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ARMENIA STANDS FIRM ON EUROVISION BOYCOTT
by Anna Barseghyan
Institute of War & Peace Reporting IWPR
March 15 2012
UK
Armenia has withdrawn from this year's Eurovision Song Contest in
Azerbaijan, following the death of a soldier that was initially blamed
on Azeri troops.
The boycott will stay in place even though it transpires that
the soldier was killed by one of his comrades rather than by an
Azerbaijani sniper.
The contest is organised by the European Broadcast Union, EBU, which
issued a statement on March 7 announcing the withdrawal of Armenian
Public Television as a participating member.
"We are truly disappointed by the broadcaster's decision," contest
chief Jon Ola Sand said in the statement. "Despite the efforts of
the EBU and the [Azerbaijani] host broadcaster to ensure a smooth
participation for the Armenian delegation in this year's contest,
circumstances beyond our control led to this unfortunate decision."
Pressure for a boycott had been growing for some time in Armenia.
The immediate cause was an Armenian defence ministry statement on
February 23 that Private Albert Adibekyan had been killed by a sniper
firing from inside Azerbaijan.
The following day, an open letter written in the name of 22 musicians
started circulating in the media.
"We refuse to perform in a country known for its mass pogroms against
Armenians. We refuse to perform in a country where hatred of Armenians
has become state policy. We refuse to perform in a country which
people of Armenian ethnicity are barred from visiting, even if they
are citizens of another country," the letter said.
The letter did not bear the signatures of the musicians named, and
it was uncertain whether they had initiated it.
"No one signed any letter," well-known singer Alla Levonyan said a
famous Armenian singer. "We all received calls from Public Television
and asked whether we were for or against it [participation]. I was
against."
The story became even more confused on March 5 when officials admitted
that Private Adibekyan was killed by another Armenian solider under
unexplained circumstances, so he had not been hit by an Azerbaijani
sniper after all.
Despite this, performers continued demanding a boycott of Eurovision.
"This [shooting] incident is not relevant to my position. Azerbaijan
breaks the ceasefire and takes our soldiers' lives on a regular basis.
I was opposed to our taking part from the outset," Levonyan said.
"What would we show or prove by going there?... We are enemies,
so why should we indicate that we mean them well?"
Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan remain tense two decades
after the conflict over Nagorny Karabakh, which ended in 1994 with
an Armenian administration in control of the separatist entity. A
formal peace deal remains far off.
Many other singers agreed, like Aramo, who said it would be wrong to
perform in a city where Armenians had been victims of ethnic violence
in the past.
However, members of the Dorians group which was widely tipped to
represent Armenia in the competition were disappointed they would
not be going.
"I cannot see a reason why Armenia should not take part in Eurovision,"
the band's producer Vahagn Gevorgyan said, accusing Armenian Public
Television of engineering a campaign to withdraw.
"The letter demanding a Eurovision boycott was written not by the
performers but by Public Television. It used them to articulate its
own view," he said.
Officials at Armenian Public Television deny instigating the letter
or provoking a boycott by performers.
Armenia has taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2006,
and it highest-place entry was in 2008 when it took fourth place. Last
year, its contestant Emmy did not make it past the semi-finals.
Anna Barseghyan is a reporter for www.media.am.
From: A. Papazian
by Anna Barseghyan
Institute of War & Peace Reporting IWPR
March 15 2012
UK
Armenia has withdrawn from this year's Eurovision Song Contest in
Azerbaijan, following the death of a soldier that was initially blamed
on Azeri troops.
The boycott will stay in place even though it transpires that
the soldier was killed by one of his comrades rather than by an
Azerbaijani sniper.
The contest is organised by the European Broadcast Union, EBU, which
issued a statement on March 7 announcing the withdrawal of Armenian
Public Television as a participating member.
"We are truly disappointed by the broadcaster's decision," contest
chief Jon Ola Sand said in the statement. "Despite the efforts of
the EBU and the [Azerbaijani] host broadcaster to ensure a smooth
participation for the Armenian delegation in this year's contest,
circumstances beyond our control led to this unfortunate decision."
Pressure for a boycott had been growing for some time in Armenia.
The immediate cause was an Armenian defence ministry statement on
February 23 that Private Albert Adibekyan had been killed by a sniper
firing from inside Azerbaijan.
The following day, an open letter written in the name of 22 musicians
started circulating in the media.
"We refuse to perform in a country known for its mass pogroms against
Armenians. We refuse to perform in a country where hatred of Armenians
has become state policy. We refuse to perform in a country which
people of Armenian ethnicity are barred from visiting, even if they
are citizens of another country," the letter said.
The letter did not bear the signatures of the musicians named, and
it was uncertain whether they had initiated it.
"No one signed any letter," well-known singer Alla Levonyan said a
famous Armenian singer. "We all received calls from Public Television
and asked whether we were for or against it [participation]. I was
against."
The story became even more confused on March 5 when officials admitted
that Private Adibekyan was killed by another Armenian solider under
unexplained circumstances, so he had not been hit by an Azerbaijani
sniper after all.
Despite this, performers continued demanding a boycott of Eurovision.
"This [shooting] incident is not relevant to my position. Azerbaijan
breaks the ceasefire and takes our soldiers' lives on a regular basis.
I was opposed to our taking part from the outset," Levonyan said.
"What would we show or prove by going there?... We are enemies,
so why should we indicate that we mean them well?"
Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan remain tense two decades
after the conflict over Nagorny Karabakh, which ended in 1994 with
an Armenian administration in control of the separatist entity. A
formal peace deal remains far off.
Many other singers agreed, like Aramo, who said it would be wrong to
perform in a city where Armenians had been victims of ethnic violence
in the past.
However, members of the Dorians group which was widely tipped to
represent Armenia in the competition were disappointed they would
not be going.
"I cannot see a reason why Armenia should not take part in Eurovision,"
the band's producer Vahagn Gevorgyan said, accusing Armenian Public
Television of engineering a campaign to withdraw.
"The letter demanding a Eurovision boycott was written not by the
performers but by Public Television. It used them to articulate its
own view," he said.
Officials at Armenian Public Television deny instigating the letter
or provoking a boycott by performers.
Armenia has taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2006,
and it highest-place entry was in 2008 when it took fourth place. Last
year, its contestant Emmy did not make it past the semi-finals.
Anna Barseghyan is a reporter for www.media.am.
From: A. Papazian