Young IDP from Karabakh confronts Russian journalist over his pro-Armenian stance
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
A young Azerbaijani from Nagorno-Karabakh drove into corner famous Russian journalist and broadcaster Vladimir Pozner, known for his pro-Armenian stance.
Arzu Mammadova confronted Pozner when he was giving a speech in California on October 27.
"By supporting Armenia, you applaud the murderers of women and children, thereby discriminating against thousands of Azerbaijanis, IDPs, including me and my family," Mammadova said.
Noting that she was from Nagorno-Karabakh, Mammadova said that many nations live in Azerbaijan in harmony and there is no discrimination against any nation, including against Jews.
Mammadova pointed out that a journalist, especially of such a level as Vladimir Pozner, should be impartial.
"Nagorno-Karabakh is the territory occupied by Armenia. There are a number of UN resolutions requiring the unconditional liberation of the occupied Azerbaijani lands. No country in the world, including Armenia, recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as independent," she stated.
She added Azerbaijanis and Armenians lived in Nagorno-Karabakh for many years and there is still an Armenian church in the center of Baku.
Mammadova further asked a question about where is the line between freedom of speech and hate speech.
In response, Pozner wanted to end the discussion by stating that Nagorno-Karabakh is "officially recognized territory of Armenia," to which, Mammadova responded, reminding Pozner that Karabakh is the officially recognized territory of Azerbaijan.
Pozner openly supports Armenia and has even publicly said that “if there is a war [in Nagorno Karabakh] I will go first to protect Armenia”.
Earlier, Pozner expressed regret that during a recent visit to Armenia on May 22-25, 2019, he could not find the time to visit occupied Azerbaijani territories. He also mocked the Azerbaijani law that puts a travel ban for foreign citizens visiting occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, saying that did not care about the “blacklist” of Baku.
Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region along with seven adjacent districts came under control of Armenian forces during the war in early 1990s. The occupation displaced around one million Azerbaijanis that were expelled from their homes as a result of the large-scale hostilities.
OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by representatives from Russia, U.S. and France has been brokering the peace negotiations since 1994.
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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94
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