Armenia/Azerbaijan – There is nothing new about Armenia and Azerbaijan not liking each other, but leading up to the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 which will be held in Azerbaijan, tensions are rising again. Armenian media report false accusations against their rival country while Azeri media praise the fast and professional development, not forgetting to mention the president’s part in it.
Amongst others panorama.am reports that Iceland and Poland have withdrawn from the Eurovision Song Contest as they do not want to participate in a contest being held in an “authoritarian country like Azerbaijan”. While the accusation that Azerbaijan is authoritarian is certainly true (as Amnesty International reports),the other information is plain wrong. Poland does seem to have withdrawn, but due to financial and organizational problems and Iceland is in the process of planning its national final.
The website goes on saying that “Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, France, Denmark and Luxemburg are searching for ways to miss their participation without creating a diplomatic crisis with Baku”. The first five countries have either announced their artist or the date of their national final. Luxembourg has not participated in recent years and there’s nothing indicating that this could change. They also suggest that the contest may be moved to another country: “The contest is threatened not be held in Baku because of political prisoners and authorities’ limits to hold free rallies.”
This false reporting is an obvious attempt to sabotage the Azeri hosting of the contest. However, Azeri media such as news.az play the opposite part of praising the progress made, when in fact the venue is not built yet and reporting a participation record when the EBU has not released the list of participants.
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Armenia and Azerbaijan at Eurovision: A History of “Scandals” and Accusations
Armenia and Azerbaijan have only participated since 2006 and 2008 respectively but already have a record of scandals.In 2008 people were apparently questioned in Azerbaijan because they had voted for the Armenian entry. In 2009 they fought due to national symbols (Tatik&Papik) being shown during the announcement of the Armenian points by spokesperson Sirusho as well as blocked voting lines in Azerbaijan. In 2010 Azerbaijan complained to the EBU that the Armenian commentator did not introduce the Azeri participant Safura.
Another big issue had been the maps of the countries shown before the performances. The reason Azerbaijan and Armenia are such big rivals is (among others) the region “Nagorno-Karabakh”. In a war at the beginning of the 90s, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought for this region, which both claim as part of their countries.
Armenia still has not confirmed its participation in Eurovision 2012 due to concerns about the safety of the Armenian delegation. According to rumors Armenia will send an international star to Baku to make sure they achieve a good result.
My tip: Learn from Germany and France and enjoy the music!
Related articles
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- Azerbaijan: Concerns About Energy Supply and Cash Flow During Eurovision
- Discuss: Should Azerbaijan Host Eurovision 2012 Despite Human Rights Violations?
Sources= panorama.am, news.az, oikotimes.com
My tip: grow up and move on!!! life is too short
You took the words out of my mouth!
Learn from Germany and France?
No, guys, learn from Greece and Turkey. They were fighting over Cyprus and, yes, at first, they withdrew when the other was participating. But when Cyprus debuted at 1981,, Greece and Turkey were together to cherish the moments.
You are right! In Eurovision this is a better example. I meant Germany and France being arch enemies for a long time and now we are best buds ^^
heh, I agree they should learn from Greece and Turkey… maybe if that region they are fighting over became an independent state (like Cyprus), they would stop arguing
De facto, Nagorno Karabakh is an independent state. However, no other country has recognised it, not even Armenia.
I guess we can’t really call it independent if no one recognizes it unfortunately
Well, there is the difference between ‘de facto’ and ‘de jure’ …
Nagorno Karabakh is our Autonomous Republic. And he will stay our in the always. No one cannot change the history. Even terrorists of armenian.
Alex, Karabakh IS OUR! Never forget! He never will come back to you!
I want Armenia to win in Azerbaijan! We need to show Azeris that we can fight back!
Both parts need to grow up! This is about music so what they are doing is pretty retarded!
Armenia sending in a contestant is pretty much ridiculous on all levels. I doubt there is high enough security for that kind of thing.
why learn from france and germany? the first ESC was more than 10 years after the war. the loser was germany, the winner was france. and they didnt fight for some regions and france was with the USA and GB against the communist countries and therefore more or less with west germany. soldiers still get killed in armenia and azerbaijan, so you can’t really compare it
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARMENPRESS’S ARTICLE WHERE IT IS WRITTEN THAT THE SOURCE OF THE INFORMATION IS AZERBAIJANEASE OPPOSITIONAL SITE “POLIGON” http://armenpress.am/eng/news/673935/European_leading_countries_do_not_wish_to_participate_in_“Eurovision”_in_Baku.html.
sO THIS IS NOT ARMENIAN ACCUSATIONS BUT AZERBAIJANEASE OPPOSITIONAL SITE’S REPORT!
In my opinion these articles are agitation against Azerbaijan, that is rich and has mineral resources. And the agitation seems to come from outside of Europe, because their seems to be a lack of knowledge about the ESC, the rules, members and traditions.
The ESC should not be perverted in such a way. On the contrary, the countries should try to lern and to understand each other. The ESC is music and entertainment.
What do you mean “outside of Europe” ?
It’s a pity that because of politicians and their propaganda, people suffer, even with this ESC.
but after all, the contest is supposed to be unpolitical. songs get forbidden and countries had to withdraw, so it may be a bit radical but in my opinion both countries should be suspended from the contest, in my opinion they go even more far than Lebanon, so it would be just fair…
The point is that, Tatik&Papik is not in Armenia, it is in occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
Armenia was provided with all security guarantees at the state level. As is known at the moment Armenia will participate in the contest. Here is the link (http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=44483&_t=43_countries_represented_at_eurovision_2012 )
Concerning information, but rather disinformation spread by Armenian media, I think you shouldn’t pay attention to them. If you read reports in Armenian media, you’ll find that they always blame Azerbaijan in all their troubles, even in the earthquake.
Wow! Aze vs. Arm? I do not know who writed this stupid article, but he is idiot. Eurovision is not politic contest!