Député de Chémakha – 4e année

• 08.04.2015

Report

On the one-year 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

(28.12.2013 – 31.12.2014)

Appeals of voters

From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, MP from Shamakhi Elkhan Suleymanov collected from voters va­rious types of appeals, including 72 written appeals, 35 of which were related to financial aid, 20 legal issues, and 17 social problems.

Moreover, Elkhan Suleymanov`s office received 135 oral appeals, 85 of which were connected to financial aid and personal issues, 36 legal affairs, and 14 social prob­lems.

Each of appeals was thoroughly studied and app­ropriate measures taken. Inquiries were sent to relevant authorities regarding 21 appeals, 3 of which were imple­mented, 4 are being fulfilled, while 14 are still processed by the authorities. 85 appeals of voters were determined to be inconsistent with legal norms and relevant expla­nation was provided to the applicants.

Meeting with voters

Over the past period, Elkhan Suleymanov had public meeting with voters from Shamakhi, press conferences and briefings, listened to proposals and problems of vo­ters and held charity events, including:

1. On December 28, 2013, MP Elkhan Suleymanov congratulated voters on the occasion of the New Year and the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis. Holiday presents from him were delivered to many Shamak­hi residents, including 165 mother heroines, 72 families of Kharabakh and January 20 martyrs, 34 World War II veterans. Little ones from 22 Shamakhi kindergartens also received holiday gifts. Mr. Elkhan Suleymanov also took part in celebrations at a kindergarten in the village of Kichik Khinisli.
2. On December 28, 2013, in his Shamakhi office Mr. Elkhan Suleymanov met with the winners of 2011-2013 M. A. Sabir recital competitions and students from Sha­makhi, who had entered universities with high scores in the past 3 years, presented his holiday gifts and personal scholarships to over 60 persons.
3. On March 7, 2014, 172 mother heroines from Sha­makhi were congratulated and received presents on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
4. On March 19, 2014, MP Elkhan Suleymanov cong­ratulated voters on the occasion of the Novruz Bayram. Holiday presents from him were delivered to many Sha­makhi residents, including 165 mother heroines, 72 fa­milies of Kharabakh and January 20 martyrs, 32 World War II veterans.
5. On March 28, 2014, the portal 1905.az was offici­ally presented in Elkhan Suleymanov`s office within the press tour for reporters organized by the Association of Civil Society Development Aid (ACSDA) on the occasi­on of the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis. Mr. Suleyma­nov provided detailed information on the portal, which was being presented on the eve of the 110th anniversary of the genocide against Azerbaijanis.
6. On May 9, 2014, MP Elkhan Suleymanov met with World War II veterans and presented gifts as in the pre­vious years.
7. On May 15, 2014, a song contest for young talents form Shamakhi was declared with the support of MP Elkhan Suleymanov.
8. On May 26, 2014, the paintings submitted for the “Cry of Sarsang” competition recently organized in Shamakhi by 1905.az and ACSDA were exhibited in the 1905.az mobile gallery.
9. On May 31, 2014, the IV M. A. Sabir Recital Contest came to an end, the winners were awarded with prizes; the contest had been initiated by MP Elkhan Suleyma­nov and co-organized by Freedom of Speech Protection Fund (AFSF) and ACSDA.
10. On June 4, 2014, the first Polish cosmonaut Miros­law Hermaszewski invited to Azerbaijan by MP Elkhan Suleymanov visited Shamakhi. On the same day, Miros­law Hermaszewski met with Mr. Elkhan Suleymanov in his Shamakhi office. Later a meeting with the first Polish cosmonaut was held at the E. Huseynov secondary scho­ol No. 2. The event was attended by the Head of Sha­makhi Executive Power Asif Agayev. On June 5, 2014, Miroslaw Hermaszewski visited Shamakhi Astroph­ysical Observatory. It should be noted that the book by Miroslaw Hermaszewski “The Burdgen of Weightless­ness” was translated into Azerbaijani by the Translation Laboratory of Heydar Aliyev’s Heritage Research Center (www.aliyevheritage.org).
11. On July 12, 2014, a spring was inaugurated and an Iftar served in the village of Marzandiyya on the occasi­on of Ramadan.
12. On July 17, 2014, an Iftar was served on the initi­ative of MP Elkhan Suleymanov in the Juma Mosque of Shamakhi.
13. On September 10, 2014, on the eve of the new edu­cational year MP Elkhan Suleymanov met with the Sha­makhi educational employees and the students, who had got admitted to college with high scores. Mr. Suleyma­nov presented his personal scholarships to young teacher Roya Gurbanova and experienced teacher Suleyman Zarbaliyev, who has a 48-year experience of teaching.
14. On September 10, 2014, a spring was inaugurated in the village of Malham with the initiative and support of MP Elkhan Suleymanov.
15. On September 17, 2014, MP Elkhan Suleymanov met with pupils of the village of Erchiman and presen­ted gifts to them.
16. On October 3, 2014, MP Elkhan Suleymanov congratulated 72 families of Kharabakh and January 20 martyrs on the occasion of Kurban Bayram.

