Tweet
A TALE OF TWO GIFT BASKETS
Ian Bremmer
Foreign Policy
http://eurasia.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/01/26/a_tale_of_two_gift_baskets
Jan 26 2012
When I got to my Davos hotel room, I was greeted by two gifts. One
was to be expected: greetings from the CEO of Nestle along with boxed
chocolates. Thoroughly Swiss and thoroughly appreciated.
The second? The most politically controversial gift I have ever
received.
The Heydar Aliyev Foundation, run by Azerbaijan's First Lady Mehriban
Aliyeva, supplied guests with a CD set, dubbed the Voices of Garabagh.
It wasn't until I opened up the package and read on that I saw what
it was driving at. It was a statement regarding the Garabagh region
between Azerbaijan and Armenia, delivered from a starkly one-sided
point of view:
"Unfortunately the conflict ignited as a result of unfair territorial
claims brought against Azerbaijan. The occupation by Armenian invaders
of Garabagh... [has] turned the bright representatives of the Mugham
art into internally displaced people... grief, sorrow, and melancholy
is being felt today in their performance."
The package was giftwrapped in cellophane, so it was sure to be missed
by any personnel intent on keeping such subjective perspective out of
the hotel rooms. You have to hand it to this Azeri organization for
so craftily injecting their thoughts into the summit. The takeaway:
Davos truly is the biggest annual global political event -- and you
can't underestimate how far actors will go to get their message heard
on the global stage.
There are, of course, more technological and readily available
avenues for communication that are boosting the reach and immediacy
of messages around the world. This is a theme I'll continue to discuss
in conjunction with global democratic trends.
Mugham melancholia notwithstanding, I have yet to make time for the
CD itself -- Davos has done its best to keep me busy. And I'll do my
best to keep you posted.
From: Baghdasarian
Ian Bremmer
Foreign Policy
http://eurasia.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/01/26/a_tale_of_two_gift_baskets
Jan 26 2012
When I got to my Davos hotel room, I was greeted by two gifts. One
was to be expected: greetings from the CEO of Nestle along with boxed
chocolates. Thoroughly Swiss and thoroughly appreciated.
The second? The most politically controversial gift I have ever
received.
The Heydar Aliyev Foundation, run by Azerbaijan's First Lady Mehriban
Aliyeva, supplied guests with a CD set, dubbed the Voices of Garabagh.
It wasn't until I opened up the package and read on that I saw what
it was driving at. It was a statement regarding the Garabagh region
between Azerbaijan and Armenia, delivered from a starkly one-sided
point of view:
"Unfortunately the conflict ignited as a result of unfair territorial
claims brought against Azerbaijan. The occupation by Armenian invaders
of Garabagh... [has] turned the bright representatives of the Mugham
art into internally displaced people... grief, sorrow, and melancholy
is being felt today in their performance."
The package was giftwrapped in cellophane, so it was sure to be missed
by any personnel intent on keeping such subjective perspective out of
the hotel rooms. You have to hand it to this Azeri organization for
so craftily injecting their thoughts into the summit. The takeaway:
Davos truly is the biggest annual global political event -- and you
can't underestimate how far actors will go to get their message heard
on the global stage.
There are, of course, more technological and readily available
avenues for communication that are boosting the reach and immediacy
of messages around the world. This is a theme I'll continue to discuss
in conjunction with global democratic trends.
Mugham melancholia notwithstanding, I have yet to make time for the
CD itself -- Davos has done its best to keep me busy. And I'll do my
best to keep you posted.
From: Baghdasarian