SHAHIN RZAYEV: THOSE WHO SPREAD ANTI-ARMENIAN HYSTERIA ALIENATE KARABAKH FROM AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.05.2006 21:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Azerbaijan starts and wins” national campaign
launched by initiative of Zerkalo newspaper is a “brain storm”,
an attempt to find out and generalize the public opinion, head of
the Baku Office of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR),
journalist Shahin Rzayev stated in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. “I myself took part in the campaign. Some participants did
offer to launch a propaganda war but it doesn’t mean that all agree
with the viewpoint,’ the Azeri journalist remarked.

At the same time he noted that “some Armenian political figures have
waged propaganda war against Azerbaijan since 1980-ies. At that time
we spoke of fraternity and were proud of our internationalism. In
this issue we fell behind hopelessly,” he said.

However, head of the IWPR Baku Office emphasized that information war
is better than a real one. “I am going to write one more article where
I will offer to organize more discussions of disputable issues. The
parties to the Karabakh conflict are not well aware of each other’s
positions and warmongers use it,” Rzayev considers.

He subjected the anti-Armenian hysteria to sharp criticism and said,
” I think that those who spread the hysteria do alienate Karabakh
from Azerbaijan and thus favor the opposition party,’ he remarked.

Rzayev is convinced that in the 21st century political disputes are
not solved by territorial invasions.

“There exists the international law. Armenia has undertaken
certain commitments at the entry to the UN, OSCE and the Council
of Europe. That is why all the disputable issues should be settled
within the international law framework. The same refers to the
self-determination of the Karabakh Armenians. But to settle the
self-determination issue we should return to the legal field that
doesn’t admit annexation and seizure of land belonging to another
states. In my opinion, the Armenian leadership came to understand
it and demonstrates readiness for the stepwise settlement of the
conflict,” he said.