AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
Nov 19 2009

Turkish reporter denies her controversial statement on Garabagh

19-11-2009 06:08:20
The Turkish journalist who has visited Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an
Azerbaijani region under Armenian occupation, has dismissed Armenian
media reports that quoted her as saying that the region is Armenian
land, an allegation that has drawn ire from Azerbaijan.
Nagehan Alci, a writer for the Akhsham newspaper, speaking in
Istanbul, told Radio Liberty’s Armenian service that she had not said
Upper Garabagh is `100 percent Armenian land.’
According to Alci, her interview with the separatist regime’s public
television channel had been distorted.
`I said we had come there to see and cover what’s going on. We
witnessed that, today, this is an Armenian land, an Armenian country,
because 100 percent of its population are Armenians. Though it is not
internationally recognized, there is an Armenian government there
today,’ the reporter alleged.
Alci added that the TV channel employees cut out the word `today’ from
her statement, trying `to hide which tense she was talking in.’
Following the journalist’s visit to the occupied territories without
Baku’s authorization, she was included in the list of `personas non
grata.’ But the Akhsham editorial office has assured it had not
instructed Alci to visit the region.
Upper Garabagh is an historical Azerbaijani territory. Armenians were
settled there in the early 19th century. Azerbaijan and Armenia have
been locked in conflict over the mountainous region for over a decade.
OSCE-brokered peace talks kicked off after a lengthy war that ended
with the signing of a shaky cease-fire in 1994. Armenia continues to
occupy Upper Garabagh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts in
defiance of international law.*