[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”3px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-25px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n Eurovision, the international music competition for members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has been no stranger to controversy ever since it was launched in Europe in 1956, but the inclusion in recent years of post-Soviet countries has taken international rivalry over what is otherwise considered to be a somewhat kitsch event, to new heights. The three countries making up the South Caucasus are no exception and especially since Armenia participated for the first time in 2006. Georgia followed in 2007, as did Azerbaijan the following year.<\/p>\n In particular, although Georgia also withdrew after an aborted attempt to enter an anti-Putin song following the August 2008 war with Russia, bitter rivalry has particularly emerged between Armenia and Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n Locked in a dispute over Nagorno Karabakh, the war that broke out in the early 1990s saw around 25,000 people killed and a million flee their homes. And although a ceasefire agreement was signed in 1994, the two sides are still no closer to finding a lasting peace, with scores of conscripts from both sides dying on the frontline in cross-border skirmishes and sniper incidents every year. With the International Crisis Group (ICG) warning of the danger of a new\u00a0<\/span><\/em>war in the future<\/a>, Eurovision, in a sense, has become a new battleground.<\/p>\n Scandals between the two countries, in fact, have become a regular feature of the song contest watched by over 150 million people. In 2009, for example, the inclusion in Armenia\u2019s promotional video of a statue in the breakaway mainly Armenian-populated region prompted a strong response from Azerbaijan. And even then, when the offending monument was removed from the clip, it was anyway included as the backdrop and main image adorning the clipboard of Sirusho, Armenia\u2019s presenter during the international televoting live on air.<\/p>\n The same year, in perhaps the worst incident, 43 Azerbaijanis who voted for Armenia were\u00a0<\/span>reportedly called in for questioning\u00a0<\/span>by their own National Security Service. The telephone number for viewers in Azerbaijan to vote for Armenia had, of course, been obscured locally, but some had anyway managed to work it out. One even explained his voting preference by saying Armenia\u2019s entry sounded \u201cmore Azeri\u201d than Azerbaijan\u2019s entry. So, when Azerbaijan won last year\u2019s Eurovision in Germany, earning itself the right to host the competition, alarm bells naturally rang in Yerevan.<\/p>\n The situation had already become controversial when questions were raised about attitudes towards members of the local and international LGBT community, let alone the prospect of Armenians performing in the capital of its regional foe. Armenia, in particular, demanded additional security guarantees for its delegation from the EBU.<\/p>\n In response, the European organization stated that it could not intervene, but that it was satisfied with the security provisions promised for any delegation. Indeed, the provisions for receiving a visa at Baku\u2019s Heydar Aliyev airport were such that any Eurovision-ticket holder or EBU-accredited journalist would be granted a visa, available at a much lower rate than normal, on arrival in the country. Although not stated implicitly, that meant that anyone arriving for the event, even with an Armenian surname, could enter the country albeit only if they hadn\u2019t visited Karabakh without official Baku\u2019s permission.<\/p>\n But, with the local media increasingly full of articles seemingly preparing Armenians for a withdrawal, it anyway didn\u2019t matter, and not least when a statement from well-known singers in Armenia called for a boycott of the competition. In particular, they made reference to the February 24 shooting of an Armenian conscript, reportedly by an Azerbaijani sniper. Somewhat embarrassingly, however, after human rights activists examined the case, the Armenian Ministry of Defense later confirmed that the conscript had actually been shot by one of his own fellow servicemen.<\/p>\n Left without the death to justify withdrawal from Eurovision, Armenian Public TV finally found an excuse in the form of a speech by Azerbaijan\u2019s president, Ilham Aliyev, declaring all Armenians worldwide to be the enemy, and it\u00a0<\/span>formally withdrew from Eurovision\u00a0<\/span>on March 7. In reality, though, it appeared that Armenia had already decided not to participate even if, in 2010, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, had made an official visit to Baku, conducting a religious service in the Armenian Church downtown, as had members of the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation \u2014 Dashnaktsutyun such as Giro Manoyan.<\/p>\n True, Armenian boxers who competed last year at a sporting event in the Azerbaijani capital were momentarily subjected to an incident involving the throwing of stones by the Karabakh Liberation Organization comprising Azerbaijani War Veterans, but the culprits were anyway arrested. Armenian wrestlers also experienced no problems competing in Baku in 2007.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can conclude that the president of a Eurovision host country is officially stating that all Armenians, including those who would be included in the Eurovision delegation, are the enemies of Azerbaijan,\u201d Public TV nevertheless announced. \u201cTherefore, it would make no sense to send our participant to a country where they would be received as an enemy \u2026 We are convinced that the atmosphere created by this and other anti-Armenian statements and actions cannot ensure equal conditions for all singers participating in Eurovision.