Trend, Azerbaijan
Aug 22 2009
Azerbaijani Youth & Sport Minister comments on Eurovision-2009
Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug. 22 / Trend News /
Azerbaijani Youth and Sport Minister Azad Rahimov commented on the
situation with the "list" of Azerbaijanis, voting for Armenians in the
Eurovision-2009 song contest.
Recently, the questions have been mounted, in several internet
portals, around the participation of Azerbaijan in the song contest –
Eurovision 2009. It is necessary to emphasize, that Azerbaijan has
showed a great success in this competition, by outperforming its
neighbors, and by landing in the third place.
"As Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sport, authorized by the
government for rendering of support to the project
"Eurovision-Azerbaijan", I would like to express my position regarding
the situation of the so-called "list of 43". A number of groundless
attacks have appeared to the address of the country and, in
particular, to the law enforcement bodies of Azerbaijan in some Mass
Media sources. It has been revealed during the investigation that, no
specific list with the names of people voting for Armenia from
Azerbaijan and the quantity of voices submitted for Armenia has ever
existed in the hands of Azerbaijani authorities. Taking this into
account, it is doubtful that somebody like R.Nasirov, called in for
questioning by the law enforcement agencies, could see such voting
list. Why none else, but R.Nasirov has been called in for questioning
to the Ministry of National Security?," the minister said.
"Any insinuations around the so-called "the list of 43" are nothing
else, but a fruit of imagination of some unscrpulous journalists. We
are afflicted with the fact that, some news agencies, in particular,
such as Azerbaijan branch of "Radio Liberty", actively conducts a
unilateral policy in the given question, by trying to politicize the
issue and to present it in a politically biased manner. This position
by "Radio Liberty", which repeatedly allowed "double standards" in
regards to Azerbaijan, in particular a propos the territorial
integrity of the country, causes bewilderment in us.
I am sure that mass media should not politicize this question, instead
try to study the situation more deeply, to express the positions of
all the parties," Rahimov said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress