BBC Accused over ‘Visit to Enclave’

The Scotsman, UK
June 10 2004

“PA”

Azerbaijan’s national broadcasting council has complained to the BBC
that a crew visited the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh without
the agreement of Azerbaijani authorities, the council said today.

A statement from the council said that the head of the BBC World
Service’s Azerbaijan bureau, Islam Atakishiev, was called to
the council to receive the complaint that a crew from the BBC’s
Russian-language service had gone to the enclave, which has been
under control of ethnic Armenian forces for a decade.

The crew “participated in direct dialogue with the terrorist regime
there,” the statement said.

“In the event of continued preparation of further reports demonstrating
indifference to Azerbaijan’s national interests, the question of
broadcasting the BBC on Azerbaijani territory will be reviewed,”
the statement said.