The Armenian military aggression against Azerbaijan has been continuing for 15 years, as the result of which more than 20% of the Azerbaijan Republic’s territory was occupied and the ethnic cleansing was committed there.
The first stage of the OSCE mission to verify the facts of Armenian settling in the occupied territories was completed the other day. The second stage is to analyze the collected data and to make a report. The mission was presented the data by open and other sources about the settling of 20-23 thousand people in the occupied territories. It should be noted that in compliance with the Geneva Convention of 1949, an occupant is not in power to settle down or to change population in the occupied territory.

The History of the Azerbaijani Alphabet

Seidova Vafa – the expert of Azerbaijan Free Speech Foundation

We can’t even approximately estimate the role of written language in the development of human thinking. The pictures on the rocks in Gobustan prove the desire of the ancient man to write. No science, history would exist without the ability to write which connects the generations. A well-known scientist I.I. Dyakonov wrote that without the alphabet no cultural development of the mankind would be possible from the stone age to the atomic age.

The six of August is a remarkable day for all the journalists in Azerbaijan. On the exact date in 1998 the late ex-president Geydar Aliyev signed the decree on the censorship cancel in mass media. The researches observe development and quality increase in press media just after the decree was signed. The censorship cancel after the native mass media were pressed by authorities for the 70 years gave an impulse to rehabilitate and develop Free Speech in the country. This could be predicted.

We haven’t watched and heard Chingiz Mustafayev on TV space; 12 years have passed since his death. A National hero of Azerbaijan, a famous TV journalist Chingiz Mustafayev died serving his duty in the village Nakhchivanik in Askeran15 June in 1992.

Gafarli Lala Enver - the expert of «Free Speech Defense Fund».

For last years there were significant changes in mass media of the country. First of all it is connected to changes in social structure of the Azerbaijan society. A considerable role in this process has also played that fact, that by virtue of world progress the domestic press was compelled to join to the general stream of development of mass-media. Globalization and development of new technologies allow speeding up transfer of a signal to different points of globe. In particular it was reflected in electronic mass-media, in particular TV and radio. Let's talk about them.

Gafarli Lala Enver - the expert of «Free Speech Defense Fund».

The constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic accepted by national voting - referendum -12 October 1996 year in it articles unequivocally fixes principles of a freedom of speech: «each person has the right to freedom of idea and a freedom of speech», and also freedom of the information: «The person has the right to search, find and distribute the information necessary to him in the lawful way». For the last some years the legislature of the country has accepted a number of laws and the acts regulating the relations in the field of a freedom of speech and mass-media. According to the Constitution, the state censorship in mass-media and in a seal is forbidden. We shall remind, that the decree forbidding censorship in the country has been signed on August, 6 1998 year by President Heydar Aliev.

Reforms in the field of education accepted in 1999 year and reforms in the field of education started in the same year serve as the base to development of education in our country. Under the project of reform it was assumed to lead to three stages which term of carrying out recently has expired.

His first book “Destruction of Dresden” Irving published in 1963. It covered the air attack of allies on the city of Dresden during the World War II. Hundreds of tons of explosive bombs were thrown onto the city during this operation. Irving called the attack the most terrible murder in the history of Europe and gave numbers of lost people which were too much more than of those of most historians’.

О фонде

The Foundation’s activity is first of all aimed at the developing and democratizing of legal space, in which all mass media of Azerbaijan operate, as well as enlightening the society in freedom of speech matters. The Foundation will carry out the following programs in order to achieve all these purposes:
- Monitoring and observance of the rights of journalists, mass media and freedom of speech in the territory of Azerbaijan;
- legal assistance and consulting for journalists and mass media representatives;
- examination of laws on mass media and freedom of speech, and giving suggestions on the improvement of the existing Azerbaijani legislation;
- publishing literature on law, science, human rights and other informational material concerning the present problems of free speech;
- informational and analytical activity: publishing a monthly bulletin on the problems of free speech, daily e-news line and digest;
- scientific researches in wide range of human rights and ethics related to journalism;
- trainings and seminars on certain subjects, conferences for jurists, mass media employees and other people concerned.

Stuff

Yagubov Musa Safimamed ogli - Chairman of “Azerbaijan Free Speech Foundation.”
1953-1957 Geogchay Teacher’s training college, graduated as a primary school teacher.
From 1957 he worked as a teacher, later as a director at school in Buynuz village. In 1961he entered the State Baku University (correspondent department) and graduated as a philologist. Musa Yagubov has been writing and publishing his poetry from 19600. He became a member of The Authors Union of the USSR in 1970. He also worked at the Publishing Department of the Propaganda Bureau of Art Literature at The Azerbaijan’s Authors Union. There he took the director’s assistant position. In 1976-1978 Musa Yagubov headed Poetry department of “Azerbaijan” journal. In 1978 at the suggestion of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan Communist Party he came back to Ismayli and led the newspaper edition “Zahmetkesh” published there. It was renamed in “Djevanshir Yurdu” later and Musa Yagubov took the Chief-editor position till 1999. He was elected as a member from 69-th region to Milli Mejlis for the first convocation in 1995. Musa Yagubov is an author of the 18 poems books printed in Azeri and Russian. He is also a laureate in Art Reward by Mirza Fatali Akhundov.

Aliyev Ramil Ilyas ogli - expert of “Azerbaijan Free Speech Foundation». He graduated from the Baku State University (department of law) with honors 2000. He got a law master’s degree diploma in 2002. Since 2000-2002 he worked as an editor at science-publicity journal “Polyus” its Russian version. 2001-2003 he was a secretary at the International Relationship Secretariat of the National Council of Youth Organizations in Azerbaijan Republic. He was also an editor one of the first national electronic digest newspapers “KIV”.





Gafarly Lala Enver kizi - AFSF expert at. Graduated from the Azerbaijan Pedagogic Institute (philological faculty). She worked as a censor editor at Head Department of State Secret in Press “Glavlit”, as a reporter-producer at ANS TV Company, as Chief Editor Assistant of the newspaper “Millet”.





Gorina Alevtina Nikolaevna - AFSF translator. 2000 graduated from the State Institute of Foreign Languages (bachelor degree). 2002-2003 she worked as a training manager at EmAz Duty Free Shop. 2004 as an educational contributor at FCI Global Ukraine in Azerbaijan M-Serves.







Ahmadova Nargiz Edvinovna was born in 1983 in Sankt – Petersburq. Studied in Baku, Narimanov region, at “pilot” school number 82 in 1989 – 1999 years. In 1999 entered to the Azerbaijan International University, in 2003 graduated from the university. In 2006 got master degree at Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University. Worked as editor-linguist in Heydar Aliyev Hereditary Electron Library in 2004 – 2006 years. At present is working as coordinator at Free Speech Foundation.