Onnik Krikorian is a British blogger, journalist, and photographer of Armenian decent who has been living in Yerevan, one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities, for the past 11 years. He is the Caucasus Editor for Global Voices where he amplifies the latest discussions taking place among bloggers in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia. Most recently he has focused his efforts on covering the case against two Azeri bloggers who were sentenced to two and two and a half years in jail.

In addition to his own blog, he also writes at Frontline Club and tracks his photojournalism on Lightstalkers and on his website.

Transcript:

My name is Onnik Krikorian. I'm the Caucasus Editor for Global Voices Online. I actually can't remember how long I've been working for Global Voices which maybe is a good sign … I think maybe two years. But I've been aware of it since it started pretty much. I went to the London conference but I don't think I was officially working for Global Voices then. I am based in Armenia, though I am from England, and I cover Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Usually it is whatever is happening Unfortunately, with the region, it tends to be political and especially around elections or arrests or violence after elections. Stuff like that. I mean, I have tried to do more cultural things but generally, because of the environment in the region, most of the active, well-known bloggers tend to write about politics.

David: Most recently I see that you've been writing a lot about two Azeri bloggers who I think were just sentenced to prison today. Can you describe a little about that?

Onnik: Yeah, actually, it's one of the delights, strangely enough, has been to encounter the use of new media by youth activists in Azerbaijan. Totally unprecedented for the region and also exemplary for other countries such as Armenia and Georgia. Of course, their use was so effective that they showed up on the government radar screen in Azerbaijan. And, as a result, they ended up being detained after they were attacked. When they went to make a complaint at the police station the government/police/whoever turned it around and used the charge of hooliganism against them even though they were the victims. And it was pretty much a clear signal to youth activists in Azerbaijan: be silent. And, yes, they were sentenced today to two and two and a half years respectively.

David: What got you so involved in that case?

Onnik: I guess as someone who has lived in the region for 11 years, and as someone who works for Global Voices Online, who is monitoring the use of new media, who uses new media himself and who believes in it as a potential medium for change … after being disappointed in Armenia where the blogs became very politicized, I suddenly saw a really impressive, mature, intelligent use of new media in Azerbaijan. So I was following their activities anyway, and then when they were attacked, and when they were detained, it was just like, this needs to be covered. And, of course, it would need to be covered anyway. But the point is that I was always aware of them anyway.

As for me, it was an example to the whole region of how new media could be used by civil society to try to promote change in authoritarian countries of which actually all of the states in the South Caucasus are.

David: What do you see as some similarities and differences in the region that you cover on Global Voices and other regions that are covered on Global Voices?

Onnik: I guess I might get kinda jealous of the other regions. Mainly because usually the internet penetration is higher. The use of blogs is higher. The number of blogs is higher. Even, if you consider that most of the countries of the South Caucasus have very tiny populations - like Armenia is not more than three million Georgia is about five, Azerbaijan is seven. So, already you have a small population in the region. And internet penetration is very low as well so it means that there are less blogs. Also, I would like to see some more mature use. I did say that I did see that happening in the region, but the blogosphere is not as developed as in other regions.

The other difference is because of the nature of the South Caucasus the key events - and it's not just blogs, it's also the media unfortunately - the main areas of interest in the South Caucasus usually relate to falsified elections, war, and that's it really.

David: Give us a story that you've covered in the South Caucasus that doesn't have to do with politics.

Onnik: OK, one of my favorite Global Voices posts in fact was, actually again, from Azerbaijan and it was about Novruz which is the Zoroastrian new year The Iranians celebrate it, in Turkey they celebrate it and in Azerbaijan. And there are actually some cultural blogs which have been very refreshing for me to see based in Azerbaijan. And one of the blogs, “Sheki, Azerbaijan” is a wonderful wonderful blog which really sums up the culture, customs, and traditions of Azerbaijan. And there were many others as well dealing with Novruz, and that was one of my favorite favorite posts. It was nice. It wasn't violence, it wasn't elections it wasn't war, it was just a really nice post that summed up the richness of the culture of the South Caucasus.

