Member of Parliament from Shemakha – Fifth Year
Report
On the activities of Elkhan Suleymanov, MP from Shamakhi, Head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of Euronest, member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(January – September 2015)
Appeals of voters
From January 1, 2015 to September 20, 2015, MP from Shamakhi Elkhan Suleymanov collected from voters various types of appeals, including 46 written appeals, 19 of which were related to financial aid, 11 legal issues, and 16 social problems.
Moreover, Elkhan Suleymanov`s office received 128 oral appeals, 67 of which were connected to financial aid and personal issues, 8 legal affairs, and 53 social problems.
Each of appeals was thoroughly studied and appropriate measures taken. Inquiries were sent to relevant authorities regarding 12 appeals, 3 of which were implemented, 2 are being fulfilled, while 7 are still processed by the authorities. 22 appeals of voters were determined to be inconsistent with legal norms and relevant explanation was provided to the applicants.
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Meeting with voters
On December 29, 2014, Holiday presents on behalf of MP Elkhan Suleymanov were delivered to 72 families of Kharabakh and January 20 martyrs. 1,150 children from Shamakhi kindergartens also received holiday gifts. By taking part in New Year celebration at the kindergarten No. 5 in Shamakhi, Elkhan Suleymanov delivered his congratulations and presents to 75 kids.
On March 7, 148 mother heroines from Shamakhi were congratulated and received presents on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
On March 19, MP Elkhan Suleymanov congratulated voters on the occasion of the Novruz Bayram. Holiday presents from him were delivered to 72 families of Kharabakh and January 20 martyrs.
On May 7, World War II veterans received congratulations and gifts on behalf of MP Elkhan Suleymanov.
On May 15, MP Elkhan Suleymanov attended Shamakhi Children Creativity Center to take part in the presentation ceremony of Shamakhi Encyclopedia created by 1905.az studio with his initiative and support. In his speech, Elkhan Suleymanov stressed out that the Encyclopedia would be an important and reliable source on Shamakhi and that its print version would soon be released.
The book titled “Shamakhi member of parliament – the fourth year” was also presented at the event.
On May 22, MP Elkhan Suleymanov attended at the 5th M. A. Sabir Recital Contest co-organized by Freedom of Speech Protection Fund (AFSF) and ACSDA. The winners were awarded with money rewards.
On June 2, MP Elkhan Suleymanov met with the literature teachers of the winners of the 5th M. A. Sabir Recital Contest and presented them gifts.
On July 12, MP Elkhan Suleymanov attended an Iftar ceremony at Shamakhi Juma Mosque.
On July 26, MP Elkhan Suleymanov attended the opening ceremony of water supply to Dag Bagirli village, Shamakhi and opening ceremony of the tenth Sabir spring. Later he took part in wedding party of Tural and Gunay, young Shamakhi residents.
On August 24, MP Elkhan Suleymanov met with Shamakhi-born students, who had got admitted to college with high scores, their parents and teachers. Immediately after the meeting, he set off for the remote village of Archiman, which is located 30 km away from the rayon center. In the village, he met with local residents in front of the new school building constructed with his initiative and support.
On September 15, MP Elkhan Suleymanov took part in the opening ceremony of the new school building constructed with his initiative and support. In his speech at the opening ceremony attended by local residents, representatives of the executive authorities and Shamakhi education department, Elkhan Suleymanov congratulated teaching staff and pupils. He told about his decision to build an additional school building given the small size of the local school, its difficulties in the education process and appeals of the villagers. Today, three 45-seat classrooms are ready for education. All pupils were also presented gifts.
International activities
On January 7, his explanatory comments were published regarding the Information Note on “Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship of the Council of Europe: What follow-up on respect for human rights?” by Mr. Pedro Agramunt, Rapporteur on Azerbaijan in the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. The Information Note by the Rapporteur submitted both the positions of local NGOs and authorities on the information provided about the situation of human rights, as well as the considerations of international NGOs.
On January 22, local media published his article that emphasized the special chapter of the memorandum on PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights “How to prevent inappropriate restrictions on NGO activities in Europe” dealing with the recent amendments to the Azerbaijani legislation on NGO activities and with the implementation of the new rules did not reflect the real situation.
On January 29, he submitted to the PACE Secretariat the motion for resolution on ensuring right of Dilgam Asgarov, a Russian citizen, and Shahbaz Guliyev, an Azerbaijani citizen, to fair trial; they have been taken hostage by Armenian soldiers and sentenced by the court of the separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh.
