Tweet
AZERI FILM FEST CAUSES STORM IN ARMENIA
By Sara Khojoyan
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE, No. 638
April 25, 2012
UK
Attempt to build cultural bridges sparks anger, though it's unclear
whether protests were genuine or stage-managed.
A controversial festival of Azerbaijani films has finally taken place
in Armenia, but not before the venue had to be switched following
angry protests.
The Caucasus Centre of Peacemaking Initiatives, CCPI, an Armenian
organisation, was planning to show the films in several towns in the
north of the country on April 12 and 17.
CCPI director Giorgy Vanyan said the screenings were intended to
promote tolerance and peace.
Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been consistently poor
since the war over Nagorny Karabakh, which ended in 1994 with a truce
but no lasting peace deal.
Feelings of mistrust and resentment run so high in both countries
that most forms of engagement with the neighbouring state are seen
as akin to treason.
The four short films included in the festival were made in 2007-08 by
different directors, and did not touch on the Karabakh conflict. "The
films address social problems and human rights issues in Azerbaijan,"
Vanyan said.
After the screenings were announced, however, protesters took to the
streets of Gyumri and then Vanadzor.
In Gyumri, Vanyan was forced to cancel the April 12 showing at the
Asparez Press Club, to get the crowds outside to disperse. Video
footage posted on YouTube showed him surrounded by heated protesters.
One man tries to attack him but is dragged away by others.
In Vanadzor, some 200 people held a march against the April 17
screening and its hosts, the Helsinki Civil Assembly, HCA, throwing
eggs and stones at the proposed venues.
Demonstrators and other opponents of the festival accused its
organisers of betraying Armenia by showing films from Azerbaijan.
"I believe that no normal Armenian with a sense of decency and clear
view of things will want to see a festival of Azeri films in our
country," Yury Ghulyan, a lecturer at Vanadzor's teacher training
institute, said. "In Azerbaijan, they abuse and slander our country
and our good name. So it's just pointless bringing Azeri films to
show them here."
Karen Vrtanesyan, who blogs on Azeri-Armenian relations, has
long opposed the festival. On his Facebook page, he claimed that
peacebuilding events of this kind were unilateral, and that in
Azerbaijan, "hate propaganda" directed at Armenians was on the
increase.
Referring to events in the village of Maraga during the Karabakh
war in April 1992, he said that "on the eve of the 20th anniversary
of mass killings of civilians, no country would allow a 'cultural
event' by the side that conducted these pogroms. The issue here is
not tolerance, but a premeditated assault on the public's feelings."
The reactions were to be predicted. This film festival was supposed to
have taken place in late 2010, but the strength of public opposition
meant no venue could be persuaded to host the screenings. (See Azeri
Film Festival Cancelled in Armenia .)
CCPI eventually succeeding in rescheduling the Gyumri screening,
holding it before a small audience in a restaurant outside town.
After the April 16 scuffles in Vanadzor, the New York-based advocacy
group Human Rights Watch urged the Armenian authorities to investigate
the "mob attack" on HCA's office.
The CCPI said it had been the victim of a "campaign of intimidation,
slander and disinformation", and said the protests were not
spontaneous, but staged by local government officials.
"This public opposition was incited," Vanyan told IWPR. "There is no
constitutional order in Armenia - it has been replaced by a 'patriotic'
court martial."
Artur Sakunts of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, who took the decision
to call the Vanadzor screening, said police had been notably absent
when his office was besieged by protesters.
"Although we called them, police took no action to prevent threats
to our employees' safety, or to stop the incitement to violence
and public disorder, despite the fact that we called them," said a
statement from his office.
Sakunts said that in both Armenia and Azerbaijan, "the regimes use
cheap populist devices to divert public attention away from the real
problems facing their countries".
Officials in the two towns denied any connection to that protests.
Gagik Simonian of the Vanadzor municipality said the local authorities
were only informed of the planned protest on the morning of April 16,
shortly before it took place.
"They were acting in line with the law, so there wasn't anything we
could do about it," he said. "But we are in no way connected with
these events."
Opponents of the festival insisted they were acting on their own.
Tigran Kocharyan, a blogger, said Azerbaijanis "at the highest level"
insulted Armenians with no come-back, whereas "tolerance is demanded
only from the Armenians".
"You need two sides to hold a dialogue," he added, noting that in the
last two decades, Azerbaijan had never held an analogous festival of
Armenian films.
Since making concessions would be seen as a sign of weakness in
Azerbaijan, he said, then "yes, we must give an appropriate response
to everything they do."
Levon Barseghyan of the Asparez Press Club said the protesters may
well have had genuine concerns about the festival, but he pointed
out inconsistencies in the level of outrage.
"These same people who were protesting, shouting, and punching Vanyan
never complained about the Turkish and Azeri films that were shown
in Armenia as part of the Golden Apricot festival, or indeed other
screenings. Nor did they protest against cultural exchanges," he said.
Sara Khojoyan is a reporter for ArmeniaNow.com.
