From Interfax

January 17, 2012 Tuesday 2:04 PM MSK

President Aliyev backs unrestricted Internet access in Azerbaijan

LENGTH: 170 words

DATELINE: BAKU. Jan 17

Unhindered access to the Internet should help bolster freedom of speech in Azerbaijan, the country’s President Ilham Aliyev said.
“Azerbaijan supports freedom of speech and freedom of information. It has a democratic society. And we need to further reinforce democratic foundations. Unrestricted access to the Internet and freedom of speech naturally go hand in hand,” Aliyev said at a government session, which addressed the results of Azerbaijan’s socioeconomic development in 2011.

The president welcomed the growing number of Internet subscribers in the country, saying that international telecommunication companies’ reports place Azerbaijan among the leading Internet user countries in the CIS.

“The telecommunication sphere is key to scientific and technological progress. Telecommunication technologies are a leading sector in the world. It will determine a ratio of forces in the future. That is why we are paying great attention to it,” Aliyev said.