ARMENIA’S REPRESENTATIVES REJECT FURTHER PARTICIPATION IN MEDIA EXHIBITION IN IRAN
PanARMENIAN.Net –
October 29, 2010 – 14:54 AMT 09:54 GMT
The organizers of the 17th international exhibition festival of
press and information agencies, where Armenia is represented by
PanARMENIAN.Net news agency and Azg newspaper, asked the Armenian
journalists to continue participation in the event but were rejected
due to the failure to return the photograph of the Armenian monument
to the Armenian pavilion.
Therefore, the event organizers said they will not pay for
accommodation of the Armenian delegation any more.
Thanks to the efforts of Armenian Ambassador to Tehran Grigor
Arakelyan, the Armenian journalists will come back to Yerevan on
the night of October 30, several days prior to the scheduled date
of return.
Besides, PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent Yekaterina Poghosyan reported
that yesterday, October 28, the exhibition managers collected the
Armenian delegation’s statement from other participants.
Earlier, when Armenian journalists started distributing the statement,
one of the exhibition organizers approached them and said that
participants have no right to circulate any documents in the exhibit
hall. In response, Armenia’s representatives showed a “book” about
Nagorno Karabakh, which is being distributed by the Azerbaijani
delegation among the other participants of the event.
Representative of the organizing committee said he is unaware of it
and promised to collect those books. However, the attempt to take
away the edition from the Armenian journalists did not succeed.
Although circulation of the statement was barred, the other
participants of the exhibition had a possibility to familiarize
themselves with the text reading: “Dear colleagues, we, the
correspondents of PanARMENIAN.Net news agency and Azg newspaper,
representing Armenia at the exhibition festival of press and
information agencies, apologize for ceasing our participation over the
unsatisfactory organization of the event, during which media freedom
is being infringed and limitations are imposed on materials providing
information about our country. We express our indignation at the
fact that the exhibition organizers disallow placement of We and Our
Mountains monument image on our stand, thus yielding to provocative
acts of the Azerbaijani delegation, which used the event to push on
anti-Armenian propaganda and claims to the historical Armenian land,
Artsakh. With the exhibition organizers failing to keep their promise
and return the photograph of the monument to the Armenian pavilion
as well as to ensure security of the Armenian delegation, we consider
our further participation in the event to be impossible.”
It worth mentioning that the other delegations support the Armenian
journalists and intend to issue a complaint over the improper
organization of the event.
“As the Iranian side failed to keep its promise and return the
photograph of We and Our Mountains memorial, placing a photo of
Yerevan fountains instead, we took the decision to boycott the
event,”PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent Yekaterina Poghosyan said.
A photograph of Artsakh’s symbol – We and Our Mountains memorial which
was featured in the Armenian pavilion at the 17th media exhibition
in Tehran aroused indignation of the Azerbaijani delegation. While
the correspondents from PanARMENIAN.Net and Azg were preparing their
pavilion for opening on October 25, the Azerbaijanis were closely
following the action. After the map of Armenia and Artsakh Republic
was stuck to the stand, they first demanded that the map and the image
of the monument should be removed but then, without waiting for any
decision by the exhibition management, one of them burst into the
pavilion and tore away the map. It’s also worth mentioning that the
Azerbaijanis called the Turkish delegation to protect their interests.
Attempts to draw the infuriated Azerbaijani aside attracted attention
of a dozen of foreign attendees.
After talks with Armenia’s Ambassador to Iran Grigor Arakelyan,
the organizers promised to return the photo but then went back on
their word.
From: A. Papazian