Originally published by and on
AzeriReport
Yesterday [September 24], the US president Barack Obama speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative Forum in New York mentioned the difficult challenges to non-profit activities across the globe, specifically naming Azerbaijan as one of the countries hampering the NGO activities: “It is precisely because citizens and civil society can be so powerful — their ability to harness technology and connect and mobilize at this moment so unprecedented — that more and more governments are doing everything in their power to silence them. From Russia to China to Venezuela, you are seeing relentless crackdowns, vilifying legitimate dissent as subversive. In places like Azerbaijan, laws make it incredibly difficult for NGOs even to operate. From Hungary to Egypt, endless regulations and overt intimidation increasingly target civil society. And around the world, brave men and women who dare raise their voices are harassed and attacked and even killed.” Above is the video of Barack Obama’s speech at the forum.