On February 9, he stated that Azerbaijan would not take part in the 4th session of the Euronest PA to be held in Yerevan on March 16-18 and emphasized that the organization tried to insure Armenia from sanctions and responsibility for its crimes against Azerbaijan.
On February 12, in interview with APA, he spoke about his initiatives – the resolutions regarding the situation that had emerged as a result of the Armenia`s invasion against Azerbaijan and 22-year occupation of our territories. The first documents deals with the threats of the Sarsang reservoir, which is currently in the occupied lands, to the humanitarian and environmental situation in the 6 frontline districts of Azerbaijan; the second one – with the rising tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan; the third one – with ensuring right to fair trial of Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev, who have been taken hostages in Nagorno-Karabakh.
On March 5, he informed that the Presidential Committee of PACE adopted a resolution on the Azerbaijanis taken hostage by Armenia. According to Elkhan Suleymanov: “The resolution is the shortest and important step for making a decision at PACE on ensuring right of Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev to fair trial.”
On March 11, he answered questions of APA on the details and expectations of the report on the eve of the visit of Robert Walter, the rapporteur of the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the topic “Escalation of tension in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan”.
On March 12, he sent a letter of protest to the President of PACE Anne Brasseur, the member of the Bureau of the Council of Europe, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland, the Secretary General of PACE Wojciech Sawicki and the rapporteur Robert Walter regarding the serious mistake in the information provided by the official web resource of PACE and introduction the title of the report as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, proposed that management authority over the official web resource of the organization to be given from the Secretary General of PACE to independent experts in order to prevent such problems in the future.
On March 16-19, he attended the meeting of the PACE Monitoring Committee in Paris.
On March 17, he informed about the 4th session of the Euronest PA, which was being held in Yerevan, Armenia and stressed that the conference had begun of the provocation of Armenian MPs.
On March 18, in his interview on the legitimacy of the adopted resolutions by the 50% members, who were present, at the 4th session of the Euronest PA in Yerevan, he stressed out that besides Azerbaijan, Moldova almost did not attend the session either. Moldova was represented by only one MP, while the delegations of Ukraine and Georgia were not full.” According to Elkhan Suleymanov, 4 resolutions were adopted at the session: “Resolution on engaging in a stronger partnership between the EU and Eastern European partner countries through the European Neighbourhood Instrument for 2014-2020” at the Political Committee, “Resolution on infrastructural cooperation between the EU and Eastern Partnership countries: joint road, rail and air transport projects” at the Economic Committee, “Resolution on challenges, potential and new engagement in cooperating on energy efficiency and renewable sources within the Eastern Partnership “ at the Energy Committee, “Resolution on culture and intercultural dialogue in the context of the Eastern Partnership” at the Sosial and Cultural Committee.
On April 8, he commented on a next anti-Azerbaijani statement of Human Rights Watch. Noting that the statement was announced on the eve of the visit of European Union Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn to Baku, Elkhan Suleymanov said that a number of foreign NGOs had also published a similar anti-Azerbaijan statement ahead of the visit of European Union’s Special Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis to Azerbaijan on February 23-26.
On April 13, he sent an appeal to the director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Michael George Link for his visit to Baku as part of preparation for monitoring of the 2015 parliamentary elections. The appeal was also sent to the chairman of OSCE Ivica Dacic, the chairman of the OSCE PA Ilkka Kanerva, the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, President of PACE Anne Brasseur and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland.
On April 16, as Vice President of Euronest PA and head of the Azerbaijani delegation, he addressed all members of the European Parliament in order to express his strong protest against the discussion and voting on the centenary of the so-called Armenian genocide, as well as the adopted resolution.
On April 18, in his address to President of PACE Anne Brasseur, he expressed his surprise by the press release on the PACE official website “President welcomes Armenia’s steady advancement on path of reform” dated on April 15; furthermore, he noted that the phrase “Nagorno-Karabakh conflict” was twice mentioned on the release, despite the repeated confirmation of PACE to officially express this conflict as “occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and other seven districts of Azerbaijan” in its leading structures.
On June 3, the photo-album “Sketches on Baku” he had initiated, was re-published on the eve of Baku-2015, the first European Games. The first edition titled “20 sketches on Baku” had received the main award of the “Book Art” contest of the National Union of Publishers and Polygraphists.
