Norwegian rights defenders urge Prince Hokon not to visit Baku

Leaders of three Norwegian human rights organizations - the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, the Rafto Foundation and the Foundation for the Human Rights House - sent a letter to the Norwegian Crown Prince Hokon Magnus asking him to abandon his trip to Azerbaijan to participate in the International Exhibition and Conference "Caspian Oil and Gas" to be held on June 6-7 in Baku. According to human rights advocates, by his visit Prince Hokon will express "undeserved recognition of President Aliev's regime."

They believe that Ilham Aliev manages to keep in power thanks to the huge corruption in the country, manipulations with elections and the practice of persecution, imprisonment and intimidation of government's critics.

The human rights activists point out that their organizations are constantly monitoring the situation in Azerbaijan and are concerned about the suppression of public demonstrations, arrests and convictions of young activists and political opponents for expressing their opinions.

"In recent months we could see authoritarian regimes crumble under the pressure of democratic forces one after the other. Old alliances with authoritarian regimes may quickly become a burden for the Norwegian royal family. We hope that His Royal Highness will take into account the present situation and refrain from visiting Baku," the rights defenders report.

They note that Western countries refrain from criticizing human rights abuses in Azerbaijan, because they have their significant strategic and economic interests related primarily to supplies of crude oil to European markets.

The authors of the letter, who had also filed their appeal to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, said that they had nothing against participation of the Minister of Oil and Energy and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Baku conference, since "their participation in such events is a natural part of international and economic obligations assumed by Norway.

"Events of this sort present an opportunity to discuss with the authorities of Azerbaijan the human rights issues in the country, as well as to express the position on the Norwegian party, and advise on necessary changes in this area," human rights activists wrote to the Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, noting that unlike the political leadership of Norway, members of the royal family have no chance to raise difficult issues; therefore, Prince Hokon's visit to Baku "may be interpreted as direct support for the authoritarian regime of President Ilham Aliev; and the Prince, basing on his role, "will be hardly able to officially exchange opinions and explain the format of his participation in cooperation with the authorities of Azerbaijan."

The letters were signed by Bjorn Engesland, general secretary of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee; Mary Dale, Head of the Human Rights House Foundation; and the Teresa Yebsen, head of the Rafto Foundation.