On June 8, at the time of the public hearing on “Journalists in Karabakh conflict: peacekeepers or shooters” held in the village Tekal, Marneul region, Georgian, an Azerbaijani speaker, journalist Kyamal Ali said that while covering Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the code of conduct of journalists does not function that the South Caucasus countries are still totalitarian. He announced, – “Unfortunately, in our country, the journalists feel the pressure of 4-5 sources. I am talking specifically about Azerbaijan. The majority of the media in Azerbaijan: the websites, all TV stations, newspapers, the majority of the print are under the rigid control of the authorities, or are established by the government, for only to be advocates in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Some are designed specifically for it.
Of course, they curse not just the Armenians, others may also curse, but we all understand why they are created. Hot war ended in 1994, and now the cold war is still going on, it is not excluded that it will again turn into a hot war, it does not depend on us. That’s why the journalists are practically called up to the front, they are considered to be state advocates. The majority of journalists are knowingly, willingly, it is also possible, without the fun accepted the rules of the game. Especially when it pays well. It is better paid than at the independent media. A flow of the best journalists from the independent media to dependent media is going on. This is the first source of pressure on journalists. Second, there is a pressure from the public, there is a public-social order. The journalists want them to read what they wrote; newspapers, magazines and websites have as many readers, more ads will appear in the magazine or website. I can not imagine that any journalist will write an article, knowing that it will cause resentment among the majority of society. Akram Aylisli wrote a book, it was known in advance that it will cause resentment to the majority of the population. As a result, Aylisli experienced not only the resentment of the authorities on him, he and his family was punished, they withdrew the privileges granted to him. When I was reading the online comments of the readers’, I was more surprised to the following: there are readers who regret that the death penalty was abolished in Azerbaijan. The 3rd pressure on the journalists is that some of the journalists have been deported, or their relatives or friends are deported, and they have to take into account this opinion, bear their pain. The opinion of Armenians’ can be overlooked because they are not beside us, to the best benefit they can answer online. The last factor, we are citizens of Azerbaijan, I as a citizen of Azerbaijan, as an active citizen, support the position of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I think that Azerbaijan is fair in the conflict and it should receive whatever it has deserved.
The mind unwittingly affects me. When I’m writing an article, no matter how much I try to be objective, this idea unconsciously affects. That is the reality.”
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Voskan SARGSYAN