Domestic and international activities

In addition to his activities in Shamakhi, Elkhan Su­leymanov successfully acts abroad as a member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of Euronest, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly and member of the bureau, the chairman of the Azerbaija­ni-Belgian parliamentary friendship group. At his direct initiative, organization and support, a number of major projects and a variety of events have been held both in Azerbaijan and foreign countries. Those events include:

On January 24, a monument immortalizing the me­mory of the persons, who went missing in 1992-1993 during the Karabakh war, was inaugurated at the initi­ative and support of Elkhan Suleymanov and by the or­ganizational support of the “Human Rights XXI Century Azerbaijan” Foundation, a member of the ACSDA; the inauguration took place in the area called the Martyrs Avenue in the Sabunchu district. The event was attended by members of parliament Elkhan Suleymanov and Fazil Mustafa, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, family members of the missing per­sons, employees of the State Commission on Hostages, Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People, officials of the executive power of the Sabunchu District, repre­sentatives of NGOs and media. The speakers talked abo­ut the Karabakh war and mentioned the statistical figu­res on the KIAs and MIAs. It was also noted that the war has not been finished and our territorial integrity has not been restored yet.

In late January, as a member of the Azerbaijani delega­tion Elkhan Suleymanov participated in the PACE win­ter session, which discussed a number of issues such as the election of a new president and vice-presidents, the Magnitsky case, the impact of the Internet on politics, the integration of migrants in Europe.

On February 12, the Vice-President of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly (PA), the head of the Azerbai­jani delegation to the Assembly Elkhan Suleymanov re­leased a statement on the hearing held in the Advisory Committee of the European Parliament on February 11. The statement touched upon the claims of the Azerbaija­ni mass media on possible punishment of 9 members of the European Parliament, who observed the presidential elections on October 9, 2013: “I consider it important to clarify the claims spread by the Azerbaijani media that the members of the official mission on the observation of the October 9 presidential elections in Azerbaijan will be punished by the Advisory Committee. This infor­mation is inaccurate and was made hurriedly”. Elkhan Suleymanov emphasized that one of the main purposes of power centers, which do not stop pressures against Azerbaijan is to harm the image of Azerbaijan before the world community by presenting it as an authoritarian country, to get engaged the Azerbaijani public in these issues by continuously addressing biased allegations, to distract Azerbaijan’s attention from 20% of its territories, including Nagorno-Karabakh and 7 surrounding regions occupied by Armenia for more than 20 years and to make Azerbaijan take hands off these territories.

On February 20, an updated and amended book “Khojaly-1992” was printed by Heydar Aliyev’s Herita­ge Research Center. Published in Azerbaijani, English, French and Russian languages, the book is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the genocide committed by Armenian armed forces. The chapter “Style of the agg­ressors” contains photos of the victims of the Armenian atrocities. It should be noted that the first edition of the book was published on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide. The consultant of the book and the author of the preface is the president of the ACSDA Elkhan Suleymanov.

