, not only in connection with the November Parliamenatry Elections, but as a fundamental political right of citizens.