By Mammad Talibov
Given The Post’s keen attention to a few individuals in Azerbaijan, I am disappointed that the coverage of my country reflects neither its widely acknowledged successes nor the robust U.S.-Azerbaijan partnership. Contrary to the assertion in the Dec. 12 editorial "Dystopia on the Caspian,” the Azerbaijani people today are fulfilling their centuries-old aspirations by building a prosperous, stable, free and a truly independent nation.
The case of investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova is going through Azerbaijan’s legal system. As recent events in the United States have shown, legal decisions are not always popular and, in some cases, even spark mass protests. Under any circumstances, the process must be respected in Azerbaijan and in the United States, and all citizens, including journalists, should be equal before the laws of the land.
I believe we’d all agree that promotion of human rights and democracy is best done when one leads by example rather than by mentoring. This is especially true when the United States speaks to its friends, including Azerbaijan. To make the conversation even more credible, voicing concern for humanitarian needs of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis displaced as a result of the Armenian occupation would go a long way.
Mammad Talibov is a counselor at the Azerbaijani embassy in Washington.
(The Washington Post)
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