David: We've talked a little bit about the use of social media to bring people who are from different communities or different countries together. Do you have some examples or thoughts about that?

Onnik: Actually, Global Voices has been a good example of that because, for example, I am based in Armenia, I am half Armenian. And Armenia and Azerbaijan are at war with each other over a disputed territory situated within Azerbaijan. Communication links are closed, borders are closed, it's impossible even for me as a British citizen to visit Azerbaijan because of my surname, which is an Armenian surname.

However, writing about some of these blog entries on Global Voices has actually got me emails from people in Azerbaijan thanking me. And that was actually kind of unprecedented and was such a pleasant surprise. Even most recently because of the coverage of the Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli case I even received an email - again, a reader message from my Global Voices page - from a 24-year-old Azeri refugee from Armenia who was forced to leave Armenia at the age of four when the war started.

Again, just thanking me. And now we're in communication. Now we're Facebook friends. Those sorts of things have happened because of new media and because of Global Voices. I mean, nothing can replace that. That has been one of the best highlights of this year.

The former world arm-wrestling champion is also head of the second largest political party in the Armenian National Assembly as well as the President of the Armenian National Olympic Committee.

No stranger to controversy, especially given reports in the local press which allegedly link his bodyguards to shoot-outs and the beating of journalists, the latest scandal reportedly linked to members of his entourage saw the light of day via Twitter.

The video was quickly removed after the first posts were made on Facebook and links were quickly re-tweeted. The video has since rematerialized on Daily Motion. Unzipped sums up the feelings of most who have seen the video so far.

Thanks to a tweet by @GoldenTent, I came across this link to the YouTube video, which alleges that Armenian oligarch and head of ruling Bargavatch Hayastan (‘Properous Armenia’) party Gagik Tsarukyan stages this fight between his lions and a donkey. (or it was staged at his ‘private zoo’)

[…]

This is so disgusting that at first I could not force myself watching beyond the first few seconds. Then I forced myself… I felt physically sick after watching this video.

Any country, any society which has any prospect of calling itself a “civilised” should ban these sorts of outrageous displays of animal cruelty, and perpetrators should be held responsible before the law.

In February, a YouTube video highlighting illegal hunting in an Armenian nature reserve resulted in the dismissal of the head warden. However, if the video shows what many allege it does, it remains to be seen whether any action will follow.

Anti-Armenia-Turkey protocol demonstration, Los Angeles, United States of America © Liana Aghajanian / Ianyan 2009

Days before the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey are due to sign two historic protocols likely to establish diplomatic relations and possibly opening the border between the two neighboring countries, media attention has spiked towards what many had previously thought was an unlikely development.

The border between the two countries was in 1993 by Turkey in protest at Armenia's occupation of 14-16 percent of Azerbaijan, its ally in the region, Azerbaijan. Writing on The Oil and the Glory, veteran journalist Steve LeVine sets the scene to what is already making headline news across the globe.

The main flashpoint between the two countries has been Turkey's 1915 massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians. Turkey refuses to acknowledge responsibility for the carnage, and permits pseudo-scholarly denials of the well-established history itself. […]

Yet, if the pact proceeds and the countries' parliaments go on to ratify it — not a certainty by any means — one is led to wonder what else is possible in the region.

Agents of Virtue also takes a similarly positive position on the latest developments. The blogger, who spent three years working in Armenia, says a breakthrough is necessary for both countries.

Armenia is landlocked, poor and cannot grow economically with closed borders. […] Businesses in Eastern Turkey have long wanted access to and across Armenia and Armenia needs the trade that will result - particularly if it then has additional access to the Black Sea […].

Finally, Turkey would like this diversion ended. It is a rising power in the Caucuses and Central Asia, not to mention the elephant in the room in the Middle East. Turkey is a competitor with Iran and is a democratic country - more so than any of its neighbors. […].

Nevertheless, the blog notes, ethnic Armenians in the large Diaspora are not necessarily going to be convinced by such matters. The blog says that it is therefore not surprised by protests staged abroad against the deal. However, it remains optimistic about a breakthrough.

The Armenia diaspora is demonstrating actively against any rapprochement. But then, I have always observed that, aside from summer vacations, they don't have to live in Armenia but can retreat to their pleasant California or French homes where they have running water, electricity 24 hours a day and incomes that exceed $35 a month. The Armenians, left to themselves, would have sorted out their international relations some time ago.

Settlements and compromises usually come gradually in diplomatic affairs. Finally, a major step appears to be on the verge of happening. Good.

Anti-Armenia-Turkey protocol demonstration, Los Angeles, United States of America © Liana Aghajanian / Ianyan 2009

Ianyan, a Los Angeles-based blog posts photographs and an account of this week's protest staged by 3,000 ethnic Armenians against the visit of the Armenian president, Serge Sargsyan, while on the U.S. leg of a whirlwind tour of Diasporan communities to listen to their concerns.

The protest in Los Angeles, which houses the second largest number of Armenians outside of Armenia, came on the heels of Sargsyan’s visit to diaspora communities in New York and Paris as part of a week long diaspora tour.

[…]

Sargsyan has met with strong opposition in both New York and Paris, where crowds clashed with French police. The atmosphere wasn’t any different in Los Angeles, where many, like Zaruhi Najarian echoed Santikian’s sentiments.

“The president is obviously here to get the diaspora’s opinion and we’re hoping that he will take our opinion into consideration and not sign the protocols,” Najarian, who expected to be at the protest until 8 p.m. said.

[…]

Many who were present made use of social media by tweeting about the event, including the Western chapter of AYF who posted photos, commentary and video of the day-long protests and Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee who wrote “After Paris, NYC, and LA who will toast serj?”

Life in the Armenian Diaspora is happy about the protests, but says that it is concerned how most Armenian bloggers are not writing on the topic. The Diaspora numbers in the millions, but only a few thousand have so far openly protested the protocols.

Even so, the blog believes that most ethnic Armenians abroad oppose them. It also says that there can be no compromise or concessions to either Azerbaijan or Turkey in return for open borders and and end to conflict.

I'm finding it a bit hard to believe that the repat and diaspora blogs are so dead. I'm very interested in hearing from the repats about what is going on in Armenia in regards to the protocols. […]

[…]

The support for these protocols is so minimal it's almost non-existent. […]

[…]

We do not recognize the current border! Ararat is ours! Moosh and Van are ours! Kharapagh is not for sale or up for trade! […]

Anti-Armenia-Turkey protocol demonstration, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2009

The protests, however, are not confined to the Diaspora. Writing on my Frontline Club blog, I also post photographs of a “hunger” strike against the protocols in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. It is unknown how many citizens are against the imminent signing.

[…] it has to be said, as some point out, the action is not exactly a hunger strike, but more like some kind of 48-hour fast with 24 party members refraining from eating until they are replaced two days later. Immediate recognition of the Armenian Genocide and territorial claims on Turkey might be central to the party's ideology, but the protest is remarkably calm and restrained. […]

[…]

[…] the protestors remain adamant that most Armenians are behind them in opposing the deal and are preparing for a rally to be held on 9 October. Approximately 700 people have signed their petition today, protestors add, although they can't give precise figures for the total number collected so far. […] An earlier meeting last month attracted just 500 people, and although Friday's rally will likely be significantly larger, for every passerby who put pen to paper today, more didn't.

Regional analyst Kevork Oskanian, writing on Security, in the Caucasus and beyond…., says that opponents of the protocols in both countries as well as abroad are as reactionary as each other.

The protocols published by the Armenian, Turkish and Swiss foreign ministries on 31 August have provoked an outcry among both Armenian and Turkish nationalists. Both societies were caught entirely unawares […]. After the initial shock, some of the criticisms levelled against the protocols were well-founded and –argued; others departed from trains of thought that bordered on the ludicrous and absurd. Among […] sympathisers of the ultra-nationalist MHP […] the narrative was one of ‘betrayal’ to the Turks’ ‘blood-brothers’, the Azeris. Among Armenian nationalists, in Armenia but especially in the Diaspora, accusations flew regarding a supposed betrayal of ‘Armenian historical rights’. On both extremes, the reactions were completely predictable in terms of their enduring, fossilised paranoia.

[…]

[…] With Karabakh and Armenia-Turkey interwoven with many of these issues, anyone seen as threatening such a hard-won grand bargain would soon find his options exhausted.

Azeri Wedding, Karajala, Kakheti Region, Georgia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimediia 2009

Last weekend saw an unprecedented event occur in the South Caucasus. Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines blogger Arzu Geybullayeva, an Azerbaijani citizen based in Istanbul, Turkey, and Baku, Azerbaijan, worked with Global Voices Online's Caucasus Editor Onnik Krikorian, a British citizen partly of Armenian descent based in Yerevan, Armenia, to produce various reports on an ethnic Azeri village situated close to Telavi, Georgia.

Although cross-border initiatives between journalists do occur, this initiative was unusual because not only was it undertaken by mutual voluntary consent, but it was also without the involvement of a “neutral” editor or organization. It was certainly the first time that bloggers on both Armenia and Azerbaijan, two countries in the South Caucasus still locked in a state of war over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, came together.

Arzu Geybullayeva, Azeri Wedding, Karajala, Kakheti Region, Georgia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimediia 2009

As detailed on my Frontline Club blog, the collaboration was important for both personal and professional reasons. Geybullayeva, also an analyst on Azerbaijan, was perhaps the first English-language blog on her country to stand out in the region.

It was a dream come true. Despite knowing each other for several months online, the chances of meeting regional analyst and superstar blogger Arzu Geybullayeva seemed remote at best and unlikely at worst. […]

[…]

But always expect the unexpected in the South Caucasus, and a meeting of youth activists inTelavi, Georgia, saw the unlikely happen. […]

Ten minutes outside of Telavi was Karajala, a village Inhabited by approximately 8,000 ethnic Azeris in Georgia. As Arzu and I had often spoken about joint projects using traditional and new media to overcome the negative stereotypes of the other in play in Armenia and Azerbaijan, it provided us with the first of hopefully many projects along the same lines. What we weren't expecting, however, was to walk straight into an ethnic Azeri wedding.

Azeri Wedding, Karajala, Kakheti Region, Georgia © Arzu Geybullayeva / Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines 2009

Writing on her own blog and posting her own photos, Geybullayeva also remembers the visit to Karajala and especially stumbling upon the wedding. She also details the history and context of the village in a country where ethnic Azeris constitute the largest minority with an overall population of around 280,000 according to a 2002 census.

According to the locals the population of the village is around 8,000 people (Wikipedia says between 8 and 10,000). All are ethnic Azerbaijanis who have lived there for several generations. They speak in Azerbaijani but with a dialect- they all use Georgian as well, so it is more of a mix. 16- year- old son of the village head says there are maybe 3 or 4 Georgian families.

[…]

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. I thought at best, there would be some nice shots and maybe few interviews. Well, it was more than that. 30 minutes into the visit, a woman, whom we (me and journalist Onnik Krikorian) tried to interview told of a wedding that is taking place just five minutes from where we were standing.

The front yard of the house was crowded with people- neighbors, relatives who came to help. This was just the preparation; the wedding was to take place later in the evening and that was the only the girl’s wedding (according to Azerbaijani traditions there are two weddings- girl and boy, the boy’s wedding is the actual wedding). It all looked like well- planned team work- men were setting up the tables, while women were busy preparing food and washing the dishes. 300 guests were expected to come.

Several hours into chatting with locals, we got invited to the wedding itself, which was the ultimate experience.

