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EUROVISION PASSIONS: ARMENIA RESPONDS TO ACCUSATIONS OF "POLITICIZING" ITS 2015 ENTRY
GENOCIDE | 03.03.15 | 14:45
Satenik Tovmasyan
ArmeniaNow intern
Armenia has denied the political context of the nation's entry in one
of Europe's biggest pop music contest in response to accusations made
by Turkish and Azerbaijani media.
The 2015 Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Vienna, Austria,
on May 19-23. Armenia will present an original project called
Geneaology. It is a group of Diaspora Armenian singers representing
five continents. They will be joined by a six member representing
Armenia. The title of Armenia's Eurovision song is also chosen "Don't
Deny", but the lyrics have not been officially announced yet.
Turkish fans recently started a petition on Change.org, demanding that
Armenia be disqualified for the song title ostensibly constituting a
message on the 1915 mass killings of Ottoman Armenians that Turkey
denies amounted to genocide. At the same time Azerbaijan's Public
TV and Radio Broadcasting Company issued a statement saying: "This
contest cannot be an arena for any country's political ambitions. The
Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company states that if the
news is confirmed, we will also take appropriate steps in the contest."
Gohar Gasparyan, the head of the Armenian delegation at Eurovision
2015, stated that Armenia as always will keep Eurovision rules and
will be represented with a decent performance. She said that Turkish
and Azerbaijani media's accusations are groundless until Armenia
introduced its product.
On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, such
a reaction of neighbor countries was quite expectable, especially
when Turkey and Azerbaijan had already accused Armenia of presenting
a politicized song. In 2010 Turkish media saw elements of propaganda
in Armenia's representative Eva Rivas' "Apricot stone" song.
Such precedents are not rare in Eurovision history. In 2009, a year
after a Russo-Georgian war, the Georgian delegation preferred to
withdraw from the Eurovision after the incident when the contest
authority required that it change the song title reminding the name
of then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
The same year more than four dozen Azerbaijanis who voted for Armenia
in the Eurovision final were later summoned to the Azerbaijani National
Security Service for questioning.
Turkish and Azerbaijani media have also been troubled by another
Eurovision participant's entry this year. The song of France's
contestant Lisa Angell, 46, entitled N'oubliez pas or "Don't Forget"
also reminded about the slogan of this year's Armenian Genocide
Centennial.
According to the official website of the Eurovision Song Contest,
the song was first performed at a concert in November during the
commemoration period of the First World War, "while the singer
emphasizes that the song refers not only to this very special event
in history but to any kind of conflict".
http://armenianow.com/genocide/61093/armenia_genocide_eurovision_song_turkey_azerbaijan
From: Baghdasarian
GENOCIDE | 03.03.15 | 14:45
Satenik Tovmasyan
ArmeniaNow intern
Armenia has denied the political context of the nation's entry in one
of Europe's biggest pop music contest in response to accusations made
by Turkish and Azerbaijani media.
The 2015 Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Vienna, Austria,
on May 19-23. Armenia will present an original project called
Geneaology. It is a group of Diaspora Armenian singers representing
five continents. They will be joined by a six member representing
Armenia. The title of Armenia's Eurovision song is also chosen "Don't
Deny", but the lyrics have not been officially announced yet.
Turkish fans recently started a petition on Change.org, demanding that
Armenia be disqualified for the song title ostensibly constituting a
message on the 1915 mass killings of Ottoman Armenians that Turkey
denies amounted to genocide. At the same time Azerbaijan's Public
TV and Radio Broadcasting Company issued a statement saying: "This
contest cannot be an arena for any country's political ambitions. The
Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company states that if the
news is confirmed, we will also take appropriate steps in the contest."
Gohar Gasparyan, the head of the Armenian delegation at Eurovision
2015, stated that Armenia as always will keep Eurovision rules and
will be represented with a decent performance. She said that Turkish
and Azerbaijani media's accusations are groundless until Armenia
introduced its product.
On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, such
a reaction of neighbor countries was quite expectable, especially
when Turkey and Azerbaijan had already accused Armenia of presenting
a politicized song. In 2010 Turkish media saw elements of propaganda
in Armenia's representative Eva Rivas' "Apricot stone" song.
Such precedents are not rare in Eurovision history. In 2009, a year
after a Russo-Georgian war, the Georgian delegation preferred to
withdraw from the Eurovision after the incident when the contest
authority required that it change the song title reminding the name
of then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
The same year more than four dozen Azerbaijanis who voted for Armenia
in the Eurovision final were later summoned to the Azerbaijani National
Security Service for questioning.
Turkish and Azerbaijani media have also been troubled by another
Eurovision participant's entry this year. The song of France's
contestant Lisa Angell, 46, entitled N'oubliez pas or "Don't Forget"
also reminded about the slogan of this year's Armenian Genocide
Centennial.
According to the official website of the Eurovision Song Contest,
the song was first performed at a concert in November during the
commemoration period of the First World War, "while the singer
emphasizes that the song refers not only to this very special event
in history but to any kind of conflict".
http://armenianow.com/genocide/61093/armenia_genocide_eurovision_song_turkey_azerbaijan
From: Baghdasarian