Azeri education official fends off Karabakh diary questions from TV

ANS TV, Baku
10 Jan 05

[Presenter] The former Nagornyy Karabakh Autonomous Region has been
described as the former Nagornyy Karabakh area in over 1m diaries
published for the 2004-05 academic years. Even though the
[Azerbaijani] Education Ministry admits this was a mistake, it does
not hurry to withdraw the diaries from circulation.

[Correspondent over video of a sample of the diary] This is a diary
used in secondary schools. There is a note on the second page of the
diary which attracts attention. Xankandi [Stepanakert], Susa, Xocali,
Xocavand, Askaran and Agdara Districts were described there as
formerly Nagornyy Karabakh areas. This means that Nagornyy Karabakh is
already an area that belongs to the past. To recap, the diary endorsed
by the Education Ministry is being distributed among all schools in a
centralized manner. Let us also say that over 1m of such diaries have
been published for the 2004-05 academic years. The chief of the
Education Ministry department for education and pre-school education
in rural districts, Aydin Ahmadov, – [correspondent stops in
mid-sentence].

[Aydin Ahmadov in his office, captioned] When compiling the diary the
authors meant the abolition of the formal title, the Nagornyy Karabakh
Autonomous Region, in 1988 [as heard, in fact in 1990]. A question may
arise, for instance, about the elimination of the notion of autonomy
by the Supreme Council. The description – former Nagornyy Karabakh –
was used here in that sense. Let us admit that this was somehow a
result of inaccuracy as well. When they wrote this phrase they simply
did not refer to Karabakh as an area that belongs to the past. They
did not mean that it [Nagornyy Karabakh] was no longer part of
Azerbaijan.

[Correspondent over video] Ahmadov said that they do not intend to
take the diaries out of circulation since a large amount of money was
spent on their publication. But the mistake will be corrected in the
next publication of the diaries.

[Ahmadov] In the future publications, we will keep the notion of
Nagornyy Karabakh as it is.

[Indistinct question from correspondent]

[Ahmadov] We will render it just as Nagornyy Karabakh territory.

[Passage omitted: nobody to be punished for the mistake, no-one turned
to the ministry over the problem]

Rasad Isgandarov, Emil Babaxanov, ANS.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress