TURKISH JOURNALIST REPORTEDLY SAYS KARABAKH IS ARMENIAN LAND

news.az
Nov 16 2009
Azerbaijan

Nagehan Alci A Turkish journalist visiting the unrecognized
Nagorno-Karabakh republic is reported to have said that Karabakh is
purely Armenian land.

Nagehan Alci, a journalist for Turkish newspaper Axsam, was speaking
during an interview with with Nagorno-Karabakh Public Television.

She said, "We in Turkey were mistaken. Karabakh is fully Armenian
land and we understand that you are too determined not to give your
land up."

The journalist said she wanted to see Nagorno-Karabakh with her own
eyes and find out the opinions and expectations of Karabakhis. "I
suggested to my chief editor that I visit Karabakh and got a positive
response", Alci said.

"Everything that I’ve seen here dispelled all my doubts about the past
and future of Karabakh. This mostly came after my conversations with
officials and ordinary citizens. We are impressed with Stepanakert
(Khankendi) and intend to come here again," Alci said.

At the same time, she said that Armenians living in Istanbul "play
a special role in the public and cultural life of the megalopolis".

Alci said that since she is not a historian, she cannot say whether
the events of 1915-16 were genocide or a tragedy, but she said "sad
events occurred in 1915".

"I regret these events. We should be friends as we were friends in the
past and made history together. It is necessary to bring friendship
not sorrow to the future", Alci said.

Commenting on the attempt of the authorities of both countries to
improve Armenian-Turkish relations, the journalist said, "We want the
borders to open, but the Karabakh problem is among the main obstacles
in this process. Our government says it will not open borders unless
the Karabakh conflict is settled. We will see."

Asked whether she was concerned about the response of the Azerbaijani
authorities, Alci said, "Azerbaijan will most likely be discontented
with our visit to Karabakh and we know this."

"We will try to be objective when featuring the region and write
true stories. Perhaps, we will be declared personae non gratae in
Azerbaijan, but I do not want to offend anyone in Azerbaijan and
Armenia. This is just my work, I am a journalist and journalists must
be everywhere," Alci said.

Representatives of Turkish newspaper Axsam said today that the
statement by Nagehan Alci may be provocation. If it turns out to be
true, the reporter will be severely punished.