On May 7 local Azerbaijani journalists were not allowed to enter and cover the first session of South Caucasus Forum held in Baku, photo reporter ofYeni Musavat newspaper Farahim Ilgaroglu told the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS). According to the reporter, journalists were allowed to enter only 3 hours after President Ilham Aliyev made his speech at the first session. “We were told that only accredited journalists could enter the first session where the president would speak. I was accredited and I also have a visitor pass, but local media was not allowed to participate in the first session” said Ilgaroglu.
*** South Caucasus Forum kicked off on May 7, at Four Seasons Hotel in Baku. The forum is attended by Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, members of the Club of Madrid, representatives of Nizami Ganjavi International Center and more than 400 high-level experts and academics.
The two day forum will discuss women’s issues, interreligious and intercultural dialogue, and processes taking place in the region, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the situation around other conflicts in the region.