On June 22, he took part and delivered a speech in the meeting of the group of the European People’s Party (EPP) in Strasbourg. The report on activities of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan prepared by co-rapporteurs Pedro Agramunt and Tadeusz Iwinski was discussed at the meeting. The MP said: “I am very disappointed with your attitude to the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands. With your speech you deny the document dated June 16, 2015 of the European Court of Human Rights. In its judgment, the Court highlights the fact that Armenia has virtual control over Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. The document also confirms that Armenia bears international legal responsibility for human rights violations in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent districts.According to the Court, through its military presence and provision of military equipment and expertise, Armenia has been playing a significant role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict since the very first days. Armenia`s military support remains crucial for the control of the territories.”
On June 25, he made a statement in regard with the report on activities of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan prepared by co-rapporteurs Pedro Agramunt and Tadeusz Iwinski; the document had been discussed and adopted on June 23, 2015 at the PACE summer session. Elkhan Suleymanov stressed that the representatives of the house of democracy and freedom supported the aggressor and aggression in the PACE June session.
On July 9, he sent a letter to President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, chairwoman of the Development Committee Linda McAvan, chairman of Committee on Foreign Affairs elmar Brok. The letter is connected with the recommendations of Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group in the European Parliament to the President of the European Parliament. The letter characterizes the recommendation on not sending an observation mission to the November 2015 parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan as a result of the unprecedented campaign against our country.
On July 14, he congratulated the 88-year-old researcher Babakhan Niyazli on the occasion of his birthday at the meeting of the History Section of Scientific and Editorial Board of the Shamakhi Encyclopedia.
On July 29, he sent a letter to the co-chairs and Bureau members of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. According to the letter, the fact that the Secretariat of the European Parliament assumes preparation of the draft report should be evaluated as ana attempt to preserve its influence on EaP countries.
On July 31, he appealed to the Mitch McConnell, the Majority Leader and Harry Reid, the Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate. The appeal was related to the letter, which had been signed by 16 senators and dealing with complaints of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.
On August 13, he made an important statement stressing that the Sarsang reservoir is dangerous weapon of Armenia against Azerbaijan on the eve of the visit of Milica Markovic, PACE  Rapporteur for the motion on “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water” to Baku.
On August 19, he sent a letter of protest to President of European Parliament Martin Schulz. The letter was related to an address of Martin Schulz dated on August 15 concerning “the legal proceedings against Mrs. Leyla Yunus and Mr. Arif Yunus in connection with financial misconducts and tax evasion.”
On August 25, within the framework of her visit to Azerbaijan, Milica Markovic, PACE  Rapporteur for the motion on “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water” met with members of the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan (ACSDA).
On September 2, he informed about the statement of Robert Walter, the rapporteur on the topic “Escalation of tension in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan” at the PACE Committee. Robert Walter was appointed rapporteur at the PACE Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy on the basis of a draft resolution presented by Elkhan Suleymanov.
On September 10, he sent two letters to the European Parliament in connection with the resolution adopted by the EP. In his letter, he tanked the EP members, who were supporting friendship and cooperation with Azerbaijan. The other letter was addressed Marietje Schaake,
Ulrike Lunacek and other MPs supporting an anti-Azerbaijani campaign.
On September 12, he commented on the biased anti-Azerbaijani resolution adopted on September 9, 2015 by the European Parliament. “The biased anti-Azerbaijani resolution adopted by the European Parliament on September 9, 2015 faced serious protest in Azerbaijan. The adoption of the resolution was accompanied with both biased and non-objective nature of its text and many more great and planned processes. These processes deal with national interests of the Azerbaijan Republic in one form or another and constitute a part of wide-range campaign against our nation.” Elkhan Suleymanov, head of Azerbaijani delegation to Euronest PA told APA.
On September 21, his analytical piece titled “Analysis of recommendations of international organizations on the elections in Azerbaijan” was published in local press. The release of the Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) by OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) at the end of August 2015 in connection with the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan to be held on November 1, 2015 and the combination of the issues regarding the election environment and process into 7 topics were emphasized in the article. They are gender equality, election commissions, appeal procedures, process of cadidate registration, freedom of assembly, election monitoring of NGOs, defamation rules and media. Elkhan Suleymanov noted that the ODIHR NAM report was thoroughly investigated by the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan
On September 23, he gave an interview to APA in connection with the visit of the PACE pre-election mission to Baku on September 21-22. Commenting on the visit of the mission that met with political parties (both represented and not represented in the parliament), human rights advocates, NGOs, civil society activists and mass media, Elkhan Suleymanov noted that anti-Azerbaijani forces were trying by all means to prevent PACE observation of Azerbaijani elections.
