Tweet
US DIPLOMAT CONDEMNS AZERBAIJAN'S "BLACKLIST" OF 335 FOREIGNERS WHO VISITED NAGORNO-KARABAKH
by Emmanuil Lazarian
ARMINFO
Tuesday, August 6, 19:47
Turan-ArmInfo. Wayne Merry, Senior Fellow for Europe and Eurasia at
the Washington, DC-based American Foreign Policy Council, whose name
showed-up on Azerbaijani government's newly released "blacklist"
of 335 foreigners who are banned from entering the country because
they travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh, condemned Baku's latest move.
"Azerbaijan harms only itself with its "blacklist" of persons who
have visited Karabakh," he told TURAN's Washington DC correspondent.
The proof is that, he argued, "Armenian officials - albeit privately -
welcome this policy by Baku, and even laugh out loud because it does
damage only to the Azerbaijani side."
"An intelligent policy for Baku would be to invite to Azerbaijan,
immediately, every person from a third country who visits Karabakh...
Indeed, Baku should publicly demand that these people visit Azerbaijan
to see the dispute from both sides and to meet with people displaced
by the conflict," he added.
The current policy is self-defeating; in that the persons on the
"blacklist" are prevented from an opportunity to see and hear the
Azerbaijani perspective, even if they want to, the analyst believes.
"This policy is, unfortunately, only one example of the increasing
isolation and insular thinking, which marks policy in Baku, tendencies
which are bad for Azerbaijan and dangerous for the region."
Merry, who served for more than two decades at the State and Defense
Departments, visited NK last year, and described his observations of
the frozen conflict as "nearing melting point".
He frequently urged the international and regional players for several
times after the trip to pay closer attention to the conflict warning
of possible escalation in violence.
Seeing his name on the "blacklist" was surprising for many taking into
consideration his opinion was quite close to Azerbaijan's officially
claimed "interest" of bringing the international attention to the
matter.
"As someone who has visited Azerbaijan many times over the past three
decades, I regret that its authorities have seen fit to prevent me
from visiting their country in the near future," he told TURAN.
"This is particularly strange as my published writings on the
Karabakh dispute clearly exhibit no preference for the Armenian side,"
he emphasized.
However, as a sovereign state, the Republic of Azerbaijan "is entirely
at liberty to conduct policies, which damage itself and contribute
to Armenian efforts to portray Baku as the villain in the dispute."
Merry is widely published and is a frequent speaker in Washington
circles on topics relating to Caucasus, the Balkans, Central Asia,
European security and trans-Atlantic relations.
Besides him, there are more than 35 Americans on the Foreign Ministry
list, which was published last week, includes MPs, journalists,
NGO representatives, academics, and others from a range of countries.
In the meantime, some claim they have never actually been to
Karabakh...
"I have not visited NK, but have been associated with some who have...
They included my name because some of my colleagues opted have
visited... Being as I have now been blacklisted, I should have gone
to NK. As an American specialist on the Caucasus, I am obligated to
be objective in my studies," Nicholas Wondra, who was among sixteen
students of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International
Studies that recently spent ten days in Baku, Yerevan and part of
them in Khankendi, told TURAN's Washington DC correspondent.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
by Emmanuil Lazarian
ARMINFO
Tuesday, August 6, 19:47
Turan-ArmInfo. Wayne Merry, Senior Fellow for Europe and Eurasia at
the Washington, DC-based American Foreign Policy Council, whose name
showed-up on Azerbaijani government's newly released "blacklist"
of 335 foreigners who are banned from entering the country because
they travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh, condemned Baku's latest move.
"Azerbaijan harms only itself with its "blacklist" of persons who
have visited Karabakh," he told TURAN's Washington DC correspondent.
The proof is that, he argued, "Armenian officials - albeit privately -
welcome this policy by Baku, and even laugh out loud because it does
damage only to the Azerbaijani side."
"An intelligent policy for Baku would be to invite to Azerbaijan,
immediately, every person from a third country who visits Karabakh...
Indeed, Baku should publicly demand that these people visit Azerbaijan
to see the dispute from both sides and to meet with people displaced
by the conflict," he added.
The current policy is self-defeating; in that the persons on the
"blacklist" are prevented from an opportunity to see and hear the
Azerbaijani perspective, even if they want to, the analyst believes.
"This policy is, unfortunately, only one example of the increasing
isolation and insular thinking, which marks policy in Baku, tendencies
which are bad for Azerbaijan and dangerous for the region."
Merry, who served for more than two decades at the State and Defense
Departments, visited NK last year, and described his observations of
the frozen conflict as "nearing melting point".
He frequently urged the international and regional players for several
times after the trip to pay closer attention to the conflict warning
of possible escalation in violence.
Seeing his name on the "blacklist" was surprising for many taking into
consideration his opinion was quite close to Azerbaijan's officially
claimed "interest" of bringing the international attention to the
matter.
"As someone who has visited Azerbaijan many times over the past three
decades, I regret that its authorities have seen fit to prevent me
from visiting their country in the near future," he told TURAN.
"This is particularly strange as my published writings on the
Karabakh dispute clearly exhibit no preference for the Armenian side,"
he emphasized.
However, as a sovereign state, the Republic of Azerbaijan "is entirely
at liberty to conduct policies, which damage itself and contribute
to Armenian efforts to portray Baku as the villain in the dispute."
Merry is widely published and is a frequent speaker in Washington
circles on topics relating to Caucasus, the Balkans, Central Asia,
European security and trans-Atlantic relations.
Besides him, there are more than 35 Americans on the Foreign Ministry
list, which was published last week, includes MPs, journalists,
NGO representatives, academics, and others from a range of countries.
In the meantime, some claim they have never actually been to
Karabakh...
"I have not visited NK, but have been associated with some who have...
They included my name because some of my colleagues opted have
visited... Being as I have now been blacklisted, I should have gone
to NK. As an American specialist on the Caucasus, I am obligated to
be objective in my studies," Nicholas Wondra, who was among sixteen
students of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International
Studies that recently spent ten days in Baku, Yerevan and part of
them in Khankendi, told TURAN's Washington DC correspondent.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress