Azernews.Az

Rena Murshud

Read more

Sometimes the battle takes place not only in the field, but also in political arena. However, what distinguishes the battle in the politics from other battles is its sharp expressions like a sword. The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the victorious Commander-in-Chief, is the winner of the war in both fields. He literally proved the invincibility of our country to the world community both in the 44-day war and in the campaign of the world media launched against Azerbaijan.

On July 21-23, the "New Media in the 4th Industrial Revolution" Global Media Forum was held in the city of Shusha as part of the "Year of Heydar Aliyev" and in connection with the 148th anniversary of the Azerbaijan National Press, according to the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Many messages were given to the world at this event, which was attended by 150 foreign guests from 49 countries, including state information agencies of 34 countries, 12 international organizations and media organizations.

At the event, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev greeted everyone and answered the questions of correspondents representing different countries. In this regard, the correspondent of Iran's IRNA news agency, Mohammad Rezapour, addressed a question to the head of state among the media representatives.
It should be noted that the moment when the reporter asked the question was remembered as a very interesting moment.

Since Iranian reporter Rezapour's voice was not heard clearly when he first voiced his question, President Ilham Aliyev asked for the question to be voiced again. The tone of the reporter's voice also showed how excited he was.

In the second attempt, as the reporter could not express the question clearly, the head of state said, "Perhaps you are a little far from us, that's why we cannot hear your question completely. Please, tell your question to the moderator, and he will convey it to us".

Finally, the correspondent who repeated the question in the 3rd attempt, how will the start of activity of "IRNA Azeri" affect the strengthening of relations? President Ilham Aliyev answered the question of the reporter, who made a political mistake, by paraphrasing again to "IRNA Azerbaijan".

As mentioned earlier, politics is also a battlefield where values are measured by the power of words. President Ilham Aliyev uttered his words to the Iranian reporter both on the spot and in a diplomatic way, preventing his political maneuver, which is inherent to Iran. It is no secret that Iran has deliberately called Azerbaijan Azeri in public for centuries. However, "Azeri" is a name belonging to an Iranian tribe, and Persian-leaning forces tried to present the origin of the Azerbaijani people as Iranian, Persian origin. However, it is known to everyone that Azerbaijan is of Turkish origin in terms of ethnicity.

If we look at the history, the "Az" tribe also existed among the ancient Turkic tribes. Sometimes the etymology of the word "Azerbaijan" refers to the name "Azer" (meaning - brave knights). However, the Persian tribe called "Azeri" has no connection with the Azerbaijani people. Thus, the fact that Iran addresses us as "Azeris" can be considered a separate provocative propaganda.

Later, President Ilham Aliyev continued to answer the Iranian reporter's question and said that "Of course, it would be good if more people in Iran were informed about the Second Karabakh War and the post-war situation, in particular, the wider regional cooperation agenda of Azerbaijan."

Azerbaijani President's answer to the question in this way also sent a subliminal message to Iran. Because Iran has never spoken about the reality of Azerbaijan in its media. On the contrary, we have always come across provocations and bullying against the Turkish nation in the media. These provocations are mostly committed against our compatriots living in the north of Iran, and this struggle is still going on for more than 100 years.

It should be noted that some time ago, Iran came back with the proposal for the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan and the re-opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran. However, the Azerbaijani side has repeatedly encountered Iran's hostile policy. They openly promoted it on their TV, radio and social media. The biggest evidence was the terrorist attack against the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran early this year.

However, Iran, which is worried about the loss of its influence in the South Caucasus, again strives to put forward the issue of the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan as an excuse. Because along with Iran, everyone is aware that Azerbaijan is becoming a driving force in the region.

In the end, President Ilham Aliyev told the reporter, "I wish you success in your activities. I am sure that you will play a positive role in the strengthening of relations". This was another diplomatic message to Iran.

In a nutshell, whatever Iran was 100 years ago, it is still progressing at its own pace. As the saying goes, Leopard cannot change its spot.

Generally, it was the first time that Azerbaijan organized an event in the city of Shusha that brought together the heads of the world's leading media and journalistic organizations, influential experts in the field of media, information and communication, and well-known journalists. The event Global Media Forum once again demonstrated the global reputation of Azerbaijan to the world with its many advantages.

---

Rena Murshud is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz