Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the UK criticizes the Guardian on a photo
about Artsakh –

January 31, 2014

HORIZON – Anastasia Taylor-Lind’s photo was published in The Guardian,
here are the links

I am writing to express concern regarding your interview with
Anastasia Taylor-Lind about her photo of a wedding in Nagorno-Karabakh
(My best shot, G2, 24 January). Arts, including photography, can
potentially play an important role in bringing communities together,
but people who use the arts need to be objective, unbiased and aim to
highlight the plight of all people affected by conflicts. When reading
the article, it is sad to see how visiting and reporting about
Nagorno-Karabakh can play into the PR efforts of the separatist regime
that exists there. Ms Taylor-Lind should, rather, visit Azerbaijan to
witness the plight of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced
persons who were forced to flee their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh. I am
afraid reporting on someone’s happiness that exists at the expense of
someone else’s misfortune does not help the efforts to bring peace and
stability to the region.

May I also stress that all unauthorised visits to the region of
Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan are
illegal. Nagorno-Karabakh is an internationally recognised part of the
Republic of Azerbaijan, and as such foreigners aiming to visit
Nagorno-Karabakh should do so through relevant Azerbaijani
authorities. All visitors going to Nagorno-Karabakh without
authorisation from the Republic of Azerbaijan are banned from visiting
Azerbaijan and will find it difficult to receive proper consular
assistance from the UK diplomatic missions in the region.

Fakhraddin Gurbanov
Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the UK

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress