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TALE OF ARMENIAN "SABOTEUR" HIGHLIGHTS CONFUSION AROUND KARABAKH FIGHTING
EurasiaNet.org
Feb 4 2014
February 4, 2014 - 11:12am, by Joshua Kucera
Two weeks after tensions spiked on the line of contact between Armenian
and Azerbaijani forces, much information about what is actually
happening there remains unclear. A spokesman for Azerbaijan's defense
ministry said on February 3 that "dozens" of Armenian soldiers had been
killed, while the Armenian authorities in the de facto Nagorno Karabakh
government denied that. And many of the first-reported claims about
the upsurge in fighting -- an Armenian vehicle destroyed, attempted
incursions by both sides -- remain murky.
One initial report has proven especially embarrassing for the
Azerbaijani side. Citing the defense ministry, Azerbaijani media
reported that on January 28, an Armenian "saboteur" was captured
by Azerbaijani soldiers: "Armed and injured leader of an enemy
intelligence-sabotage group Mamiko Khojayan was captured by our
soldiers after a brief firefight."
But when Azerbaijani television stations aired footage of Khojayan, the
image was not of an elite special ops commando, but of a disheveled,
disoriented old man. And soon after, neighbors and relatives of the
man in Armenia identified him as a 77-year-old mentally ill man.
"Azerbaijanis present this poor Armenian as a saboteur, but that
doesn't mean it's the truth," Baku-based political analyst Zardusht
Alizade told the BBC Azerbaijani service. Azerbaijani opposition
media and, naturally, Armenian media have picked up the tragicomic
story with gusto. "Look at this saboteur! To laugh or to cry? What
more can you say, there is nothing to add to these photos...." wrote
Azerbaijani opposition news site haqqin.az.
Some Azerbaijani sources, however, clung to the notion that
Khojayan was in fact a special forces soldier. An Azerbaijani
veteran of the Karabakh war told Baku newspaper Yeni Musavat that
Khojayan's appearance was "camouflage" and that that is how members
of intelligence units look, the BBC reported. But for the most
part, people in the Azerbaijan government know that the story is
embarrassing and just want it to go away, one well-placed Baku source
told The Bug Pit. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs did
not respond to a request for comment. But Khojayan remains in Baku,
with local representatives of the International Committee of the Red
Cross monitoring his treatment.
Meanwhile, the situation continues to be tense. While the opposing
ministries of defense have reported a recent decrease in ceasefire
violations, the International Crisis Group have warned that "[t]he
nature of the reported clashes and ominous statements by some
government officials mark an escalation unprecedented in recent
years." But with misinformation abounding, it's hard to know what's
happening on the ground.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68002
EurasiaNet.org
Feb 4 2014
February 4, 2014 - 11:12am, by Joshua Kucera
Two weeks after tensions spiked on the line of contact between Armenian
and Azerbaijani forces, much information about what is actually
happening there remains unclear. A spokesman for Azerbaijan's defense
ministry said on February 3 that "dozens" of Armenian soldiers had been
killed, while the Armenian authorities in the de facto Nagorno Karabakh
government denied that. And many of the first-reported claims about
the upsurge in fighting -- an Armenian vehicle destroyed, attempted
incursions by both sides -- remain murky.
One initial report has proven especially embarrassing for the
Azerbaijani side. Citing the defense ministry, Azerbaijani media
reported that on January 28, an Armenian "saboteur" was captured
by Azerbaijani soldiers: "Armed and injured leader of an enemy
intelligence-sabotage group Mamiko Khojayan was captured by our
soldiers after a brief firefight."
But when Azerbaijani television stations aired footage of Khojayan, the
image was not of an elite special ops commando, but of a disheveled,
disoriented old man. And soon after, neighbors and relatives of the
man in Armenia identified him as a 77-year-old mentally ill man.
"Azerbaijanis present this poor Armenian as a saboteur, but that
doesn't mean it's the truth," Baku-based political analyst Zardusht
Alizade told the BBC Azerbaijani service. Azerbaijani opposition
media and, naturally, Armenian media have picked up the tragicomic
story with gusto. "Look at this saboteur! To laugh or to cry? What
more can you say, there is nothing to add to these photos...." wrote
Azerbaijani opposition news site haqqin.az.
Some Azerbaijani sources, however, clung to the notion that
Khojayan was in fact a special forces soldier. An Azerbaijani
veteran of the Karabakh war told Baku newspaper Yeni Musavat that
Khojayan's appearance was "camouflage" and that that is how members
of intelligence units look, the BBC reported. But for the most
part, people in the Azerbaijan government know that the story is
embarrassing and just want it to go away, one well-placed Baku source
told The Bug Pit. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs did
not respond to a request for comment. But Khojayan remains in Baku,
with local representatives of the International Committee of the Red
Cross monitoring his treatment.
Meanwhile, the situation continues to be tense. While the opposing
ministries of defense have reported a recent decrease in ceasefire
violations, the International Crisis Group have warned that "[t]he
nature of the reported clashes and ominous statements by some
government officials mark an escalation unprecedented in recent
years." But with misinformation abounding, it's hard to know what's
happening on the ground.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68002