Your trusted source

A number of well-known Azerbaijani civic and cultural figures came up with appeals in the social media to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims and put an end to the hatred towards the Armenians. As one might expect, the Azerbaijani media soon reacted on that publishing condemning articles addressed to those people.

Javid Imamverdiyev, a member of KVN ("Club of the Funny and Inventive" Russian humor competition) club The Guys from Baku, called on the Azerbaijanis to repent to the Armenians, Azerbaijani information portal Oxu.az reports. According to the article, well-known Russian TV host Tina Kandelaki updated a status in her official Facebook page on April 24, the day of the Armenian Genocide. She said she is half-Armenian and called that day “The day of mourning for all the Armenians.” She highlighted that the strength and the spirit of the Armenian people lie in that wherever its sons and daughters might live, on that day they are united by an invisible thread which shows the whole world that the Armenian people are unbreakable.

“The children should not be taught hatred. We must again try to live as we used to for ages. In peace and harmony,” the Azerbaijani KVN-member commented on Tina Kandelaki’s status, which brought about sharp criticism in his homeland.  

After being criticized by the Azerbaijani media, Imamverdieyev told 1news.az that he did not think that his comment on Tina Kandelaki’s status would arouse so much aggression towards himself and he would be blamed of treachery. 

“When I suddenly read her post I was shocked how much dirt and hatred were my compatriots expressing against the Armenians,” he protested saying that hatred is not the best guide and that he was sure he held a right and intelligent position. 

Earlier, Azerbaijani political activist, writer Eduard Bagirov residing in Russia also expressed condolences to the Armenians on his Facebook page on the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. He pointed that the leaders of more than 20 countries, including Vladimir Putin, arrived in Yerevan, but Erdogan and the president of Azerbaijan were not there. However, he thinks that the international community will sooner or later make the president of Turkey take a step. As his statement reads, he had managed to study loads of materials, including those about the Armenian Genocide in 1915, and that is why he could no longer let his name be used to cover “the blatant and bloody anti-Armenian mayhem.” Bagirov’s words also aroused discontent in the Azerbaijani media, which was expressed in an article of Vesti.az rudely criticizing him.

Moreover, an Azerbaijani information portal referring to the Azerbaijanis’ remarks about the Armenian Genocide, particularly the TNT TV channel’s video dedicated to the Genocide Centennial which is featured by the Russian TV channel celebs, writes, “By the way, Azerbaijani Julia Ahmedova, KVN star from Voronezh, was among those mourning. Only yesterday many people in Azerbaijan admired her, were proud of her. They said, ‘Look! Our girl is cracking jokes on the KVN stage.’ Now I do not exclude that they will throw cold water on Julia.”

Remarkably, the Azerbaijani media also spread information about the leader of the Azerbaijani diaspora organization in Tatarstan, Subkhan Akhadzade, expressing condolences to the Armenians for the Armenian Genocide. A copy of the letter, addressed to Ara Abrahamyan, the president of the Union of Armenians in Russia, was actively being shared in the social media. However, Akhadzade denied authorship.

The fact of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 has been recognized by a number of states. The first country to do this was Uruguay in 1965, followed by the Republic of Cyprus (1975), Argentina (2004), Russia (1995), Canada (1996), Greece (1999), Lebanon (1997), Belgium (1998), Italy (2000), Vatican (2000), France (1998), Switzerland (2003), Slovakia (2004), The Netherlands (2004), Poland (2005), Venezuela (2005), Lithuania (2005), Chile (2007), Sweden (2010), Bolivia (2014), Austria (2015). The Armenian Genocide has also been recognized the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches. 43 of 50 U.S. states have recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide stating April 24 as the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Parliaments of several European countries have adopted laws criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide. Turkey, however, denies the mass killings of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire during World War I (on the eve of World War I around 2 million Armenians lived in the Ottoman Empire, about 1.5 million Armenians were eliminated during 1915-1923, the remaining half million spread all over the world).

Related:

TV channels TNT and NTV blocked in Azerbaijan for showing films about Armenian Genocide  

German parliament head uses the word ‘genocide’ in Armenian debate 

Yeni Musavat: Armenophobia becomes nation-wide activity in Azerbaijan