Nation

Int'l RC&RC Day marked in Baku

The Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) marked the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Day in a ceremony at the Rashid Behbudov Theater of Song Tuesday, as international RC&RC activities were highlighted. Executives of the representations of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Knut Kaspersen and the International Committee of Red Cross Fridrun Medert were awarded honorable diplomas of the ARCS.

Also conferred the honorable diplomas were Turkish, Iranian, Norwegian, Egyptian, and US embassies in Azerbaijan for contribution to the ARCS, Exxon, Coca Cola and the Azeri Ministry of Public Health for donor help and some media, including the Azernews English language weekly for coverage of AECS activities.

Children winning the "Lets be humanists" contest got diplomas and valuable gifts and a new campaign calling to fight indifference to the AIDS infected was launched in the event. The ceremony ended with performance of classical music by students of Baku's Music Academy.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is marked worldwide on May 8, while in Azerbaijan it is celebrated a day earlier due to the occupation of Azeri town Shusha on May 8.

Baku suburbs complain of unjust treatment

A roundtable "Baku suburbs: problems and ways out" was held at the Press Club of Baku Friday on the initiative of the "New Musavat" newspaper. Taking part in the gathering were representatives from Nardaran, Khyrdalan, Mashtaga, Kurdakhany and other settlements of Baku, as well as the Musavat, PFPA and other parties. The villagers of Baku complained about unfair treatment against native residents, saying that they are not granted plots, while refugees get them without any problems. If the discrimination continues, it will lead to civil war, the suburban people warned. They are also displeased with the current tax system, which paralyzes the activities of entrepreneurs. Once famous almond, olive and fig orchards on Absheron have been destroyed and local entrepreneurs are unable to get loans and credits. It was also indicated that there are no representatives from Baku's villages in the executive and economic entities and the present day public situation adversely affects spiritual and moral values of the local population.

Special troopers touted as political prisoners

A roundtable "Are special police troops political prisoners?" was held at the Press Club of Baku Thursday. The chairman of the committee on the human righs of special troopers Gabil Rzayev said human rights activists and the authorities differ on the issue of alleged political inmates. He said the special troops had not taken part in any coup attempts and their trials had been "ordered". Touching upon the presidential decree pardoning some of the troopers, he said the committee would do everything to have all the convicts released by the end of this year. The gathering made a decision to regard the special troops in prison as political inmates and would apply to the Azeri public and the European Union in this connection.

Municipalities want more powers

A roundtable dedicated to the financial and economic problems of municipalities in Azerbaijan was held at the Press Club of Baku Thursday. The organizer of the event was the Public Union for Strategic and Analytical Researches (PUSAR).

Addressing the roundtable, PUSAR President Ilgar Husseinli spoke of the activities of the union. He said there are serious financial and economic problems in the operation of municipalities.

MP Nizami Guliyev, also in the workshop, elaborated on the legal frame for the financial and economic performance of municipal bodies in Azerbaijan. According to him, municipal authorities cover 4500 points, where 2700 councils and 23000 members are active.

Participants in the gathering cited the lack of the right to land ownership, conditions for normal operation, as well as dependence on executive authorities as major problems of municipalities in the country. They maintain that municipalities should be provided with more powers and the opportunity to freely use their properties and means.

Attending the roundtable were members of regional municipalities, NGO representatives and diplomats.