Nakhichevan: Azeri journalist told “never come back”
Idrak Abbasov, an Azeri journalist who confirmed the December 2005 destruction of the Djulfa cemetery in an Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) article in April 2006, has been harassed by the Azeri authorities in Nakhichevan and instructed to never visit the region.
Photo: Idrak Abbasov (via Radio Free Europe)
In the words of another Azeri journalist with IWPR:
An Azeri journalist said state security agents last week used the pretext of giving him an interview to detain, insult and abuse him.
Idrak Abbasov, a correspondent from the Zerkalo newspaper and an employee of the Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety, IRFS, had traveled to the Nakhichevan region, which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenian territory.
[…]
“Just as soon as I sat at the table, my hands were forced round and tied, they even closed my eyes. They took my phone, my camera and my documents. They took me to a room I didn’t know and started to ask about the reasons for my trip in a rude way, with insults and threats. I tried to explain that I had come to report. They told me that no journalist can come to Nakhichevan without the agreement of the local authorities.”
He said one officer asked him about connections with local journalists, then accused him of being a spy for Armenia. After two hours of interrogation, the MTN officers told him to get off the territory of Nakhichevan and never come back. He said the stress had made him feel ill, and he had been taken to hospital.
[…]
Azerbaijan Denies Yet Another European Visit to Djulfa
When, in February 2006, the European Parliament officially condemned Azerbaijan’s December 2005 deliberate destruction of the world’s largest Armenian medieval cemetery – Djulfa – the Azeri authorities denied European delegations’ visit to the site.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation was already in Armenia – just miles away from Djulfa. But Azerbaijan didn’t allow them to visit the cemetery stating that the delegation must first visit Nagorno-Karabakh, the de facto Armenian republic that was placed under Azerbaijan by Stalin in the 1920s.
The European delegation then decided to visit Nagorno-Karabakh. In fact, they planned to visit all the South Caucasus Republics – Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to asses the situation of minority monuments.
Azerbaijan, which still claims Djulfa was never destroyed because it didn’t exist in the first place, then said that it would only agree to the visit IF the delegation visited Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan (which is impossible since Nagorno-Karabakh is in a technical war with Azerbaijan and the only real way to visit Nagorno-Karabakh is from Armenia).
In an apparent desperation in the face of Azerbaijan’s continuous tricks to keep the delegation out of Djulfa, Edward O’Hara - head of the PACE Committee on Culture, Science and Education – has suggested to drop the idea of visiting all countries at the same time and instead start off by visiting Azerbaijan first.
According to Azerbaijan’s Trend News agency, O’Hara said on June 21, 2008 that he wants to visit Baku – Azerbaijan’s capital city – and Nakhichevan, the area where Djulfa was destroyed, as part of his first visit. Azerbaijan’s reaction is, as always, most predictable. According to Trend, an Azeri official, says that “We can agree to [visiting Azerbaijan first], but only if the rapporteur [O’Hara] visits Nagorno-Karabakh and its nearby regions occupied by Armenia beginning from Azerbaijan. We want him to see the Azerbaijani monuments destroyed by Armenians in the occupied territories.”
The Azeri official, in his own words, “informed the rapporteur that Nakhchivan does not have any ancient Armenian moment.”
And that is exactly why O’Hara wants to visit Nakhichevan – a region where thousands of indigenous Armenian monuments were surveyed just two decades ago – and find out why there aren’t any ancient Armenian monuments.
Canadian Response to Azerbaijan’s Angry Letter
In an interview with a Sacred Heart University professor, The Armenian Reporter’s February 2, 2008 (in PDF) issue has published COPRIM’s, a Canadian company, response to Azerbaijan’s angry reaction to COPRIM’s sponsorship of a November 2007 Harvard panel on the destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage in the region of Nakhichevan, a remote region of the South Caucasus republic of Azerbaijan:
The undated letter signed by the Azerbaijani chargé d’affairesin Canada, Farid Shafiyev, told COPRIM “to withdraw support to this exhibition” alleging that it was an initiative of the “Armenian communities abroad [that] exhibit [a] radical and chauvinistic stance” and seek to create “the so-called Greater Armenia.” The communication also included pages of the Azerbaijani government’s anti-Armenian propaganda.
In response, a COPRIM attorney sent a letter to the Azerbaijani Embassy in Canada on November 18, stating that “the sponsorship and mounting of the Exhibition constitutes a legal act both in Canada and in the United States of America” and “constitutes an expression of one of the fundamental freedoms this country offers its citizens.”
