Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan fully ensures freedom of speech, and no one is either persecuted or will be persecuted for the freedom of epxression, the dissemination of information or writing articles, a presidential aide has said.

``Everyone is free to express their views, to disseminate them in the press and to inform the society,`` Ali Hasanov, the Presidential Administration`s head of social and political issues, told journalists.

The media expresses different opinions related to any issues in democratic Azerbaijan, Hasanov said.

``Numerous publications daily study and analyze the work of state bodies and publish articles criticizing senior officials,`` he said.

Hasanov noted that while the press sometimes violates ethnic norms, the opinion about a lack of freedom of speech and freedom of the press in such a country is ``fictitious``.

``We are familiar with the situation in the countries without democratic freedom and are informed of the state of their press,`` the presidential aide said. ``Can any foreign organization, international and local circles, claiming that Azerbaijan allegedly represses freedom of speech and press and that there is no freedom of expression here, mention facts of free expression of opinions being limited in the Azerbaijani society or their expression in the media being limited? Can anyone, based on concrete facts, say that people are deprived of the opportunity to freely receive and exchange information, read publications, watch television, listen to the radio or use the Internet? Their reports, statements and disseminated information consist of subjective considerations due to the lack of such facts.``

``If there is another, more democratic form of freedom of expression and information, we are willing to familiarize with them with great pleasure,`` Hasanov said.

He stressed that there is no fully unrestricted freedom in the world.

``The restrictions on freedom of expression and information are used even in international law in some form or another in all countries,`` he said. ``There is no such thing as `we write as we please` in any country. Where one person`s rights end, the other one`s start. How can one person have unlimited rights, while there is no opportunity for another person`s rights? In democratic societies such a thing is impossible.``

Hasanov added that democracy is a platform for ``free people`s responsible activity``.

``Democracy is a conscious discipline and order,`` he said. ``Speaking of democracy, we imply the enforcement of the right for people to freely express their potential and to understand the results. We are talking about responsible democracy. Therefore, we cannot agree that some individuals try to degrade our country, people and society, using pluralism in society.``

Hasanov urged to counter those who want to tarnish Azerbaijan.

``We, as active citizens, intellectuals, young people, must not be indifferent to those who tarnish the Azerbaijani society on the basis of their own interests,`` he said. ``We must respond to this by our activity.``