In the meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the PACE on February 28, the member of the Azerbaijani de­legation Elkhan Suleymanov made a speech about the blockade of Nakhchivan and humanitarian disaster re­garding the Sarsang water reservoir, as well as the econo­mic, environmental, biological consequences associated with it. According to him, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which has a population of 410,000, is an Azer­baijani territory blockaded by Armenia for nearly 25 ye­ars: “As a result of the blockade, the Nakhchivan people had their rights violated, suffered great hardships, while the economic and social situation in the region remains difficult. Having occupied 20% of Azerbaijan`s territory, Armenian threatens to annex Nakhchivan, too. Consi­dering that the Nakhchivan residents face the constant threat, we see the everyday life is under high pressure in this dangerous zone”. Elkhan Suleymanov noted that no international organization, including the PACE has ever held any hearing or discussion on the blockade of Nakhchivan, or adopted any document for 25 years. It was proposed in the Monitoring Committee that the co-rapporteurs on Armenia and Azerbaijan conduct rese­arch on blockade of Nakhchivan and the humanitarian situation regarding the Sarsang reservoir and include these issues in their report, while the Council of Europe always keep under control.

In his address to the European institutions on March 18, Elkhan Suleymanov criticized them for their double standards. By declaring his support to Ukraine’s territo­rial integrity and the inadmissibility of changing its in­ternationally recognized borders, he noted that the prob­lems facing Ukraine were characteristic for Azerbaijan too. By emphasizing that 20% of Azerbaijan`s territory has been under Armenian occupation for 24 years, Elk­han Suleymanov demanded European structures show the same level of support, through declarations and sup­portive actions for Azerbaijan and its territorial integrity.

On March 27, Elkhan Suleymanov addressed a letter to Mr. Joe Biden, USA Vice-President and Mr. John Bo­ehner, Speaker of House of Representatives. In his add­ress, he noted strong discrepancies in the behavior of the United States in regard to such illegal attacks against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of countries in the Eurasian area. He asked the reason why US Congress does not analogically support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan against the background that the United Sta­tes Congress as well as U.S. leading figures, including President Barack Obama, have been condemning the breach of international laws, and both the U.S.A. and the EU have adopted sanctions against Russia. According to Elkhan Suleymanov, Nagorno-Karabakh is not a fro­zen conflict and that it deserves just as much attention as does the crisis in Ukraine. He also stressed possible grave implications of the Armenian occupation for the future.

On March 28, the ACSDA organized a press tour to Shamakhi on the occasion of March 31 – the Day of Geno­cide of the Azerbaijanis. The 50-member delegation con­sisting of historians, archaeologists and reporters visited the villages of Sharadil, Sagiyan and Mirikend, listened to the residents, who recalled the atrocities committed by the Armenians on March 31 – April 3, 1918, and atten­ded the spots, where the Azerbaijanis were killed with special brutality. Within the press tour, the journalists at­tended the presentation of the portal www.1905.az in the office of Elkhan Suleymanov, MP from Shamakhi. In his speech, Elkhan Suleymanov noted that 1905.az was ina­ugurated on the eve of the 110th anniversary of the ge­nocide of Azerbaijanis. He also spoke about the history of the genocidal policy of the Armenians against Azer­baijanis and the socio-political roots of the tragedies. The director of the portal Fuad Babayev, PhD, provided in­formation on the principle of the activities of the new electronic resource.

It was announced on April 2 that the draft resoluti­on submitted by E. Suleymanov and signed by mem­bers of the parliament representing 14 European nations would be considered at the Presidential Commission of the Council of Europe on Sunday, April 6. According to the draft resolution, over 400,000 people residing Azerbaijan’s frontier regions (Agjabadi, Agdam, Barda, Goranboy, Tartar, Yevlakh) face serious humanitarian, economic, environmental and biological threats due to acute water shortage since the Sarsand water reservoir remains under the Armenian occupation.

On April 11, the draft resolution of Elkhan Suleyma­nov on the situation regarding the Sarsang reservoir and its threats to the population of the adjacent territories was considered in the the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Having discussed the issue, the Bureau confirmed the decision of the Executive Committee and sent it to the Social Committee to appoint a rapporteur.

