ARMENIAN JOURNALIST DISSECTS KARABAKH IN NEW BOOK

Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 16 2009
Turkey

Though Armenian-Azerbaijani relations have attracted much scholarly
and journalistic attention, one Armenian journalist and author,
Tatul Hagopian, believes his new book presents an original approach
to understanding and analyzing the drama.

"Gananc u Sev – Arzakhyan Orakir" (Green and Black – Artsakh Diary)
focuses on the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and is the result
of Hagopian’s 20-year investigation of the region and is based on
countless historical documents, eyewitness accounts and personal
observations.

"The first victim of the war is the truth," Hagopian told Hurriyet
Daily News & Economic in an e-mail interview, borrowing a phrase
from Indian-born British author Rudyard Kipling. "I wrote the truth
on paper in all its honesty by listening to the voice inside me,"
Hagopian said, adding that because he published the book without any
outside sponsorship, he could write as he chose.

Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been occupied
by Armenian forces since the end of a six-year conflict that left
around 30,000 people dead and 1 million displaced before a truce was
reached in 1994.

The region unilaterally declared independence but has not been
recognized by the international community. The presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan have been negotiating on the issue under mediation
from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE,
but little progress has been made.

Hagopian was in Nagorno-Karabakh just before the war between Armenia
and Azerbaijan erupted. He experienced the war firsthand and observed
what was happening – sometimes under fire – passing on news to the Azg,
or Nation, newspaper he was working for at the time.

He witnessed tragedies on both the Armenian and the Azerbaijani sides
of the conflict. Since then, he has documented countless stories of
pain and suffering, met with the families of soldiers who were taken
prisoner, talked to friends and relatives of those who went missing and
spoken with those maimed by landmines. Based on his research, Hagopian
concludes that over 23,000 civilian lives were lost to the war.

Missing part

Even though he endeavored to remain impartial throughout his research,
Hagopian admits that his book is missing one key part: Azerbaijani
perspectives. "The opinions and points of view of Azerbaijan should
be in this research because every conflict has two sides," the
author said.

Hagopian tried to continue his research in Azerbaijan, but his Armenian
identity prevented him from overcoming bureaucratic obstacles. He did
not let that stop him, however, as he made interviews with Azerbaijanis
living near the Armenian border.

In "Green and Black," Hagopian also argues Russia attempted to block
a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. In his "Meeting with
Gorbachev" chapter, for instance, Hagopian says former Soviet leader
and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev told him that Russia
forced the problem into a deadlock to look after its own interests.

Hagopian cites details of a meeting between Gorbachev and Silva
Gabudigyan, a prominent Armenian intellectual considered by many to be
Armenia’s greatest recent poet, which expose how the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem was transformed into the gridlock it is today.

In finding a workable solution to the ongoing dispute over
Nagorno-Karabakh, Hagopian believes that Russia, the United States
and other Western countries should all participate in finding a
solution to the problem while negotiations between Azerbaijan and
Armenia should continue under watch of international observers.

"If the United States and Russia really want to solve the problem,
they should come up with real keys for a solution. Armenia and
Azerbaijan will come up with the best solutions by themselves," he
said, adding that a lasting solution can only occur if the two sides
continue their dialog. "Unfortunately, however, neither the Armenians
nor the Azeris tend to understand each other."

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"Gananc u Sev – Arzakhyan Orakir" is currently available only in
Armenia but will soon be available abroad in both English and Russian.