"WE SPEAK ABOUT EACH OTHER, BUT NOT WITH EACH OTHER"

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[03:57 pm] 29 November, 2006

"Do you know where you are going? Are you sure where you are
going? Have you thought it over well enough?"

– these were the questions the confused Georgian frontier guard asked
the Azeri journalists who were coming to Armenia. The journalists
themselves told about it today in Armenia who explained half-jokingly
what results the mutual visits can have.

The representatives of Azerbaijan and Turkey have been in Armenia
since November 27. The visit has been organized by civic movement
"Alternative Start" according to which it is the fourth power that
forms the society, thus it is necessary to organize a dialogue between
Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan on the level of the journalists.

Representative of the Embassy of Great Britain who supported the
organization of the visit, mentioned that today the following principle
is applied, "We speak about each other, but not with each other"
which is supposed to change the philosophy of the meetings.

The guests are to meet students and journalists.

The Azeri journalists agreed that until now suchlike meetings
and visits have been organized in Armenia only. "Before 2001-2002
Armenians used to visit Baku where meetings were organized. During
the last meeting over 30 Armenians came. I don’t know what happened,
but after Heidar Aliev there were changes for the worse", mentioned
writer Alekper Aliev. He also added that "the image of an enemy has
not yet been eliminated".

Correspondent of newspaper "Anatolia" and radio TRT Nursul Erel
represented a report about the situation of the press and answered
the questions of the journalists.

First she tried to prove via a historical flashback that press has a
long history in Turkey, and then by the example of the covering of the
Armenian Genocide she tried to prove that there are no restrictions
on freedom of speech in the Turkish press.

The representative of Turkey has her own opinion on that historical
fact. "I personally think that there has been such a tragedy, but it
should not become a mania". According to Mrs. Erel, she was glad to
hear about the letter of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to the RA
Prime Minister asking to create a joint committee of historians in
order to investigate the documentation concerning the Genocide. "Don’t
you think it would be nice for historians to investigate the issue?",
the representative of Turkey asked the Armenian journalists with a
naivete not peculiar to journalists.

She also mentioned that she visited Armenia in 2001 and paid a visit
to the Museum of Armenian Genocide, and if there were a chance,
she would like to go there again.