On April 14, Elkhan Suleymanov`s analysis the real international attitude to the occupation of Azerbaijani lands was published in local media. The article exami­ned the following:

Armenia`s invasion and severe consequences of the occupation, the Sarsang reservoir, which is under occu­pation, as a threat to the bordering provinces, the bloc­kade of Nakhchivan as a factor preventing the develop­ment of the region, differences between the Crimea and Nagorno-Karabakh problems, lack of equal, internati­onal support to Azerbaijan, which supports Ukraine`s territorial integrity, the fate of the Eastern Partnership, the Azerbaijan-EU strategic relations, the Azerbaijan-EU energy cooperation, the discrimination Azerbaijan faces in international organizations.

On April 16, Elkhan Suleymanov evaluated diverting the draft resolution “Population of Azerbaijan`s frontier districts are deliberately deprived of water” nominated by himself and other 27 MPs representing 11 European countries, to the Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development Committee.

He said that the report and resolution of the PACE on the Sarsang water storage reservoir created a new opportunity for Azerbaijan. If the truth on the situation is reflected in the report and we are able to implement it, the resolution can turn into a historical document. Perhaps, it will not immediately become history, but the time will prove its importance. Certainly, preparing a report based on specific examples on the situation of 400,000 residents, who are not IDPs and refugees like a million Azerbaijanis but suffer from the occupation, will make an impact right away. It will once again deliver the fact of occupation of Azerbaijani lands to the attention of the international community.

On April 18, a regional meeting within the framework of the “Cry of Sarsang” project launched by the Associ­ation of Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan (ASC­DA) was held in Heydar Aliyev Palace, Yevlakh. The participants were informed about the “Cry of Sarsang” competition among young artists and journalists and the winners were awarded. The President of ACSDA, MP Elkhan Suleymanov delivered a speech on “The impor­tance of informing the international community about the present state of the Sarsang water reservoir and pos­sible threats it may cause”.

On April 28, the book on the prominent Azerbaijani statesman Mahammad Amin Rasulzade by the researc­her Nasiman Yagublu was printed in English within the project of the Association for Civil Society Development. The book contains the chronology of the main nuances of Mahammad Amin Rasulzade`s life and activities, as well as a number of photos and documents.

On April 29, Elkhan Suleymanov`s statement on the ACSDA project regarding the 110th anniversary of the genocidal policy committed by Armenians against Azer­baijanis. The statement reads: “The main objective of this project is to inform the international community on the planned and systematic armed attacks killings, massac­res and genocide of the Armenian chauvinists against Azerbaijanis starting from 1905… The Armenians all over the world are going to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the so-called genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. One of the goals of our project is to inform the world community about these false claims and the facts that they were not subject to any genocide 100 years ago, and that on the contrary, Armenians launched genocide crimes against the Azerbaijani people 110 years ago. In short, our main goal is to shatter 100 years’ old Armenian lie and hypocrisy and to inform the world community that Armenians are not the nation exposed to genocide, on the contrary, they committed genocide crimes against Azerbaijani people. The portal www.1905.az functions for a month. The website contains documents, scienti­fic studies on the issue, researches and interviews with prominent specialists. The project aims to publish books in different languages, to hold international conferences, and to regularly place articles in the world media.

On May 12, Elkhan Suleymanov issued a statement on activation of a number of anti-Azerbaijan organizations on the eve of May 14, the date when Azerbaijan was to accept the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the supreme body of the Council of Europe. According to him, the above-mentioned organizations are trying to synchronize their campaign against Azerbaijan with special accuracy. Another interesting point is that those institutions against employed their favorite topic of “po­litical prisoners” in their campaign. The statement reads: “The main objectives of these organizations is to harm Azerbaijan`s reputation, to distract Azerbaijan from pri­ority issues, especially from the activities against the Ar­menian aggression and to make it forget the fact of occu­pation by proving the violation of human rights here”.

On May 12, Milica Markovic from Bosnia and Herze­govina was appointed rapporteur on the basis of draft resolution “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water” submitted by Elkhan Suleymanov.

On May 21, Elkhan Suleymanov`s statement was rele­ased; the statement expressed concern over the call of Ja­mes Warlich, the American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, on both Armenia and Azerbaijan to co-exploit the Sarsang water reservoir. According to Elkhan Suley­manov, the message of the American co-chair on joint exploitation on the eve of the appointment of an OSCE rapporteur on the Sarsang reservoir is not coincidental. Warlick`s statement serves to specific purposes and deli­berately seeks to influence the researches of the rappor­teur on the reservoir.

On June 2, at the invitation of Elkhan Suleymanov, the first Polish cosmonaut Miroslaw Hermaszewski vi­sited Baku. The book by Miroslaw Hermaszewski “The Burdgen of Weightlessness”, which was translated from Polish into Azerbaijani by the Translation Laboratory of Heydar Aliyev’s Heritage Research Center, was also pre­sented during his visit. The guest also met with the Baku Slavic University students studying Polish language and officials of Azerkosmos. Later he also visited Shamakhi.

On June 13, at the Belgium Congress of the Eurasian Association of Appraisers, Elkhan Suleymanov gave a statement commenting the discussions on the material and moral damage caused to Azerbaijan by Armenian aggression. According to Suleymanov, the book “Armed aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan and severe consequences of the occupation” co-authored by him and published two years back was also printed in Eng­lish, Russian, French and Ukrainian in Washington D.C., Saint Petersburg, Paris and Kiev respectively. The book was published in the Arabic language as well. As of early 2011, the amount of material damage to Azerbaijan exce­eds USD 431 billion, Suleymanov said.

On June 14, Elkhan Suleymanov addressed an appeal to President of PACE Anne Brasseur, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary- General of PACE Wojciech Sawicki, members of the Exe­cutive Committee, members of the Bureau of the Council of Europe. In his statement, Elkhan Suleymanov noted that he had prepared a draft resolution demanding sanc­tions against Armenia for armed occupation of Azerbaijani lands. The draft resolution was signed by 58 PACE members from 14 countries; its soft copy was sent to the Secretariat of the Council of Europe on June 7. Elkhan Suleymanov expressed his hope that the organization would demonstrate unbiasedness regarding the draft re­solution.

On June 18, Elkhan Suleymanov made a statement regarding nominating a draft resolution on sanctions against Armenia. The draft demands replicate sanctions, which are imposed against Russia because of Ukraine, against Armenia, suspending voting rights and exclu­ding it from leading bodies, until the end of the Armeni­an occupation of Azerbaijani lands. E. Suleymanov no­ted that the document, according to the procedure rules, must be discussed in the Executive Committee on June 22 and in a Bureau meeting on June 23 prior to the ses­sion.

On June 21, Elkhan Suleymanov addressed a letter to the Executive Committee and Bureau members, Presi­dent of PACE Anne Brasseur, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary-Gene­ral of PACE Wojciech Sawicki. The letter noted that the competent political bodies of the PACE, starting with the comment of the Executive Committee on June 22 and the decision of the Bureau on June 27, must produce a nor­mal political decision regarding the draft resolution on sanctions against the Armenian delegation. Noting that an open and comprehensive discussion on the illegal and armed occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia is never possible at the PACE for some mysterious reason, Elkhan Suleymanov urged to stop the activities of some forces aimed at removing from the discussions the draft resolution that demands sanctions against Azerbaijan.

On June 23, the meeting of the Executive Committee of the PACE discussed in Strasbourg the motion for resolution demanding the application of sanctions against Armenia for its occupation of Azerbaijani territories, submitted under the authorship of Elkhan Suleymanov, the member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE. The Executive Committee decided to send the motion to the PACE Bureau for discussing it in the next stage and adopting a relevant decision.

On June 24, Elkhan Suleymanov addressed an appeal to President of PACE Anne Brasseur, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary- General of PACE Wojciech Sawicki. In his address, Elk­han Suleymanov protested the last minute procedural objection of Sawicki against the motion on the sanctions and emphasizes once again that when Azerbaijan`s de­mands are legitimate, administrative obstacles emerge over and over again the last minute. The Member of Par­liament called on to prevent cases when corporate inte­rests of some forces are preferred to the basic principles of Council of Europe.

