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'NOBODY ELSE WOULD DO IT FOR YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE VICTIM'
news.az
June 30 2010
Azerbaijan
News.Az interviews David Dean Judson, editor-in-chief of Hurriyet
Daily News & Economic Review.
Let me ask you a question as you are an expert in information warfare
issues. There is an infowar policy between Armenia from one side and
Azerbaijan and Turkey from another side. Which side has succeeded
more in this war and has more advantages?
I think a good place to start any analysis of war and information
warfare is not were we typically start. And we typically start by
looking at the stories that journalists are working on. The Armenians
are working on this, writing that, Azerbaijanis are writing this,
the British are writing that. I think the more important way to
consider the way the global media works is think about the stories
the journalist are working from. We all work from a collection of
cultural histories, prejudices, stereotypes.
Just a few days ago one of the research fellows from the Centre
of strategic studies under the President of Republic of Azerbaijan
showed me an essay that's coming up a few days in the publication
from Chatham house, the second or third most sophisticated, most
respected foreign policy journals in the world. The essay is on
Caspian politics. The journalist that wrote that story in first or
second paragraph describes Azerbaijan. And the first sentences are:
"Azerbaijan is an overwhelmingly Muslim country"... "Overwhelming" is
a negative term. You would never describe America as "overwhelmingly
Christian country". "Overwhelming" is a term of violence in fact.
I don't think that the journalist was probably trying to be prejudice
towards Azerbaijan. But this is the story is working from. The next
paragraph was "Armenia is a blockaded nation, that was in the third
century the first nation to accept Christianity". So before we've
got to the fourth paragraph of that story we basically have in our
mythology the Muslim army fighting against beleaguered Christians. It
is story out the Bible almost, it is a parable.
So I think that where the media work, where obviously the Armenians
have the advantage it's still for against you. Because they have the
supporting their effort to tell their story is symbolic baggage of
Western civilization and culture prejudices and Orientalism. The real
battle in many ways is a battle of symbols in Orientalism. Because
that's the way journalists do their job. And getting journalists to
take responsibility for what they do, Western journalist, Eastern
journalist, Northern journalist, Southern journalist. And analyze
their own prejudices are before they begin a task because I think
often such a problems are unintentional, they are culturally based.
This is something we can solve, this is something we can challenge,
but it is not something we can ignore.
Armenians are trying to represent themselves as victims of Turks and
Azerbaijanis. And what should Azerbaijan do in this information war?
Should we follow the Armenian example or speak a lot about our
achievements?
There are two answers to that question. Of course the tragedy, the
drama, the victimhood of the 1 million people who lost their homes,
family members, treasure and others are not something that could be
forgotten and ignored, this is a real victimhood. But in terms of
trying to communicate, I mean the world is weary.
We met with refugees in Baku. I was given a photographic book about
the victims of Karabakh. It reminded me the book I have in my house
that was given me by my farther. It was printed in 1953 called "We
are humans too" about the refugees of Gaza. The dramatic photographs
of the victims... So the situation has got worse since 1953 for the
victims of Gaza, not better. On the one hand, we have to remember
and not forget and to heal the wounds of those who have suffered,
but at the same time we have to find ways not be victims, to get
beyond the drama and as you said, to focus on building our lives,
building your country, building your economy. Because nobody else
would do it for you just because you are a victim.
From: A. Papazian
news.az
June 30 2010
Azerbaijan
News.Az interviews David Dean Judson, editor-in-chief of Hurriyet
Daily News & Economic Review.
Let me ask you a question as you are an expert in information warfare
issues. There is an infowar policy between Armenia from one side and
Azerbaijan and Turkey from another side. Which side has succeeded
more in this war and has more advantages?
I think a good place to start any analysis of war and information
warfare is not were we typically start. And we typically start by
looking at the stories that journalists are working on. The Armenians
are working on this, writing that, Azerbaijanis are writing this,
the British are writing that. I think the more important way to
consider the way the global media works is think about the stories
the journalist are working from. We all work from a collection of
cultural histories, prejudices, stereotypes.
Just a few days ago one of the research fellows from the Centre
of strategic studies under the President of Republic of Azerbaijan
showed me an essay that's coming up a few days in the publication
from Chatham house, the second or third most sophisticated, most
respected foreign policy journals in the world. The essay is on
Caspian politics. The journalist that wrote that story in first or
second paragraph describes Azerbaijan. And the first sentences are:
"Azerbaijan is an overwhelmingly Muslim country"... "Overwhelming" is
a negative term. You would never describe America as "overwhelmingly
Christian country". "Overwhelming" is a term of violence in fact.
I don't think that the journalist was probably trying to be prejudice
towards Azerbaijan. But this is the story is working from. The next
paragraph was "Armenia is a blockaded nation, that was in the third
century the first nation to accept Christianity". So before we've
got to the fourth paragraph of that story we basically have in our
mythology the Muslim army fighting against beleaguered Christians. It
is story out the Bible almost, it is a parable.
So I think that where the media work, where obviously the Armenians
have the advantage it's still for against you. Because they have the
supporting their effort to tell their story is symbolic baggage of
Western civilization and culture prejudices and Orientalism. The real
battle in many ways is a battle of symbols in Orientalism. Because
that's the way journalists do their job. And getting journalists to
take responsibility for what they do, Western journalist, Eastern
journalist, Northern journalist, Southern journalist. And analyze
their own prejudices are before they begin a task because I think
often such a problems are unintentional, they are culturally based.
This is something we can solve, this is something we can challenge,
but it is not something we can ignore.
Armenians are trying to represent themselves as victims of Turks and
Azerbaijanis. And what should Azerbaijan do in this information war?
Should we follow the Armenian example or speak a lot about our
achievements?
There are two answers to that question. Of course the tragedy, the
drama, the victimhood of the 1 million people who lost their homes,
family members, treasure and others are not something that could be
forgotten and ignored, this is a real victimhood. But in terms of
trying to communicate, I mean the world is weary.
We met with refugees in Baku. I was given a photographic book about
the victims of Karabakh. It reminded me the book I have in my house
that was given me by my farther. It was printed in 1953 called "We
are humans too" about the refugees of Gaza. The dramatic photographs
of the victims... So the situation has got worse since 1953 for the
victims of Gaza, not better. On the one hand, we have to remember
and not forget and to heal the wounds of those who have suffered,
but at the same time we have to find ways not be victims, to get
beyond the drama and as you said, to focus on building our lives,
building your country, building your economy. Because nobody else
would do it for you just because you are a victim.
From: A. Papazian