AZERBAIJANI INDEPENDENCE TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY

leave out from `1991;' to end and add `notes the concern expressed by human rights groups that Azerbaijan has grown increasingly authoritarian in recent years; further notes with alarm the Human Rights Watch report, Beaten, Blacklisted and Behind Bars, which documents government efforts to limit freedom of expression and silence dissenting journalists; further notes that in 2010 Azerbaijan was further ranked 134 out of 178 in the World Corruption Index by Transparency International; is dismayed that Azerbaijan's independent election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre could not consider last year's election democratic, free and fair; is disappointed at the reports of voter intimidation and disqualification of opposition candidates highlighted by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe; is appalled at the brutal suppression of those who demonstrate against perceived corruption, including the jailing of two bloggers who mocked the government and the alleged harassment by police of citizens who voted for an Armenian song in the Eurovision Song Contest; and regrets the gullibility of those who place their trust in this oppressive government.'.