The World Press Freedom Day was celebrated in Azerbaijan by a number of events. The importance of press freedom for the country democracy was underlined at all the organized events and the current situation with press in Azerbaijan was assessed negatively. As part of the arrangements, the graves of late journalists Najaf Najafov and Elmar Huseynov were visited by media representatives, human rights defenders and political activists. (04-MAY-08)
Written by Shahla Ismayilova / HRH Azerbaijan on the basis of materials from Turan Information Agency, IRFS, photos by IRFS and Shahla Ismayilova
On 2 May, the Committee to Protect Speech Freedom and the journalism community conducted a round table in honour of World Press Freedom Day. The document “Media and Society in the Prism of 2008” was presented. 
-The motive is to destroy the free media
The Director of “Turan” Information Agency Mehman Aliyev, right, said: “2007 was difficult for all of us, we suffered losses, more than 10 journalists were arrested, pressure against journalists increased, more than a 1000 higher court hearings on cases related to journalists took place, and the economic situation of the newspapers deteriorated. The motive behind this is to destroy free media”. According to Aliyev, there’s no basis for the development of freedom of speech in the country; the government influences public opinion and attempts to ensure one-sided information. Aliyev said this is the violation of constitutional rights of Azerbaijani citizens.
-To paralyze the media is to paralyze society
“2008 is the year of a presidential election and we, press representatives, should know that the situation will be more difficult and should be ready for this,” emphasized Aliyev and added that the major incidents have been happening in the media sector since the beginning of this year.
The Head of Musavat Party Isa Gambar, right, noted that the extraordinary situation in the press has been in existence since Ilham Aliyev came to power, and fear and indifference have been on the rise. “To limit speech freedom is to limit human conscience. To paralyze the media is to paralyze society,” said Gambar. He added that pressure and attacks against the media are an indicator that the government will lose its throne.
Graves of Najaf Najafov and Elmar Huseynov Visited
After the roundtable discussion, human rights activists, journalists, politicians and representatives of civil society visited the graves of founding chief editor of “Azadlig” Newspaper Najaf Najafov, who died in 1999, and “Monitor” Journal Editor-in-Chief Elmar Huseynov, who was shot dead in 2005. Here, “Turan” News Agency Mehman Aliyev, human rights activist Arzu Abdullayeva, Musavat Party head Isa Gamber and others spoke. All three spoke about the current situation, and noted that the fact that people were present at the graves despite the cold, rainy weather, proves that there are people struggling to protect freedom of expression.
Following the somber moment at the graves, members of the “Dalga” Youth Movement put on a small show. The show consisted of a parody of the Presidential Administration Socio-Political Department head Ali Hasanov. The person imitating Hasanov said, “We express gratitude to Mr. Ilham Aliyev, because he cares for the press, continuing the way of National Leader Heydar Aliyev. After the state’s oil policy, the next area that gets the most attention is the deliberate policy against journalists. And the result is that our journalists get prizes from international organizations.”
Awards for journalists 
On 2 May, Azerbaijan Women Journalist Union “Woman’s Media Watch” conducted an event in which awards were presented in honor of World Press Freedom Day. Head of the Union’s Board Sevinj Osmangizi, right, said that last year was difficult for the Azerbaijani Press and recalled that some journalists are still in prison. “Freedom of the press is continuously declining. However, we need the free press in a time when huge oil revenues are flowing into the country,” she stated. “Zerkalo” Newspaper Political Analyst Rauf Mirgadirov received an award for “Courage in Journalism,” “Azercell Telecom Company” received a award for “Support to Develop Journalism,” Radio Liberty’s staff received an award for “Service to Dialogue” nomination and “Echo” newspaper employee Dilbar Akhundzade received the “Loyalty to Journalism” award.
