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TANGIBLE FOLLOW-UP IS NEEDED
Mediamax
http://www.mediamax.am/en/column/12160/
Oct 31 2011
Armenia
by Tevan Poghosyan , Executive Director of International Center for
Human Development (ICHD)
It seems that in the Armenian context Track Two Diplomacy (T2D)
projects tend to address the Armenian-Turkish relations, and rarely the
Nagorno Karabakh issue. However, on October 15-17 a very interesting
event was organized in Washington, DC with the aim to discuss the
possibilities that T2D projects can open up for the settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh issue.
I have participated only in part of the program, and have followed
the rest of the event on media. The first day it was open for a wider
audience. The organizers had invited speakers from Armenia and the
Armenian Diaspora, Azerbaijan and the international community.
Unfortunately, no one was invited from the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
(NKR). Almost all the speakers from Armenia emphasized this deliberate
negligence, and it seems that the message was quite clear to the
organizers: without an NKR representative any discussion of the NK
issue would become merely a nice intellectual exercise and would
totally lack any practical implications. Obviously, we were able to
communicate it to the organizers successfully, as an NKR representative
was invited to the next event at Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace. I think we have to be thankful to the organizers for their
efforts, and responsiveness to our feedback.
Organizing such meetings of experts to brainstorm on the possibilities
of various T2D projects is always very welcome, but after all , what
really matters is the follow-up to these discussions. Whether there
will be a tangible follow-up and an actual implementation of a T2D
project in the conflict region, or whether the event will become yet
another one-time show will be clear in a few months.
Meanwhile, perhaps one of the most interesting phenomenon during the
whole event was the role of media on the formation of public opinion.
I was curious to see how media would influence public perceptions. I
should confess that it was quite amusing to read the Azerbaijani
media coverage on the event. For instance, my words were twisted to
an unrecognizable extent. A number of other presentations shared the
same fate as well. Many names were misspelled. Another interesting
finding was the fact that many Azerbaijani speakers tried to present
their perspectives in quite moderate terms, whereas what you read
in Azerbaijani media reminds you of more belligerent rhetoric. Both
during and after the event, almost every day I would get an email from
one or the other international expert expressing their disbelief on
how the Azerbaijani media had distorted their messages. There were
even cases of absolute falsification.
I hope that the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George
Mason University together with the Imagine project do actually plan
for real long term work in T2D, and that the lessons learned from the
first event will be taken into account. I also want to believe that all
issues discussed and all the good ideas expressed will be implemented
with a common effort from Nagorno Karabakh, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
Tevan Poghosyan is the Executive Director of International Center
for Human Development (ICHD). These views are his own.
From: A. Papazian
Mediamax
http://www.mediamax.am/en/column/12160/
Oct 31 2011
Armenia
by Tevan Poghosyan , Executive Director of International Center for
Human Development (ICHD)
It seems that in the Armenian context Track Two Diplomacy (T2D)
projects tend to address the Armenian-Turkish relations, and rarely the
Nagorno Karabakh issue. However, on October 15-17 a very interesting
event was organized in Washington, DC with the aim to discuss the
possibilities that T2D projects can open up for the settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh issue.
I have participated only in part of the program, and have followed
the rest of the event on media. The first day it was open for a wider
audience. The organizers had invited speakers from Armenia and the
Armenian Diaspora, Azerbaijan and the international community.
Unfortunately, no one was invited from the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
(NKR). Almost all the speakers from Armenia emphasized this deliberate
negligence, and it seems that the message was quite clear to the
organizers: without an NKR representative any discussion of the NK
issue would become merely a nice intellectual exercise and would
totally lack any practical implications. Obviously, we were able to
communicate it to the organizers successfully, as an NKR representative
was invited to the next event at Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace. I think we have to be thankful to the organizers for their
efforts, and responsiveness to our feedback.
Organizing such meetings of experts to brainstorm on the possibilities
of various T2D projects is always very welcome, but after all , what
really matters is the follow-up to these discussions. Whether there
will be a tangible follow-up and an actual implementation of a T2D
project in the conflict region, or whether the event will become yet
another one-time show will be clear in a few months.
Meanwhile, perhaps one of the most interesting phenomenon during the
whole event was the role of media on the formation of public opinion.
I was curious to see how media would influence public perceptions. I
should confess that it was quite amusing to read the Azerbaijani
media coverage on the event. For instance, my words were twisted to
an unrecognizable extent. A number of other presentations shared the
same fate as well. Many names were misspelled. Another interesting
finding was the fact that many Azerbaijani speakers tried to present
their perspectives in quite moderate terms, whereas what you read
in Azerbaijani media reminds you of more belligerent rhetoric. Both
during and after the event, almost every day I would get an email from
one or the other international expert expressing their disbelief on
how the Azerbaijani media had distorted their messages. There were
even cases of absolute falsification.
I hope that the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George
Mason University together with the Imagine project do actually plan
for real long term work in T2D, and that the lessons learned from the
first event will be taken into account. I also want to believe that all
issues discussed and all the good ideas expressed will be implemented
with a common effort from Nagorno Karabakh, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
Tevan Poghosyan is the Executive Director of International Center
for Human Development (ICHD). These views are his own.
From: A. Papazian