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THE ARMENIANS AND AZERBAIJANI IN TBILISI
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Dec 10 2013
10 December 2013 - 11:46am
David Stepanyan, Yerevan-Tbilisi. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Six Armenian and 6 Azerbaijani journalists discussed opportunities
for peacemaking between the nations at the journalist workshop
"Professional Ethics and Journalists' Role in the Nagorno-Karabakh
Conflict" which took place in Tbilisi in early December. The meeting
was organized by the International Alert British non-governmental
organization. It was the third such workshop; the first one took place
in the UK in December 2011; the second - in Bosnia and Herzegovina
in March 2013.
According to the International Alert manager, Marina Nagai, the
Tbilisi meeting was one of components of a wider project on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within EPNK, where Alert participated along
with four other European organizations. Two projects by Alert were
combined at the Tbilisi workshop: an expert dialogue on studying
other conflicts and working with Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists.
Journalists had an opportunity to talk to each other and put questions
to leading Armenian and Azerbaijani experts in the sphere of civil
peacemaking - Mikel Zolyan from Yerevan and Avaz Gasanov from Baku.
Experts Togrul Juvarly and Arut Mansuryan presented the film "Memories
without Borders" on refugees from Armenia and Azerbaijan. Journalist
Margarita Akhvlediani conducted professional trainings.
The Tbilisi meeting was subtitled "It is better to talk than to
fight." Participants forgot about emotions and tried to listen to and
understand each other. For some young journalists from both groups
a meeting with Armenians/Azerbaijanis was first in their lives and
they were confused a bit. Reality was too different from a picture
painted by the propaganda machinery. The Tbilissi meeting was a rare
opportunity for a dialogue between Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists
who have similar problems in their work.
A common thread of the event was necessity of following journalist
ethics. In the end, mutual hatred in both societies is exaggerated
not only by politicians, but also journalists. If politicians do it
in their own interests, reasons for such a behavior by journalists
are unclear. Mutual hatred is clearly not in the interests of the
two nations, especially in the context of renewal of the negotiating
process on settlement of the Karabakh conflict after two years
of silence.
From: A. Papazian
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Dec 10 2013
10 December 2013 - 11:46am
David Stepanyan, Yerevan-Tbilisi. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Six Armenian and 6 Azerbaijani journalists discussed opportunities
for peacemaking between the nations at the journalist workshop
"Professional Ethics and Journalists' Role in the Nagorno-Karabakh
Conflict" which took place in Tbilisi in early December. The meeting
was organized by the International Alert British non-governmental
organization. It was the third such workshop; the first one took place
in the UK in December 2011; the second - in Bosnia and Herzegovina
in March 2013.
According to the International Alert manager, Marina Nagai, the
Tbilisi meeting was one of components of a wider project on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within EPNK, where Alert participated along
with four other European organizations. Two projects by Alert were
combined at the Tbilisi workshop: an expert dialogue on studying
other conflicts and working with Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists.
Journalists had an opportunity to talk to each other and put questions
to leading Armenian and Azerbaijani experts in the sphere of civil
peacemaking - Mikel Zolyan from Yerevan and Avaz Gasanov from Baku.
Experts Togrul Juvarly and Arut Mansuryan presented the film "Memories
without Borders" on refugees from Armenia and Azerbaijan. Journalist
Margarita Akhvlediani conducted professional trainings.
The Tbilisi meeting was subtitled "It is better to talk than to
fight." Participants forgot about emotions and tried to listen to and
understand each other. For some young journalists from both groups
a meeting with Armenians/Azerbaijanis was first in their lives and
they were confused a bit. Reality was too different from a picture
painted by the propaganda machinery. The Tbilissi meeting was a rare
opportunity for a dialogue between Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists
who have similar problems in their work.
A common thread of the event was necessity of following journalist
ethics. In the end, mutual hatred in both societies is exaggerated
not only by politicians, but also journalists. If politicians do it
in their own interests, reasons for such a behavior by journalists
are unclear. Mutual hatred is clearly not in the interests of the
two nations, especially in the context of renewal of the negotiating
process on settlement of the Karabakh conflict after two years
of silence.
From: A. Papazian