Top U.S. diplomat calls on Azerbaijan to protect press freedoms

Barry F. Lowenkron, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, said that recent government decisions that had forced TV station ANS off the air and halted publication of the newspaper Real Azerbaijan and another paper were stifling freedom and democratic development in the ex-Soviet republic.

"We have watched recent developments in Azerbaijan with a great deal of concern," Lowenkron told an audience at a Baku university. "We urge the government of Azerbaijan to develop the legal framework and provide the political space for a free, independent, professional and ethical media."

Azerbaijan drew sharp international criticism last month when it pulled ANS off the air; regulators had accused it of legal violations. Earlier this month, authorities said they would allow ANS back on air, but warned that it would have to bid for a license next year.

In November, officials threw the opposition newspaper Azadliq - and the opposition party Popular Front, - out of their offices, removing furniture and equipment a day after a court ordered the evictions.

Opposition parties and independent media have suffered frequent harassment in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state, ruled for years by President Ilham Aliyev and before him, his father, Heidar.

The United States has pursued close ties with Azerbaijan since the 1991 Soviet collapse, backing a pipeline carrying Caspian Sea oil westward, but has expressed concerned about its democracy and free speech. The Associated Press

/The International Herald Tribune/