WRITTEN QUESTION E-3399/03 by Olle Schmidt (ELDR) to the Commission. Azerbaijan.
Date: 2003-11-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Azerbaijan, EU aid, EU relations, aid policy, democratisation, energy resources, political unrest, poverty, terms for aid

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/143

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(17 December 2003)

The Commission is deeply concerned for the welfare of Mr Erkel, who was working on a European
time he was kidnapped in Dagestan.
Humanitarian Aid Office
The Commission has on numerous occasions (cid:1) including at
in Rome on
the EU/Russia Summit
6 November 2003 (cid:1) asked for the help of Russia in gaining the early release of Mr Erkel.

(ECHO)-funded project at

the

the extremely poor security conditions which exist

The Commission (cid:1) via ECHO (cid:1) is the largest donor of humanitarian aid in the north Caucasus. It is
aware of
for humanitarian workers, notably in
Chechnya itself. In this regard, the Commission has repeatedly called on the Russian authorities to facilitate
the provision of humanitarian aid (cid:1) by facilitating access of humanitarian workers to Chechnya, by
providing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with access to United Nations very high frequency
(UN VHF) communications, by ensuring security for aid workers and by allowing ECHO to open an office
in Nazran, Ingushetia. It regrets that Russia has not yet taken concrete measures to do so. On the contrary,
the system of access permits to Chechnya has become even more opaque than before and high insecurity
continues to prevail.

The Commission will continue to use political dialogue meetings to call on the Russian authorities to
improve the security and access situation in the north Caucasus.

(2004/C 88 E/0151)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3399/03

by Olle Schmidt (ELDR) to the Commission

(17 November 2003)

Subject: Azerbaijan

Presidential elections were recently held in Azerbaijan, which were followed by riots and political unrest.
The new president, Ilham Aliyev, son of the former president, has already cracked down hard on any form
large numbers of refugees,
of opposition. Azerbaijan is a country beset by a great many problems;
a ravaged environment and conflicts with its neighbours. At the same time, there are great riches to be
exploited in the form of oil, which attracts interest in the region from many quarters, including the USA
and the European Union. However, this economic interest must not lead us to turn a blind eye to the
mismanagement of the country. Azerbaijan is in great need of reform and reconstruction, which is entirely
possible with the anticipated revenue from oil. However, current events indicate that the country is more
likely to become the fiefdom of the Aliyev clan, where progress towards democracy and improving living
conditions do not come top of the agenda.

Will the Commission therefore say what steps are being taken to ensure that advances are made towards
democracy in Azerbaijan at the same time as economic cooperation progresses? Has the EU attached any
conditions to investment etc., such as linkage to progress on democracy, human rights, the situation of
refugees and using the country’s oil revenue for the good of the people as a whole?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(17 December 2003)

The Commission has been assisting Azerbaijan make the transition to a democratic society based on a free
market economy since 1992 with its technical assistance and other aid programmes. Currently these
assistance programmes have poverty reduction and government reform as their principal objectives.
The Government of Azerbaijan has recently started to implement
its State Programme for Poverty
Reduction and Economic Development (SPRED). The Programme has been welcomed by the International
Financing Institutions and the wider donor community. The Spred provides the framework for all donor
assistance in Azerbaijan. Only by addressing the fundamental and underlying problems will the progress to
democracy and a free market economy be achieved.

C 88 E/144

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

The Commission along with the Member States carries out a very active dialogue on a wide range of
matters including progress on democracy, human rights and the use of oil revenues for the good of the
people as a whole. The Commission is one of the largest donors assisting Azerbaijan’s refugees and
Internally Displaced People through its programme for the rehabilitation of war damaged areas.

The Government of Azerbaijan has started to use its Oil Fund for the benefit of refugees who have been
settled in different regions of Azerbaijan.

(2004/C 88 E/0152)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3402/03

by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission

(11 November 2003)

Subject:

‘Cross amputation’ of sixteen-year-old in Sudan

A recent Amnesty International bulletin reports that a court in Sudan has imposed a sentence of ‘cross
amputation’ (i.e. amputation of the right hand and the left foot) on a sixteen-year-old suspected of armed
assault. If this judgment is upheld, it will be carried out forthwith.

The punishment of amputation is in essence torture and a brutal violation of human rights, while Sudan
has ratified numerous conventions protecting human rights and condemning torture. Such sentences are
not uncommon in a country in which the judicial system and the penal code have also incorporated
provisions of Islamic law (Sharia).

What steps will the Commission take to exert pressure on the Sudanese Government to suspend the
judgment concerned and abolish torture so that Sudan complies with the conventions on the protection of
human rights to which that country is a signatory?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(10 December 2003)

The application of corporal punishment has been subject to repeated interventions with the Government
of Sudan, in the framework of the EU-Sudan political dialogue, which includes human rights as one of the
main components. The reaction of the Government in Khartoum has usually been elusive, pointing out
that Sharia is and will be the legal basis in Sudan. This has also been confirmed, at least for the northern
and central part of the country, in the Machakos Protocol of July 2002, an important milestone in the
peace process, which the Union generally supports.

The Commission will ask its Delegation in Khartoum to inquire about the circumstances and details of the
case referred to by Amnesty International, and bring the case to the attention of the Union Troika with a
view to raising it during the forthcoming high-level mission to Khartoum in December 2003.

(2004/C 88 E/0153)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3435/03

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Act of provocation by Bulgaria towards a Member State

(20 November 2003)

Articles in the Greek press report that a postage stamp is in circulation in Bulgaria which shows part of
Mount Athos (specifically the Zografos Monastery) as a part of Bulgarian territory. Despite protests from
the Greek authorities, the Bulgarians refuse to withdraw the stamp on the grounds that it was issued in
June 2001, under the Kostov government, and that to halt its circulation could provoke reactions from the
opposition.