Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan is ready to host the Eurovision song contest in late May despite political games ongoing around the country and Armenian occupation of its territories, Presidential Administration official Fuad Alasgarov has said.

``Azerbaijan is ready to host the Eurovision song contest and show the rest of the world that despite the continued occupation of our lands by Armenia, a large number of refugees and internally displaced persons, and political games around the country, we are moving forward and in the foreseeable future will fill the ranks of leading countries in all areas of development,`` Alasgarov told Trend news agency. He was commenting on recent calls for a boycott of the Eurovision song contest in Baku.

German MP Christoph Strasser, who acts as the Council of Europe parliamentary assembly rapporteur for alleged political prisoners in Azerbaijan, and German human rights commissioner Markus Loning have recently urged to boycott the song contest over alleged rights violations.

``I think that it would be helpful for a politician, who plans to prepare a report on the situation in any country, still refuses to visit this country, and has a biased attitude toward the development of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan [Strasser], to look at the situation in his home country first,`` Alasgarov said.

Regarding Markus Loning, who regularly criticizes the Azerbaijani authorities on a number of issues, Alasgarov said the fact that the Ombudsman`s office is included in the German Foreign Ministry could hardly stipulate that his position is completely independent and impartial.

``The Bundestag member and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Federal Republic of Germany, which claims to be the leader of the European Union, first of all, should deal with human rights protection in their country. There are many problems in this area.``

Alasgarov stressed that to date, the German government has not enforced 97 rulings of the European Court of Human Rights relating to the violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. For example, among them is the 2003 decision related to the violation of Article 6 of the Convention due to overly long consideration of a case in court. The German government still has not taken general measures to fulfill this decision, Alasgarov said.

Also, one of the most recent rulings of the European court is the decision on the Schwabe case, he said.

``The applicants were detained for five days before a protest on the basis of unclear suspicions and due to the fact that the posters reflecting the demand to release political prisoners had been found in their cars,`` he added. ``In this case, the court admitted the violation of the applicants` rights to freedom of assembly.``

News agencies reported that protesters were arrested and injured during May 1 protests of leftist youth movements in Berlin. But their precise number is unknown. The streets were cordoned off by police. There were many police cars and ambulances on side streets. Helicopters patrolled the city. The organizers reportedly began the march on the outskirts of Berlin and planned to finish it in the center of the city. But the police did not allow them to proceed.

``International organizations and diplomats accredited in Baku criticized the authorities when representatives of the radical opposition tried to conduct an unauthorized rally in the center of Baku in 2011, which resulted in a violation of public order and damage to citizens and organizations,`` Alasgarov said. ``I wonder if we will hear the same criticism regarding the riots in Berlin.``

The Presidential Administration official said a rise of nationalism and xenophobia is being observed in Germany today, and regional and federal bodies are failing to counter these trends.

``Today, it is unsafe for a foreigner who does not look like a European to walk along the streets of Berlin,`` Alasgarov said.

``As for Baku, it is currently one of the safest cities in the world,`` he added. ``Eurovision song contest head Jon Ola Sand recently confirmed this and admitted that Baku is a safe city.``