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Eurovision as the continuation of war by other means

Tuesday, May 19, 2009
To adapt Von Clausewitz.

Fortunately I no longer have to put up with Eurovision, which is a mercy. However, it would appear that I missed out on all sorts of Kremlinology, so to speak, particularly in how it impacted Armenia, Azerbaijan and Artsakh.

Item One, from the Moscow Times:

"...The web site Panarmenian.net reported Monday that television viewers in Baku, Azerbaijan, were unable to see the telephone number to vote for Armenia on their screens. The historic enmity between the two countries was reflected at Eurovision: Azerbaijan gave Armenia zero points, while Armenia gave its neighbour 1 point. Public Armenian Television has submitted a complaint to the organizers, Panarmenian.net reported, but no one could be reached immediately for comment Monday at either country's national television network".

Item Two, from Turkish daily, Hurriyet:

"The 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow on Saturday turned out to be an arena of politics. When the host from Moscow turned the live feed to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, striking pictures were reflected to television screens worldwide. Sirusho, the Armenian pop star who represented the country last year with the song “Qele Qele,” was onscreen to report the Armenian votes when she lifted the card she was holding to cover her face. There was a photograph of "Menk Yenk Mer Sarerı" (We Are Our Own Mountains), in another name, "Dad u Bab" (Grandmother and Grandfather), the gigantic statue that is the symbol of the Armenian administration of Nagorno-Karabakh, on the card. The same picture was also on barcovision".


And here it is. Prettier than the Angel of the North:


Although not a patch on the remarkably lovely Sirouhi 'Sirusho' Haroutunyan herself (qv).

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posted by Croydonian

The Artsakh update

Monday, March 17, 2008
Azerbaijan has persuaded the UN to pass a resolution "reaffirm[ing] Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, expressing support for that country’s internationally recognized borders and demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all occupied territories there".

Given recent events in Serbia / Kosovo, it is intriguing to note that some countries are quite happy to dismember Serbia in pursuit of self-determination for Albanians but will not extend the same principle to the Armenians of Artsakh. So, here are the states which have recognised Kosova but have also signed the Azeri motion:

Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Kuwait
Malaysia
Morocco
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Turkey

Meanwhile, all credit to the unlikely list of refuseniks: Angola, Armenia, France, India, Russian Federation, United States, Vanuatu. Our man in NY abstained.


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posted by Croydonian

The country with a 15% growth rate

Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Is Artsakh, better known in these parts as Nagorno-Karabakh.

And here it is:

The Moscow Times has an interesting piece about Artsakh, noting its 15% growth rate fuelled by the Armenian diaspora, a diaspora impressively ready to put its collective money where its collective mouth is, and as a result of investments made out of sentiment has ended up serving the motherland and making money. So it's all good.

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posted by Croydonian