On June 25, in his interview with APA, Elkhan Su­leymanov noted that the renewed discussions of the “political prisoner problem” in Azerbaijan at the PACE Committee is a bright example of further pressure on Azerbaijan, as well as of discrimination and double stan­dards against our country.

On June 28, Elkhan Suleymanov held a press confe­rence on the results of the PACE summer session on June 23-27 in Strasbourg. First, he called the proposal of the resolution “Azerbaijan`s chairmanship of the Council of Europe: What should be done about human rights?” by the Irish MP Robert McNamara part of the campaign or­ganized in a disgusting form. Elkhan Suleymanov infor­med that the motion for resolution demanding the appli­cation of sanctions against Armenia for its occupation of Azerbaijani territories, submitted under his authorship and signed by 58 members of PACE from 14 countries was also discussed: “This document is the first motion for resolution demanding the application of sanctions against Armenia for its occupation of Azerbaijani terri­tories, tabled in an international organization, i.e. within PACE for 22 years”.

On August 21, the book “Armed aggression of Arme­nia against Azerbaijan and severe consequences of the occupation” co-authored by Elkhan Suleymanov, MP from Shamakhi and Vurgun Suleymanov, doctor of eco­nomic sciences, was published in Ukrainian at Ukraine’s influential publishing house “Naukova Dumka”. In his foreword to the Washington edition of book, former U.S. Congressman Solomon Ortiz described it: “With detai­led documentation on committed atrocities and damage in one volume, this book, which is supposed for interna­tional and legal activity, serves the humanity”.

On August 25, MP Elkhan Suleymanov addressed an appeal to President of PACE Anne Brasseur, Secretary- General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland, Sec­retary-General of PACE Wojciech Sawicki. The address criticized the Secretary-General for his biased attitude towards the draft resolutions earlier prepared by Elkhan Suleymanov`s initiative and emphasized that the PACE refrains from discussing Azerbaijan`s seven adjacent districts, which remain under Armenia`s occupation.

On August 28, an article by Elkhan Suleymanov was published. Noting the recent activation of anti-Azerbai­jani forces in international organizations, including the PACE, it talked about the launch of a large-scale campa­ign with political prisoner claims against our country. It was also noted several national NGOs operating in Azer­baijan had established cooperation with anti-Azerbaijani forces and got funded from external sources. Fulfilling the order of their sources, those NGOs compiled lists of political prisoners and were actively involved in the campaign against Azerbaijan based on these claims on political prisoners.

On September 2, in his interview with APA, Elkhan Suleymanov answered questions on the armed conflicts in Iraq and Syria, the goals and targets of the terrorist groups in those countries, the activities of the world community activities and the role of Azerbaijan in pre­venting those events.

On September 2, the Bureau meeting of the PACE held in Paris decided to send the draft resolution authored by Elkhan Suleymanov to the Political Committee for appo­inting a rapporteur.

On September 4, as a result of historical voting with 20 in favor and 5 against, the PACE Bureau made a de­cision to direct to the PACE Political Affairs Committee the motions for resolution authored and nominated by Elkhan Suleymanov. The exact title of the report, which caused quite a sharp controversy, was finally accepted as “Rise of tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh and other oc­cupied territories of Azerbaijan” by the majority after the refusal of three persons to vote. Elkhan Suleymanov noted that the historic significance of the results of the voting.

On September 9, Elhkan Suleymanov`s article on the Paris meeting of the PACE Monitoring Committee mee­ting held on September 3 was published. The paper con­tains the records of the author in connection with the in­formation of the co-rapporteurs, who visited Azerbaijan on May 19-21, 2014 within the monitoring procedure.

On September 17, Elkhan Suleymanov addressed the President and members of the European Parliament, as well as the co-chairs of the Euronest Parliamentary As­sembly regarding the urgent draft motion for resolution tabled by German MP Alexander Graf Lambsdorff on  behalf of the ALDE Group. The document noted the la­unch of biased campaigns and sharp attacks by several politicians of the European Parliament and other Euro­pean institutions against Azerbaijan, which is one of the member-countries of the EU`s Eastern Partnership and particular activity of the German MP Alexander Graf Lambsdorf and his close associates.