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cW\u200b\u200be are truly disappointed by the broadcaster\u2019s decision to withdraw,\u201d Eurovision Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand\u00a0<\/span>responded\u00a0<\/span>to the news. \u201cDespite the efforts of the EBU and the Host Broadcaster to ensure a smooth participation for the Armenian delegation in this year\u2019s Contest, circumstances beyond our control lead to this unfortunate decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Some such as Mika Artyan, perhaps Armenia\u2019s best-known online Eurovision commentator, were also disappointed. \u201cThey could have announced it much earlier, with dignity, with a kind of reasoning that would have gained them respect,\u201d he\u00a0<\/span>wrote\u00a0<\/span>on his Unzipped blog. \u201cInstead, they resorted to stupid propaganda games and outright lies. They undignified themselves to the extent of exploiting [the] death of the Armenian soldier \u2026 A disgrace.\u201d<\/p>\n Perplexed, even Dorians, the front-runner to represent Armenia in this year\u2019s Eurovision, noted the irony in the withdrawal, mentioning that the country didn\u2019t boycott the competition when it was held in Russia in 2010. \u201cWhen we were going to Russia for Eurovision, no one was speaking of security \u2014 even though in Russia nationalism knows no bounds. There, every day an Armenian is killed, but we weren\u2019t afraid to go,\u201d the band, which had frequently expressed its willingness to perform in Baku, wrote on its Facebook page. \u201cLet\u2019s remove the hatred injected within us, people of the world\u00a0<\/span>\u2026<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Life happens only once \u2014 let us live in peace and without wars.\u201d<\/p>\n But, with online activists and journalists facing intimidation, detention, and imprisonment in the oil-rich former Soviet republic, human rights and other organizations have also cast doubts on the country\u2019s suitability to stage Eurovision. In particular, they point to forced evictions of homeowners in downtown Baku to construct the Crystal Hall Stadium where Eurovision will be held in May. \u201cThere are quite a few genuine reasons that Armenia\u2019s Public TV may have considered to withdraw from the competition without resorting to [the reasons otherwise given],\u201d wrote Artyan in\u00a0<\/span>another post\u00a0<\/span>on his blog.<\/p>\n And, although Armenians are divided on the matter with many supporting the boycott, other bloggers agreed even if for different reasons. \u201cThere was initially controversy revolving around the question of whether Armenian participants would be allowed, and if their safety would be guaranteed, and finally whether Armenian fans would be allowed and their safety would be guaranteed,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>wrote\u00a0<\/span>Cilicia.com\u2019s Raffi Kojian. \u201cAfter much teeth gnashing by Baku, they agreed to all of these Eurovision requirements. Remarkable I\u2019d say, but they had invested a lot in this and wanted it that bad.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis\u00a0\u2026<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>is approximately the millionth time Azerbaijan has made racist and hateful comments about Armenians,\u201d Kojian continued. \u201cBut this time Armenia decided for some reason that because of this we are not going to participate in Eurovision to punish Azerbaijan and show them. Well guess what, that\u2019s exactly what Azerbaijan wants \u2014 so it\u2019s a reward, not a punishment. We\u2019ll now be a tiny, tiny footnote in the contest as non-participants, and few will hear of or care about Karabakh. We\u2019d have had to spend millions of dollars to get the kind of PR we just threw out the window.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cParty time in Baku, while we shot ourselves in the foot,\u201d the well-known Diasporan blogger concluded.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][dsm_text_divider header=”CONFLICT VOICES e-BOOKS” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/dsm_text_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”|0px||0px|false|false” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/onnik-krikorian.com\/new_site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/book-1-2.jpg” title_text=”Click to download” url=”https:\/\/onnik-krikorian.com\/new_site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/conflict_voices_december_2010-1.pdf” url_new_window=”on” align=”center” admin_label=”Image” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” width=”85%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Oswald|||on|||||” ul_font=”||on|on|||||” ul_font_size=”20px” custom_margin=”|||50px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Conflict Voices \u2013 December 2010<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_font_size=”15px” custom_margin=”|||50px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n \n Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict \n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/onnik-krikorian.com\/new_site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/book-new-1.jpg” title_text=”Click to download” url=”https:\/\/onnik-krikorian.com\/new_site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Conflict20Voices20May202011.pdf” url_new_window=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” width=”85%” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Oswald|||on|||||” ul_font=”||on|on|||||” ul_font_size=”20px” custom_margin=”|||50px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”] <\/p>\n Conflict Voices \u2013 May 2011<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_font_size=”15px” custom_margin=”|||50px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n \n Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict \n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Eurovision, the international music competition for members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has been no stranger to controversy ever since it was launched in Europe in 1956, but the inclusion in recent years of post-Soviet countries has taken international rivalry over what is otherwise considered by many to be a somewhat kitsch event, to new heights. The three countries making up the South Caucasus are no exception and especially since Armenia participated for the first time in 2006. Georgia followed in 2007, as did Azerbaijan the following year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,10,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-armenia","category-azerbaijan","category-nagorno-karabakh"],"yoast_head":"\n
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