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  • BAKU: Azeri TV reminds BBC that deadline ends 1 June

    Azeri TV reminds BBC that deadline ends 1 June

    ANS TV, Baku
    24 May 04

    [Presenter; Following a report about two Armenian defectors] Another
    comedy is being played with our Azerbaijani colleagues who are working
    under the management of an Armenian Mark Grigoryan. But we will talk
    about this later.

    [Correspondent] There is only one week left until 1 June. It is
    this day when a deadline given by the ANS management to BBC World
    [Service] is ending [ANS rebroadcasts BBC World Service programmes in
    Baku]. As we have reported, ANS took this step as a protest against
    BBC's position on Azerbaijan, in particular, against this company's
    morning programmes. Finally, today we managed to learn the regional
    executive editor of the Eurasia regional unit, Olexiy Solohubenko's,
    oral response to ANS's letter of warning. We should say that Mr
    Solohubenko expressed a tough reaction to ANS's step.

    [Olexiy Solohubenko in English over Azeri-voice over] I think it
    is a very bad mistake on the part of ANS if it really goes to do
    it. It is even a bigger mistake as it is made by ANS. This is very
    bad for Azerbaijan. I am very much surprised that ANS is going to do
    so without proving that BBC is wrong.

    [Correspondent] It is interesting that Mr Solohubenko says that ANS is
    doing so without proving BBC's wrong steps. It is surprising because
    several letters have been to the BBC management protesting against
    BBC's biased programmes broadcast in the mornings, particularly,
    programmes by producer Mark Grigoryan in which he clearly attempts
    to distort the existing realities around the Armenian-Azerbaijani
    conflict. The letters have more than enough number of proofs and
    evidence.

    However, Solohubenko is determined to support their positions and
    Mark Grigoryan. Incidentally, ANS's another prediction turned out to
    be correct. Mr Solohubenko skilfully used the fact that Azerbaijanis
    work under the leadership of Mark Grigoryan.

    [Solohubenko] The fact that Mark Grigoryan is an Armenian does
    not mean that he is no good. He works with us in a team involving
    11 Azerbaijanis. If you have any specific claims concerning Mark
    Grigoryan, we are ready to consider them. But given that there is
    no other claim apart from the one that he is an Armenian, this is
    inadmissible.

    [Correspondent] Going further with his explanations, Mr Solohubenko
    started informing us on BBC's international essence. He said that
    there are Jews and Arabs and other Africans work there and they all
    work there as part of BBC but not as ethnic groups or representatives
    of their nations. But ANS CM is trying to highlight this point that
    the status of a citizen of an aggressor country and of a citizen of
    an occupied country cannot be equal. Their truths are also different.

    We also talked about the Muslim-Christian side of the problem. Mr
    Solohubenko taught a little lesson for us here as well.

    [Olexiy Solohubenko] Muslims and Christians work together here. This
    is why we cannot understand the problem you have raised. I regret that
    this is happening in the Caucasus, in Azerbaijan which is tolerant
    to free media. This is a bad mistake and it is very bad for Azerbaijan.

    [Correspondent] There is only one week left until 1 June. Which means
    that Mark Grigoryan has seven more days on the air. Sevda Hasanova,
    ANS.
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