On September 20, the head of the Azerbaijani dele­gation to Euronest PA Elkhan Suleymanov sent a letter to protest to the co-chairs of the Euronest PA and Bure­au members in connection with organizing a Euronest session in Armenia. In the address the Azerbaijani dele­gation opposed holding PA sessions, as well as Bureau and committee meetings in Armenia and expressed its refusal to participate in such sessions and meeting until Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts are liberated.

On September 24, Elkhan Suleymanov addressed to the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, all members of the European Parliament and the Bureau members of Euronest except the Armenian representati­ves. In his address, Elkhan Suleymanov called Euronest an unsuccessful initiative, by noting that it was an at­tempt to create a new international forum for discussion but is currently characterized by restlessness, banality and double standards. According to him, the Euronest, despite being proclaimed an institution capable to deal with the biggest concerns of the Eastern Partners, beha­ves as if the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions of Azerbaijan were not occupied by Armenian troops.

On September 27, Elkhan Suleymanov had an intervi­ew with APA. He replied the questions on the issues on the agenda of the PACE fall session, expectations about the report on the Sarsang water reservoir, the situation regarding the preparation of the report “Rise of tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan”, the rapporteur of the Political Affairs Com­mittee, the human rights in Azerbaijan.

On September 29, the member of the Azerbaijani dele­gation to the PACE Elkhan Suleymanov informed about the decision made at the plenary session in Strasbourg regarding the report “Rise of tensions in Nagorno-Kara­bakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan”; this task was sent to the Political Affairs Committee.

On September 30, the first information memorandum by Milica Markovic, MP from Bosnia and Hersogovina and Rapporteur for the motion on “Inhabitants of fron­tier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water” tabled by Elkhan Suleymanov, member of Azer­baijani Delegation to PACE was put into discussion.

On October 1, a meeting of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy was held within the PACE fall session. According to Elkhan Suleymanov, Robert Wal­ter was appointed the rapporteur for preparing the re­port “Rise of tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan” based on the decision adopted by the PACE Bureau on September 2 and confir­med by the plenary session on September 29, in connec­tion with the draft resolution nominated by him. Having received 35 votes, Robert Walter exceeded the French MP Jean-Claude Mignon by 3 votes.

On October 3, Elkhan Suleymanov informed that the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs approved the state­ment of Ms. Mailis Reps (ALDE) of Estonia, who has a sharp position against Azerbaijan on a controversial issue – the claims on political prisoners. According to Elkhan Suleymanov, the aggressive and hostile speech of Ms. Reps made hurriedly in front of a small number of MPs was obviously prepared by the Secretariat of the Committee, as the text repeated the proposals, which were previously issued by the Secretariat but have not been confirmed by official reports of the Committee. The negative and biased position of the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs is well known, when it comes to Azerbai­jan.

On October 9, an article titled “The occupied territo­ries are finally in the agenda of the international com­munity again” by Elkhan Suleymanov was published. In his writing, the author comprehensively told about the long and complicated process, as well as the obstacles regarding appointing a rapporteur on the report “Rise of tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan”. Elkhan Suleymanov also exp­ressed his hope on preparation of the fair, impartial and thorough report on the Sarsang water reservoir in 2015. The article also criticized the activities of some persons in the leadership of the Council of Europe.

On October 14, an article titled “Views on Euronest” by Elkhan Suleymanov was published. The activity of the European Parliament was criticized in the paper: “Des­pite the facts that the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia is admitted by every country in the world, the violation of human rights in Armenia and Armenia`s signing an agreement with Russia on the Customs Uni­on, neither the European Parliament nor the Euronest criticize Armenia. Logically, Armenian should no longer be in the Euronest since it has joined the Customs Union; it seems, however, that the Europeans ignore these facts because of the Armenian lobby that puts much pressu­re on them to criticize and attack only Azerbaijan. Such bias complicates true and fair cooperation and poisoned the Euronest from the beginning”. The author regarded the Euronest as a weak organization with no legislative power.