From: A. Papazian
By Sara Khojoyan
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE, No. 638
April 25, 2012
UK
Attempt to build cultural bridges sparks anger, though it's unclear
whether protests were genuine or stage-managed.
A controversial festival of Azerbaijani films has finally taken place
in Armenia, but not before the venue had to be switched following
angry protests.
The Caucasus Centre of Peacemaking Initiatives, CCPI, an Armenian
organisation, was planning to show the films in several towns in the
north of the country on April 12 and 17.
CCPI director Giorgy Vanyan said the screenings were intended to
promote tolerance and peace.
Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been consistently poor
since the war over Nagorny Karabakh, which ended in 1994 with a truce
but no lasting peace deal.
Feelings of mistrust and resentment run so high in both countries
that most forms of engagement with the neighbouring state are seen
as akin to treason.
The four short films included in the festival were made in 2007-08 by
different directors, and did not touch on the Karabakh conflict. "The
films address social problems and human rights issues in Azerbaijan,"
Vanyan said.
After the screenings were announced, however, protesters took to the
streets of Gyumri and then Vanadzor.
In Gyumri, Vanyan was forced to cancel the April 12 showing at the
Asparez Press Club, to get the crowds outside to disperse. Video
footage posted on YouTube showed him surrounded by heated protesters.
One man tries to attack him but is dragged away by others.
In Vanadzor, some 200 people held a march against the April 17
screening and its hosts, the Helsinki Civil Assembly, HCA, throwing
eggs and stones at the proposed venues.
Demonstrators and other opponents of the festival accused its
organisers of betraying Armenia by showing films from Azerbaijan.
"I believe that no normal Armenian with a sense of decency and clear
view of things will want to see a festival of Azeri films in our
country," Yury Ghulyan, a lecturer at Vanadzor's teacher training
institute, said. "In Azerbaijan, they abuse and slander our country
and our good name. So it's just pointless bringing Azeri films to
show them here."
Karen Vrtanesyan, who blogs on Azeri-Armenian relations, has
long opposed the festival. On his Facebook page, he claimed that
peacebuilding events of this kind were unilateral, and that in
Azerbaijan, "hate propaganda" directed at Armenians was on the
increase.
Referring to events in the village of Maraga during the Karabakh
war in April 1992, he said that "on the eve of the 20th anniversary
of mass killings of civilians, no country would allow a 'cultural
event' by the side that conducted these pogroms. The issue here is
not tolerance, but a premeditated assault on the public's feelings."
The reactions were to be predicted. This film festival was supposed to
have taken place in late 2010, but the strength of public opposition
meant no venue could be persuaded to host the screenings. (See Azeri
Film Festival Cancelled in Armenia .)
CCPI eventually succeeding in rescheduling the Gyumri screening,
holding it before a small audience in a restaurant outside town.
After the April 16 scuffles in Vanadzor, the New York-based advocacy
group Human Rights Watch urged the Armenian authorities to investigate
the "mob attack" on HCA's office.
The CCPI said it had been the victim of a "campaign of intimidation,
slander and disinformation", and said the protests were not
spontaneous, but staged by local government officials.
"This public opposition was incited," Vanyan told IWPR. "There is no
constitutional order in Armenia - it has been replaced by a 'patriotic'
court martial."
Artur Sakunts of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, who took the decision
to call the Vanadzor screening, said police had been notably absent
when his office was besieged by protesters.
"Although we called them, police took no action to prevent threats
to our employees' safety, or to stop the incitement to violence
and public disorder, despite the fact that we called them," said a
statement from his office.
Sakunts said that in both Armenia and Azerbaijan, "the regimes use
cheap populist devices to divert public attention away from the real
problems facing their countries".
Officials in the two towns denied any connection to that protests.
Gagik Simonian of the Vanadzor municipality said the local authorities
were only informed of the planned protest on the morning of April 16,
shortly before it took place.
"They were acting in line with the law, so there wasn't anything we
could do about it," he said. "But we are in no way connected with
these events."
Opponents of the festival insisted they were acting on their own.
Tigran Kocharyan, a blogger, said Azerbaijanis "at the highest level"
insulted Armenians with no come-back, whereas "tolerance is demanded
only from the Armenians".
"You need two sides to hold a dialogue," he added, noting that in the
last two decades, Azerbaijan had never held an analogous festival of
Armenian films.
Since making concessions would be seen as a sign of weakness in
Azerbaijan, he said, then "yes, we must give an appropriate response
to everything they do."
Levon Barseghyan of the Asparez Press Club said the protesters may
well have had genuine concerns about the festival, but he pointed
out inconsistencies in the level of outrage.
"These same people who were protesting, shouting, and punching Vanyan
never complained about the Turkish and Azeri films that were shown
in Armenia as part of the Golden Apricot festival, or indeed other
screenings. Nor did they protest against cultural exchanges," he said.
Sara Khojoyan is a reporter for ArmeniaNow.com.
From: A. Papazian