The CORPIM attorney further noted that the Azerbaijani diplomatic mission’s “presence and activity in
Canada is limited to diplomatic representation between the Government of Canada and your Government, and between your Government and its citizens or nationals. You have no right, privilege or businessi. Writing directly to a Canadiancitizen who has not solicited anyassistance or information fromyou;ii. Advising a Canadian citizenon the exercise of his political andlegal rights;iii. Attempting to influence bypersuasion or threat, a Canadiancitizen engaged in lawful activity;iv. Interfering with a Canadiancitizen’s exercise of rights inCanada or in the United States ofAmerica;v. Invading the privacy of a Canadiancitizen by investigating theownership of COPRIM Inc., a Canadiancorporation.”The attorney further notified the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the U.S. Department of State, and Harvard Universityof the Azerbaijani demarche and demanded “an immediate written retraction of your letter with an unconditional apology for having sent it, the whole within five (5) days.
From Norway to Singapore A Silenced Story Is Being Heard
Just days after the announcement of the Djulfa Virtual Memorial and Museum, we have had hits from all over the world.
Many of the visitors are from the United States, Canada, Turkey, the Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Russia, UK, the Czech Republic, Armenia, Sweden, Lebanon, Spain, Poland, Hungary, United Arab Emirates, France, Norway, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Belgium, United States Military and even Singapore.
A sad story of silenced sacred stones is being heard all over the world. We hope that the Republic of Azerbaijan won’t ban the website.
Azerbaijan Responds to the Djulfa Virtual Memorial and Museum
Armenians create website named Djulfa, Azerbaijani region and post false reports and footages
[ 18 Jan 2008 13:53 ]
“Website www.djulfa.com registered by Armenians falsifies the history of Nakhchivan, integral part of Azerbaijan, posts claims that this territory is an ancient Armenian land and false footages that Azerbaijanis destroy Armenian monuments in Djulfa,” parliamentarian Ganira Pashayeva told APA.
She said that the website named Djulfa is the next subversion of Armenians against Azerbaijan and added that all should worry about the fact that Armenians have squatted some of the domains connected with the names of Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Baku, Sumgayit, Nakhchivan and the occupied regions.
“The measurers should be accelerated for returning such domains, including www.djulfa.com to Azerbaijan and informing the world community about subversion against Azerbaijan. The relevant bodies should work out the process of registration of domains connected with the name of Azerbaijan in order to prevent such a problem in future. We should inform the world community on the level of media outlets, different embassies and Foreign Ministry that the materials posted on this website are false,” the parliamentarian said.
Ganira Pashayeva said that Armenians are anxious about our informing world community about vandalism acts of Armenia and their destructing cultural-historical monuments belonging to Azerbaijanis in occupied Azerbaijani regions including Nagorno Karabakh and historical lands of Azerbaijan and areas called Armenian Republic today and Armenians want to confuse international community.
“Not touching upon Armenian church in Baku is the indicator of the position of Azerbaijan in such issues. But all religious monuments belonging to Azerbaijan were destructed in Armenia today. This fact is enough for criticizing Armenians. To our regret, Armenians and their scientists posted articles covering these absurd and false claims against Azerbaijan in several encyclopedias, including Britanica encyclopedia,” she said.
MP stressed necessity of establishing body under one of the relevant state organizations for removing and observing this aggressive policy of Armenia against Azerbaijanis virtually.
“Especially, special measures should be taken for eliminating aggressive propaganda of Armenia against Azerbaijani monuments dating back to Christianity period. We should not allow Armenians to falsify history of Azerbaijan and present it to world community,” she said. /APA/
Azeri Press Release on “Deliberate Destruction by Armenia”
A December 29, 2007 press release from the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Azerbaijan, published in full at The Journal of Turkish Weekly, a nationalist periodical, talks about Azerbaijan’s efforts of “countering” the destruction of Djulfa by Azerbaijani servicemen in 2005.
Attention of international community was drawn to the facts of deliberate destruction by Armenia of the historic and cultural monuments, occupied Azerbaijani cities and towns, as well as illegal economic activities in the occupied territories. Preparation, publication and dissemination of reports, books and other materials by MFA became a serious contribution to informing international community about the facts of vandalism in the Armenia- occupied Azerbaijani territories and Armenia’s international legal responsibility for the policy of occupation against Azerbaijan became.
At the 6th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Azerbaijan proposed a resolution on protection of the cultural rights and property during the armed conflicts, which was adopted unanimously. The issues on protection of the historic and cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people remained a central point of our cooperation with UNESCO, Council of Europe and OIC.
