Azerbaijan, Baku, May 3 / Trend, T. Hajiyev /
The organization Freedom House gives a biased opinion on the freedom of press in Azerbaijan, a member of the Press Council Board from the Iki Sahil newspaper, Chief Editor Vugar Rahimzade, told Trend.
"The report categorically does not reflect reality. In Azerbaijan, every citizen may freely have his say in the press. Fairly successful steps are taken in our country in this sphere. In this case, the Freedom House report reflects biased, subjective and sponsored views," Rahimzade said.
He said that other spheres, such as freedom of expression and press in Azerbaijan, are fairly successful.
"Since 1993, when national leader Heydar Aliyev returned to power at the request of the people, special attention was paid to this sphere like all others. The elimination of censorship in 1998 has become a significant event in the history of the national press. Adoption of a very progressive media law in 1999 and making amendments to this law in 2001 became a successful step in the development of the press," Rahimzade said.
He said that awarding press workers in accordance with the President's decree in connection with the 130th anniversary of the Azerbaijani press in 2005 was a good act. Also an important event in Azerbaijan's press history has been the establishment of the State Media Fund.
"This fund has been operating since 2009 and implements a number of successful projects. These projects serve as an improvement of the material-technical base among editorial boards and increase the professionalism of their staff. The establishment of the Fund has been a successful step in improving the social conditions of journalists," Rahimzade said.
He also recalled the 135 anniversary of the national press in Azerbaijan, which was widely celebrated in 2010.
"Moving of the Press Council to a new building, the Azerbaijani President's participation in its opening ceremony, his meetings, conversations with board members and signing an order to improve the living conditions of journalists just a few hours after the meeting - all these events, which do not have analogous cases in the world, are a vivid example of care and attention toward the press," Rahimzade said.
He said that more than 4,000 media outlets have been registered in the Justice Ministry as a result of the full guarantee for freedom of speech, expression and press in Azerbaijan.
