Power fears polarization and radicalization of society due to the Karabakh problem

Baku / 29.05.19 / Turan: The population of Azerbaijan is very poorly informed about the progress of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is an important obstacle to the peace process. This conclusion follows from the results of the conference "Awareness in Baku and the regions about the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict", which was held on May 29 in the capital of Azerbaijan.

Conference organizer Avaz Hasanov, chair of the Society for Humanitarian Studies, said, "The authorities monopolized the discussions on the Karabakh process, putting an unspoken taboo on this topic. This led to the fact that a narrow group of marginalized experts, who have no influence on the events under discussion, speaks about the Karabakh problem. What is happening has led to a lack of awareness of the press and a drop in public interest in the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh. "

Public figures of Azerbaijan are not satisfied with the official strategy of disseminating information about the conflict. They say that the government is frightened by the polarization and radicalization of society in the discussion of the Karabakh problem, so there is no open discussion not only among the masses, but also even in narrow professional circles. Only protocol information is reported to the population. At the same time, conditions for alternative opinion are open in Armenia, Hasanov added.

He noted that during the days of the April 2016 war, Azerbaijani readers were forced to learn about the hostilities according to the Armenian media quoted by Azerbaijani websites.

"However, recent statements at the OSCE level showed the absence of an alternative to public discussion and alternative opinion on the topic of possibilities for a peaceful dialogue between two nations - Azerbaijani and Armenian," Hasanov said.

He is surprised that for 25 years, for some unknown reason, the possibilities of what is now declared open - the public discourse on the Nagorno Karabakh problem - have been closed.

Hasanov notes that over the past years after the armistice, open discussions have been held in Azerbaijan more than once to search for a way out of the Karabakh problem. The first discussion was held in the Milli Majlis under the leadership of ex-President Heydar Aliyev. The only document on the principles of the Karabakh settlement, the "Charter of the Karabakh settlement," signed by more than 600 figures of the country, was drafted at the initiative of former Eldar Namazov, the assistant of H.Aliyev in 2004. Hasanov said, noting with regret, that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group did not organize a meeting of all political country leaders at one round table.

The outcome of the country's leadership policy is ignorance and apathy of the population in the Karabakh conflict issue. The people of pop singers know better than political scientists,"Avaz Hasanov concluded.

The journalist Asaf Guliyev, who spoke after him, informed about the content analysis in the media about the Karabakh problem in 2018. Out of 1,489 materials published by four popular online publications, only 66 (4.6%) articles and information were exclusive. The rest were copies of other people's materials.

Journalist expert Seymour Kazimov believes that the problem of poor public awareness of the Karabakh process lies in the low professionalism of Azerbaijani journalists and the financial lack of independence of the media in Azerbaijan. As an example, he cited an incident in Vienna, when the Azerbaijani audience learned about the results of the meeting of the heads of Azerbaijan and Armenia from Armenian media. -0-