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AZERBAIJANI DIASPORA PROTESTS PBS DOCUMENTARY ON NAGORNO KARABAKH
Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62215
Oct 22 2010
NY
Another proxy battle between Azerbaijanis and Armenians is playing
out in the US as the Azerbaijani Diaspora community tries to put
the kibosh on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) plans to air an
Armenian-made documentary on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In an October 20 letter to the network's management and ombudsman, two
American-Azerbaijani groups charged that the film, "A Story of People
in War and Peace" by Armenian journalist Vardan Hovhanisyan, offers
a slanted take on the 1988-1994 Azerbaijani-Armenian war over Karabakh.
"[T]his documentary about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict ... would
present a rather perverted interpretation of controversial history
to the PBS viewer[s]," wrote the Azerbaijani-American Council and
Azerbaijan Society of America.
The film tells the post-conflict story of Karabakh via the
retrospective of Hovhanisyan's own experiences as a war reporter
and prisoner. The Azerbaijani Diaspora groups claim the film ignores
the plight of ethnic Azeri victims of the conflict and is meant to
sway public opinion in the US. "As PBS is a publically [sic] funded
service based on taxpayer contributions, we appeal for your common
sense to cancel the broadcast of this documentary," the letter reads.
The tussle marks an increase in Azerbaijani attempts to match the
political and PR efforts of well-oiled Armenian Diaspora lobbies in the
US. In the past, Azerbaijani groups have pressured such US corporate
heavyweights as Google and Microsoft on Karabakh-related issues.
From: A. Papazian
Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62215
Oct 22 2010
NY
Another proxy battle between Azerbaijanis and Armenians is playing
out in the US as the Azerbaijani Diaspora community tries to put
the kibosh on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) plans to air an
Armenian-made documentary on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In an October 20 letter to the network's management and ombudsman, two
American-Azerbaijani groups charged that the film, "A Story of People
in War and Peace" by Armenian journalist Vardan Hovhanisyan, offers
a slanted take on the 1988-1994 Azerbaijani-Armenian war over Karabakh.
"[T]his documentary about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict ... would
present a rather perverted interpretation of controversial history
to the PBS viewer[s]," wrote the Azerbaijani-American Council and
Azerbaijan Society of America.
The film tells the post-conflict story of Karabakh via the
retrospective of Hovhanisyan's own experiences as a war reporter
and prisoner. The Azerbaijani Diaspora groups claim the film ignores
the plight of ethnic Azeri victims of the conflict and is meant to
sway public opinion in the US. "As PBS is a publically [sic] funded
service based on taxpayer contributions, we appeal for your common
sense to cancel the broadcast of this documentary," the letter reads.
The tussle marks an increase in Azerbaijani attempts to match the
political and PR efforts of well-oiled Armenian Diaspora lobbies in the
US. In the past, Azerbaijani groups have pressured such US corporate
heavyweights as Google and Microsoft on Karabakh-related issues.
From: A. Papazian