WAR FOR FREE PRESS STOPPED, BUT GUNS STILL KEPT READY

    The man hears as he breathes, The man breathes as he writes... Bulat Okudzhava
    The thing happened. After the long and painful discussions about the ways of developing Azerbaijans media and the obstacles on these ways, the Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev cut the Gordian knot of the Azerbaijani journalists problems by confirming the Concept of State Support to Media Development. He cut the knot and did not untangle it. The same decision was made by Alexander, the Macedonian, who cut the Gordian knot with his sword in the Zeus Temple of the Phrygia kingdom conquered by the Greeks. The myth of that time said the man that disentangled the Gordian knot would conquer the world. Alexander conquered the world very fast, in the way he cut the knot. But history proves no one has been able to solve problems only with a sword. The most interesting intrigue is now what diplomatic methods the President will use to gain the press. Of course, this can never mean bribery or blackmail in the way this takes place in the country that succeeded Atropatena (the ancient name of Azerbaijan in the times of Alexander, the Macedonian).
    
    Parting from the comparison with ancient Greece (and, of course, from ancient myths) and returning to the present day, we should note the Presidents step of good will towards the Azerbaijani media has already caused contemporary myths in Azerbaijan. Straightforward people believe the Azerbaijani media problems have been solved and the press should only pick ripe and tempting fruit from the New-Testament tree called Media Development Foundation. This body will be set up by the Presidents order to realize the concept of creating economically stable and responsible media. Against the background of the previous tragic battles for the freedom of speech in Azerbaijan, which caused the defeat (but not surrender) of the local independent media, this step of the conquerors could be called unusual (and even sensational). At least, the Azerbaijani journalists whose names have been engraved on the Arlington Cemetery monument in Washington could have called it so.
    Our losses were terrible and irreplaceable. We will never raise our colleagues from the dead, we will never heal the crippled, and we will never return dignity to the humiliated. Thousands of newspaper pages have been written about thousands of cases of physical and moral violence against journalists over the last fifteen years. Hundreds of trials against the press, which reminded of the Stalinist trials of the 1930s, suppressed the national media and twisted the hands writing. The street battles between the police and the journalists, which were conducted and triggered by the political leaders, will probably become a part of our past. The material losses caused by this undeclared war could hardly be calculated. It is not a secret that todays press has been widely subjected to economic hardship, moral decay and venality.
    We would like to believe we enter a postwar period of developing, healing the wounds, rebuilding the relations and restoring the country called Free Press. We will have to restore the media distribution system (the communications damaged by the war), build modern printing houses, reestablish the advertisement business, and cure the Soldiers of Speech, returning their journalist dignity and honor that suffered so much from the war.
    It would be naive to believe that the hawks of this bloodthirsty war will turn to pigeons and bring us the olive branch of peace in their bills. We will certainly have to face postwar sabotage and temptations. But we must use the chance called Concept to make it a real achievement of Azerbaijans history, to erect the great building of the Freedom of Speech under the state banner. This would be much greater than just the sword, as the outstanding Azerbaijani poet of the Renaissance epoch, Nizami Gandjavi said.

Mehman Aliyev, participant in the undeclared war for the Free Press