Observers from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakstan and Croatia met with several obsatcles in their attempt to enter Ukraine before the presidential election.(26-DEC-04).
The Election Monitoring Organizations ENEMO confirmed that 70 Belarusians observers were detained by the authorities in Minsk the 22 of December. Also student in Kazakhstan have been warned to travel to Ukriane. ENEMO also reported that a charter flight from Zagreb to Odessa with 60 Croatian observers had its approval for landing delayed.
1000 observers from the former Soviet Union
The head of ENEMO, Peter Novotny gives the observers from civic organisations in the former Soviet Union and Central Europe credit for participating in the monitoring, since they could be faced with persecution when they return home to their own countries.
Problems in Donetsk
According to the Azeri coordinator for the Human Rights House, Vugar Gojayev, the international observation mission consisting of 70 observers from Azerbaijan was not allowed to pass the check-out of customs service of Donetsk airport about two hours on 22 December. Fuad Hasanov from the organisation “Against Violence” Human Rights Center, Nadir Adilov from Azerbaijani Young Lawyers Union, Novella Jafaroglu from the Association on Protecting the Rights of Women and Saadat Bananyarly from Azerbaijani Branch of Int´l Society for Human Rights are members of the monitoring mission from Azerbaijan.
Observed irregularities in the November
The Azerbaijani observers monitored the presidential re-electionsin Donetsk, Luhansk and Mariopol cities on 26 December. The second tour of Ukrainian presidential elections, which was held on 21 november, was also monitored by 68 Azerbaijani observers in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The Azerbaijani observed revealed many irregularities during the presidential elections of 21 November.