On October 21, Elkhan Suleymanov sent his protest to the European People’s Party chairmanship and its group in the European Parliament in connection with the attitu­de and statements of the EPP member Frank Engel. The letter of the protest was sent to the chairman of EPP Jo­seph Daul, the secretary general of EPP Antonio López- Istúriz, the chairman of EPP Group in the European Par­liament Manfred Weber, the secretary general of the EPP Group in the European Parliament Martin Kamp. The letter said that Mr. Engel, the head of the EPP Delegati­on from Luxembourg, had recently decided to chair the so-called “Nagorno-Karabakh Group” in the European Parliament. His movement professed to support the self-entitled authorities of those territories, as well as to orga­nize visits of MEPs and European politicians to the area now and in future.

On October 31, Elkhan Suleymanov informed the dis­cussion of two issues related to Azerbaijan at the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs assembled in the Spanish Parliament, Madrid. According to Suleymanov, a hea­ring, followed by questions and debates, was held on the revised introductory memorandum on “How to prevent inappropriate restrictions on NGO activities in Europe” prepared by Rapporteur Yves Cruchten, Socialist MP from Luxemburg. An important part of this document heavily attacked Azerbaijan, but was based on wrong facts, and jumped to biased conclusions. Next to that Rapporteur Pedro Agramunt, Popular Party MP from Spain, proposed his Information Note on ”Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship of the Council of Europe: What follow-up on respect for human rights?”, which deals in particular with individual cases of alleged political prisoners. As the rapporteur also included standpoint by Azerbaijan on most issues, not only one-sided standpoint of NGOs, this text was more balanced, as it reflected both opinions on this sensitive matter. In his speech during the debates, Elkhan Suleymanov called on both the rapporteur and the Committee members to approach these issues purely legally. Mr. Suleymanov`s speech was supported by se­veral members of the Committee.

On November 4-5, the meetings of the Euronest Parli­amentary Assembly committees on political affairs, hu­man rights and democracy, economic integration, energy security, social issues, education, culture and civil soci­ety. Elkhan Suleymanov attended the meetings.

On November 7, Elkhan Suleymanov had an inter­view with APA; he evaluated the results of the recent meetings of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, ans­wered the questions on the EU sanctions against Russia, the presentation of the head of the Election Department of the OSCE / ODIHR, the prospects of the partnership between the European Union and Eastern European co­untries, the position of the Armenian members of par­liament regarding Suleymanov`s speech and proposals.

On November 8, a ceremony of remembrance was co-organized by the ACSDA, “Human Rights Foundation of XXI century” and the Joint Working Group on Imple­mentation of International Standards of Human Rights on the occasion of the Flag Day in front of monument immortalizing the memory of the persons, who went missing, in the area called the Martyrs Avenue in the Sa­bunchu district.

Elkhan Suleymanov took part in the meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Paris on November 14, in the meetings of the PACE Standing Committee and the Bure­au in Brussels on November 17-18. The post-monitoring dialogue with Monaco, the results of the recent elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Moldova and Ukraine and other topics were discussed at the meetings.

On November 20, Elkhan Suleymanov expressed his position regarding the new materials prepared by the European Stability Initiative known for its anti-Azer­baijani rhetoric. The objectives of the above-mentioned organization were characterized by him: “The pre-programmed purposes of the European Stability Initiati­ve are clear: to undermine political stability and to create disturbances in Azerbaijan. However, this organization and its ideologists should understand that it is impossib­le to deceive the Azerbaijani society with such calls. The pressure attempts of international organizations, inclu­ding the European Stability Initiative by claiming about deteriorating human rights and existence of political pri­soners in Azerbaijan have a target in the background: to serve the aggression of Armenia and to distract attention from efforts on liberating the occupied lands”.

On December 3, Elkhan Suleymanov addressed to the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz. Having recalled his 3 appeals to Martin Schulz in recent months, Elkhan Suleymanov answered that he had rece­ived a reply to only one of them. According to Suleyma­nov, “These two letters include the address dated Sep­tember 16, 2014 regarding some information covered in urgent motion for resolution submitted by German MP

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