Опубликовано:
Four organizers of an Azerbaijani youth protest have been received by Euronews TV's editor-in-chief, Peter Barabas.
Some 50 protesters gathered outside Euronews head office in Lyon today to protest at a one-sided Euronews report on the Karabakh conflict. The protesters chanted "Respect the truth", "Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory" and "Journalism requires professionalism".
Four of the protest organizers - Araz Bayramli, Mirvari Fataliyev, Vurgun Agazade and Elnur Mejidli - were received by Barabas for about an hour, Mejidli said.
Barabas told the protesters that he had not expected the report to cause such a storm of protest. He said the Euronews editorial office had received hundreds of letters about the report.
Barabas said they had decided to make a report about Azerbaijanis who suffered as a result of the conflict and had received permission from the presidential administration to visit Baku in January.
Protest organizer Aydin Mammadov, coordinator of the Ireli public movement, told 1news.az, that the Azerbaijani side had outlined to the Euronews management the history of Karabakh, the appearance of Armenians in the region and the reasons for the conflict.
Euronews representatives were astonished to hear that the 'Christian centre', as they termed Nagorno-Karabakh in the TV report, has nothing to do with Armenians as this is Albanian cultural heritage. We explained to them that the monasteries, churches and historical monuments shown in the report belong to the ancestors of the Azerbaijanis the Caucasian Albanians, Mammadov said.
The Euronews representatives showed a particular interest in the books, brochures and documented facts on the history of Azerbaijan, the Karabakh khanate, Azerbaijani culture as well as materials on the methods of Armenian falsifications and Armenian terror presented to them as a gift. The channel apologized for disinformation in the documentary saying the film was made on the basis of materials and information presented only by Armenians, Mammadov said.
He said Euronews representatives had confirmed that they recognized the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
"The protesters decided to distribute books and brochures to libraries, student campuses and hostels in Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Besancon, Grenoble, Marseilles and other French cities Mammadov said.
Barabas said that after a careful study of the report, Karabakh - Winds of Change, it might be withdrawn from the channel's web site, Jeyhun Osmanli, head of the Ireli (Forward) association, told 1news.az.
