Caucasus Center of Peace-Making Initiatives makes statement on canceling festival of Azerbaijani films in Armenia.
«STOP» Azerbaijani Film Festival in Armenia has been blocked as a result of a terror and blackmailing carried out by pressure groups that try to disguise their actions by an alleged "wave of public outrage."
The organizers and potential viewers of the festival receive threats of physical revenge through the internet and phone. Those who threaten disseminate information about planned actions of vandalism and terror to take place during the festival. At the same time the festival is blocked by blackmailing and putting pressure on the owners of the premises rented by our organization. In all these cases people are so scared that they refuse to provide any information about the blackmailers.
Several mass media outlets and individuals are involved in this anti-festival campaign. They actively disseminate false information and libel about the activities of the Caucasus Center of Peace-Making Initiatives (CCPMI). The pressure on people related to CCPMI increases every day. Thus, an article in "Iravunk" newspaper (09/11/2010) entitled “Who promotes and assists the Azerbaijani propaganda in Armenia?” published personal information (biographies and names) of the organizations and individuals that have been cooperating with CCPMI at different periods. The article “promises” to get more details about these citizens. Moreover, this publication disseminates absolute lie about the activities of these organizations and individuals associated with CCPMI.
On November 12, 2010, the day when the Azerbaijani Film Festival in Armenia was blocked, another event took place. The event was called “Hatred towards Armenians in Turkish and Azerbaijani cinema" and was organized by people leading the harassment campaign on the Internet (through publishing insults and death threats) directed not only against the organizers but also against those who have expressed a desire to attend the “STOP” festival. Later on in different social networks and blogs the same campaign made attempts to draw parallels between the films shown under the slogan "Hatred towards Armenians in Turkish and Azerbaijani cinema” with the films that the “STOP” Festival is planning to show or has allegedly shown. When responding to the inquiries about the “STOP” Film Festival provocateurs upload the links to their films and footage from the event specially organized to discredit the Azerbaijani Film Festival in Armenia.
At the same time a number of public and political figures as well as some NGOs protested against the organization of the “STOP” Azerbaijani Film Festival in Armenia. As a rule, these statements do not contain information about the obstacles that the festival organizers had to face or about the reasons of not opening the festival on November 12 as scheduled.
I state with all the responsibility that those ordering illegal activities carried out by pressure groups under the guise of social protest are provoking terrorism. They use maximalist moods of youth that can cause spontaneous violence. This poses a threat to the public order and security of citizens who has consistently been turned into a target of hatred.
George Vanian, Chairman of the Caucasus Center of Peace-Making Initiatives (CCPMI), November 15, 2010.
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