Unlike the vast majority of residents of Armenia, I think that the journalism is not an instrument to “reveal the truth,” to “fight” against something or even for the sake of something. It is a transfer of information based on the sources. The more sources, the more reliable the information is. If there is no source (the way like dozens of websites as well as Facebook “status posters” and commentators are working), the information is not reliable for me. If the one transferring the information is an interested person, it is more suspicious for me than in the case when the source does not have any interest.
On Sunday, the media (also “Aravot”) reported that the mother of the winner of “Eurovision” contest, Jamala, is Armenian. The source is the singer herself and her mother Galina Tumasova who have no interest in lying. Just an interesting fact without at least on our side any rejoice or condemnation, pride or shame. In response, a heated discussion, including why you are raising this Tatar (in other words, the Turk) up to heaven. But first of all, the cultural value of the “Eurovision” is zero; it is not necessary to be Montserrat Caballé to participate in the song contest or win, and the winner here is not worthy to be honored.
Secondly, I think that being a Tatar, Turk or Azeri is not a crime. The Azerbaijani servicemen resort to heinous atrocities not because of their ethnicity but because of the Nazi regime in that country, where the official ideology is racism. (Such a regime existed in Germany too and the German soldiers were also committing sadistic crimes. But we have nothing against Germans, have we?). On the other hand, being Armenia in itself is not also a virtue. The generals and the officials who have owned the funds allocated for the army, they as far as I understand are ethnic Armenians. While Kyaram Aloyan who martyred in the position was an ethnic Yezidi but we treat him as a citizen of Armenia.
And here comes Jamala. First of all, she is a citizen of Ukraine and represents the political interests of her country at the “Eurovision” on the Crimea. In her song, she was telling about the deportation of Tatars from the Crimea in 1944. For this very reason, she won the contest because the political interests of the majority of European countries are in line with the interests of Ukraine and contradict the interests of Russia. The “artistic values” of the song and Jamala have nothing to do here: “Eurovision” is a purely political event.
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Incidentally, I wonder why the Artsakh issue cannot be raised at the “Eurovision” (and our people are intimidated by sanctions for it) but not the issue of Crimea. Another vivid manifestation of double standards.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
