The press service of the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons of the Republic of Azerbaijan states the following regarding the video made on the appeal of Guliyev Aghalar Khanlar, an IDP from Aghdam, temporarily residing in Kurdamir and released on August 21.
The new 563-apartment residential neighborhood for IDPs in Kurdamir was commissioned on December 28, 2019. All internally displaced families who temporarily settled in the region and were considered eligible to be relocated to the new residential area were provided with new apartments in the same neighborhood.
Guliyev Aghalar Khanlar, IDP from Aghdam, was also provided with a 3-room repaired apartment in the same neighborhood together with his five family members (mother, wife, a son and a daughter) in accordance with the “Rules for providing housing of the fund for temporary relocation of IDPs” approved by the decision No. 65, dated on February 24, 2017 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On February 20, 2020, the family was moved from the dormitory of the vocational lyceum to the new apartment by a vehicle provided by the State Committee.
Unfortunately, later, Guliyev Aghalar Khanlar began to apply to various authorities to obtain additional housing from the fund for temporary relocation of IDPs without any legal basis. He was repeatedly explained by the State Committee that his demand was contradictory to the existing rules, and that thousands of internally displaced families were still living under severe conditions and waiting for housing.
Although the fact that Guliyev Aghalar Khanlar did not want to accept that his demand was unfounded could be attributed to his physical and psychological condition, behavior of the person who was recording a video and interrogating him, inciting him to express defamatory opinions about the heads and officials of the State Committee was not ethical. The said citizen should not forget that he will legally hold liable for the attempt to publicize only the statements of the “complainant” without conducting the necessary investigation and clarifying the facts, and thus to discredit the state authority and its officials.
Some people who present themselves as media representatives do not comply with the requirements of the media, as well as the laws on access to information, and sometimes spread biased and partial information. Hopefully, the media outlets which operate mainly through social media, will consider the above-mentioned, and will no longer allow publicizing unverified facts.
