The New York Times
March 8, 2012 Thursday
Late Edition – Final
Armenians Are Shunning Song Contest In Azerbaijan
By ANDREW E. KRAMER
MOSCOW — The greatest cultural chasm evoked by Eurovision, the
kitschy pop-song contest, might seem to lie between those who watch it
and those who do not, but in fact, behind the boy bands, teenage
heartthrobs, novelty acts and sequins lies real-world conflict.
In the latest example, Armenia has backed out of this year’s event
because it will be held in Baku, the capital of its neighbor and
enemy, Azerbaijan.
The boycott has dashed hopes that the contest might, improbably,
overcome two decades of vendetta and violence in the Caucasus. The two
countries fought a war over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh
that ended in 1994 with a cease-fire, but border skirmishes remain
common.
Armenians had seemed willing to go to Azerbaijan, the home of last
year’s winners, until an Armenian soldier was shot to death at the
border this year. Armenian performers called for the pullout, and on
Wednesday, the Armenian public television station agreed.
While withdrawing from Eurovision lacks the gravity of walking out of
peace talks or the Olympics, it is a negative symbol in a delicate and
long-running effort to demilitarize one of the most intractable ethnic
conflicts in the former Soviet Union. Prior political shadows were
cast by an attempted poke at Russia by a group from Georgia after the
countries’ brief war in 2008, and by a duet by an Israeli Jew and an
Israeli Arab in 2009.
In principle, the show is a great unifier. Pop acts sing off in a
gaudy battle of the bands that wraps in nominations from more than 40
nations. Although at least 100 million people watch the annual show,
most acts are quickly forgotten. The debut of Abba in 1974 was a
notable exception. The contest’s semifinals and grand final are in
May.
The European Broadcasting Union, the event’s organizer, said in a
statement that Armenia’s withdrawal was due to ”circumstances beyond
our control.”
”We are truly disappointed by the broadcaster’s decision to withdraw
from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest,” Jon Ola Sand, the
contest’s executive supervisor, said in the statement.
To secure the broadcast, the authorities in Azerbaijan had, in fact,
complied with organizers’ requests to simplify visa rules for
participants, including Armenians, who are typically barred from
travel to Azerbaijan.
But the Armenian soldier’s death prompted a boycott movement.
Initially, the Armenian Defense Ministry attributed his death to an
enemy sniper. Azerbaijani pop fans have pressed an alternative account
based on Azerbaijani news media reports that the soldier died from a
self-inflicted wound or friendly fire.
”We refuse to appear in a country that is well known for mass
killings and massacres of Armenians, in a country where anti-Armenian
sentiments have been elevated to the level of state policy,” 22
Armenian performers said in a statement calling for the boycott.
Three previous Armenian Eurovision acts, including Emmy, who performed
”Boom-Boom,” and Eva Rivas, who sang ”Apricot Stone,” supported
the call for a boycott.
From: Baghdasarian