According to Samed Seyidov, who is the Chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliamentary Assembly to the PACE Azerbaijan joined the CoE for the following reasons (see the link and scroll down to read this quote):
We joined the Council of Europe not for the sake of membership. We joined the Council of Europe for the sake of democracy, human rights and supremacy of the law.
He then adds:
We will express our attitude openly if we see that any of these issues is used as a means of influence upon Azerbaijan's interests.
Here, you have said it yourself Mr. Seyidov, that Azerbaijan joined Council of Europe "for the sake of democracy, human rights and supremacy of law" but I am having hard time seeing any of these notions applied in Azerbaijan.
Where is democracy? Certainly its not in fake elections we have each time and more certainly its not in the way you treat your people when they protest on the streets. Or tell me, where is the human rights notion? Does it even exist in your vocabulary, because it looks like you use these words only when you want to and mostly for the internationals not the locals. Is it in the way you treat your journalists? Or anyone for that matter? Or tell me, what about supremacy of law? Is supremacy of law means that judges can be bought? Or does supremacy of law mean that they can imprison anyone they want just because someone "influential" demanded that person's arrest for the sake of their own personal happiness and comfort?
Ah, Mr. Seyidov, if only you really knew the meaning of these notions. Its a pity that such sacred and important notions have become a joke to you and people like you, who have no idea and no understanding whatsoever of what these notions really mean... Sad... Very sad...
