Media chief urges BBC to end “anti-Azerbaijani” propaganda
Yeni Musavat, Baku
3 Jun 04
Text of Farah report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat on 3 June
headlined “The behaviour of the BBC employees runs counter to the
rules of journalism” and subheaded “‘Azar Hasrat: ‘Let them engage
in impartial journalism, not in anti-Azerbaijani propaganda'”
The recent lopsided stance of the BBC Russian Service on Azerbaijan
has caused discontent by numerous organizations. The Confederation
of Azerbaijani Journalists [CAJ] reacted to the issue yesterday.
A statement issued by the CAJ secretary-general, Azar Hasrat, described
the activities of the BBC radio employees as a violation of the rules
of journalism. Hasrat, who does not agree with the position of the
radio’s Russian service on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, said
that the journalists should take an equal approach to the conflicting
parties irrespective of their language and religion. He thinks
that no-one should act as a propagandist, abusing their position as
a journalist.
“As we can see, journalists [names omitted] visit the Azerbaijani lands
under Armenian occupation without the permission of the Azerbaijani
state. In addition, they are preparing pro-Armenian reports from
there. Being a journalist does not mean that one can enter the
territory of a certain country without permission. The abovementioned
BBC journalists and some other mass media representatives actually
show disrespect for international and national rules by visiting the
Azerbaijani territories under Armenian occupation without permission.
Such illegal behaviour by journalists from Western countries makes
an unpleasant impression on their Azerbaijani counterparts when they
try to learn Western journalism,” he said.
To recap, the CAJ which unites the country’s 13 journalist
organizations have always evaluated the developments only from the
viewpoint of impartial journalism and refrains from any actions that
damage the solidarity of journalists.
“This does not mean that we are going to keep silent just because
those who groundlessly propagate against our state and nation are
journalists. We have the right to demand that journalists respect our
state’s laws and borders just like we demand that the government
respect the rights of journalists. Sticking to this position,
we call on the BBC journalists and management to engage not in
anti-Azerbaijani propaganda, but in impartial journalism. Moreover,
we wish the Azerbaijani journalists working for the BBC to express
their civic position,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
