Karabakh through the eyes of a Baku reporter
The big story in Baku press is a visit to Karabakh by a reporter from Azerbaijan, Eynulla Fatullayev of the Monitor Journal. Fatullayev visited Stepanakert and traveled around Artsakh and adjacent areas for more than a week this February. It is significant in that the government of Azerbaijan has explicitly prohibited any so called “second track” activities, like exchange visits or tours by journalists from Azerbaijan to Armenia and Artsakh.
Thus, Fatullayev’s visit required great courage and landed him great coverage domestically and in Armenia. He was also interviewed on Yerkir TV. Unfortunately, his journalist comrades in Azerbaijan condemned him for visiting Armenia and Artsakh.
It’s refreshing to see a journalist in Baku willing to go to great lengths to address a sensitive subject in his country. Of course, we see similarly positive efforts in Armenia to address sensitive subjects, by HETQ and others.
For a story on Fatullayev, click here.
Խորհուրդ եմ տալիս թանը փչել հետո խմել։
Comment by Հակոբ — 2/25/2005 @ 5:20 pm
Hakob
please add English to your comments in Armenian.
thanks
Matt
Comment by Matt — 2/25/2005 @ 8:50 pm
Matt,
Unfortunately I can not translate that into English. But the sense is “I cool the already cold drink before drinking it”.
Comment by Հակոբ Գեւորգյան — 2/26/2005 @ 11:20 am
A reinstall of XP means that I’ve lost my log in details for Blogrel. Until that get’s sorted, some interesting news just in via RFE/RL:
U.S. Official Affirms Armenian Genocide
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans has publicly referred to the 1915 slaughter of some 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as “genocide,” signaling a significant shift in the U.S. government’s position on the highly sensitive issue.
http://www.armenialiberty.org/homepages/en/2005/02/20050225.asp
Comment by Onnik Krikorian — 2/26/2005 @ 7:35 pm
The most significant change in re: attitude towards Turkey I’ve seen todate was the editorial in WSJ called “The Sick Man Of Europe”. I will try to find the link and append it to the message later.
WSJ editorials are hugely influential, they
typically serve as a semi-official opinion pieces of big business and those in power. My favorite
quote was, if I remember correctly, that turkey finds itself a second rate country, friendless in America and unwelcome by EU. The article aslo went on on how the turks forgot many things, amongs them is a threat of genocide recognition by the US.
I truly think this is a taste of things to come,
there is a big attitude shift and I do think that the genocide resolutuion will pass next time.
T
Comment by Tim — 2/26/2005 @ 11:47 pm
Here is the link to the article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110851241259955899,00.html?mod=article-outset-box
Comment by Tim — 2/26/2005 @ 11:51 pm
re: I do think that the genocide resolutuion will pass next time.
I think that US will recognize the Armenian Genocide this year. I think this way because Judge approved Marootian against NY Life ins. settlement.
Comment by Հակոբ Գեւորգյան — 2/27/2005 @ 1:56 am
We won’t have long to wait. April and the 90th Anniversary is already upon us and it wil be interesting to see what Bush says. Unless the US Ambassador spoke out of turn, I’m inclined to consider that he’s been given the okay by the State Department to refer to the Genocide without using political niceites to prevent criticism from Turkey. If so, this is quite a development. I wonder if the Turkish Press have reported on this and what is being said there.
Comment by Onnik Krikorian — 2/27/2005 @ 7:16 am
I really would like to believe that this time it will happen, but looking back to the history of such kind of “announcements” I’m inclined to wait for couple of days or a week before we hear about the “correction”. Then we will be told that the ambassador doesn’t mean that, but just a little bit different thing.
Comment by Tigran Khanzadyan — 2/27/2005 @ 9:16 am
Tigran, your cynicism understood and it’s justified, of course. It will be interesting, however. If the Ambassador’s words were correctly quoted and there’s no reason to believe that the weren’t, they quite clear. However, as has happened before, it will be interesting to see what threats and noises are made from Ankara and how the US State Department will respond.
Nevertheless, with the 90th coming up very, very soon, we should hear of a diplomatic battle of words before then. Still, if they do backtrack, will be interesting to see what spin they put on the Ambassador’s words. Still, with pressure from some European circles on resolving this outside issue as part of negotiations over Turkey’s accession to the European Union, perhaps it’s one that now has to be settled.
Let’s see. Yes, you’re probably right. Turkey will make a loud noise and Bush will refer to massacres and not Genocide but this year, I don’t know. With the spotlight on Turkey’s accession, the media is already airing much of the dirty laundry that needs to be cleaned by 2015 or whenever.
Comment by Onnik Krikorian — 2/27/2005 @ 9:51 am
to bring back the subject of the posting, in a sad postscript: the chief editor of the Azeri publication that had sent a reporter to Karabakh, Elmar Huseynov, was murdered at his house in Baku. The publication ceased to exist, and thus the article on Karabakh will never appear after all. This is suppression of the freedom of speech in action.
See http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg104522.html
Comment by Hovakim — 3/8/2005 @ 2:56 am