A joint article and photostory will also soon be published by Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso while a slide show of my own photographs with an audio narrative from Geybullayeva can be viewed above. So far response from Armenian and Azerbaijani alike as well as others has been positive with some comments to that effect available on my Frontline Club post.

Dagen Valentine | October 1, 2009 7:44 PM

Onnik and Arzu,

Awesome. Collaborative efforts like this are what the region needs. Work like yours will help Azeris and Armenians recognize, accept, and celebrate their differences and similarities.

[…]

scary azeri | October 1, 2009 10:55 PM

Wow, I loved this! Well done, guys. Arzu- you are too cute! You need to do more video interviews. :)
On a more serious note, I have found this fascinating. I never KNEW there was an Azeri village in Georgia.

[…]

Medea Georgia | October 2, 2009 6:28 AM

Hey, guys, great initiative…not only for Armenians and Azeris to get closer to each other, but for Georgians as well…Viva to integrated and strong South Caucasus

Narmina | October 2, 2009 9:31 AM

It is so nice that there are people who want to see South Caucasus united. I hope that one day end will come to war and hate between nations in Caucasus. We have to be united and support each other!

A larger version of the audio slideshow as well as a video interview with Arzu Geybullayeva on the visit shot on a mobile phone is also available on the my Frontline Club post as well as below. Geybullayeva was also interviewed by Global Voices Online in July. Hopefully this will mark the start of other collaborations between Armenian and Azerbaijani bloggers in the months and years to come.

This is especially true when in many cases it is actually the local media, and even some civil society groups, which seeks to promote homophobia. However, in recent weeks the level of intolerance in the mainstream media has alarmed many, with one newspaper going so far as to seemingly encourage hate crimes against members of the LGBT community in the country.

Pink Armenia comments on such developments.

It’s a pity but again l have read a homophobic article in an Armenian newspaper lately. […]

[…]

I don’t know why but almost all journalists mainly discuss the topic of homosexuality, I don’t know why but they never remember that there were and are many outstanding people among them, they just insist that it is amoral. It is evident misinformation of the society.

[…]

I won’t forget to mention that in the last article that I have read was a call to abuse and even kill homosexuals. I think that many will agree that appropriate punishment must be applied toward such people.

Unzipped: Gay Armenia also comments on what it views as a call to eliminate homosexuals in the country — literally.

When someone is homophobe, it’s bad enough. But when that homophobe advocates killing, he is crossing the line.

I have to confess, I do not read Iravunk tabloid. If it’s not for my friends, I would have been unaware of this whole bunch of ‘articles’ over the last week or so devoted to gays there.

[…]

Iravunk’s journalist then notes that “we do not want you to take this story as a call for killing. We simply wanted to present this story”. Obviously, what they effectively did is to advocate killing of gays.

[…]

[…] there is definitely enough evidence for opening the case against Galadjyan and his tabloid for inciting murder and hatred.

As a rule, one hate goes hand in hand with another hate. If you look at Iravunk’s articles, they are not just homophobic, but racist, full of hate to everyone who is different. […]

A week later, if such concerns might have been considered by some to have been exaggerated, the same blog reports that they were very real indeed.

Group of Armenian ultra-nationalists, a copycat of Russia’s and others’ neo-nazi, united under the so called Hayrenik (‘Motherland’) movement, published a post on their website threatening the life of Armenian author writing under the name Dori An. Dori An is the author of award winning gay-themed short story in Yerevan. […]

They provide Armenian government with the ultimatum type message: either you silence Dori An, using “legal means”, or we will do it by our means and methods. ‘Message’ is accompanied by Al-Qaeda terrorist-like picture, or its poor copycat.

[…]

Failing to produce any ‘results’ by ‘fighting external enemies’, and failing on all fronts, these ultra-nationalists try to create ‘internal enemies’ to justify their very own existence.

This is a direct threat to person’s life and the right for free speech, the very basic human rights protected under Armenian constitution. After all, this is effectively a terrorist-like ultimatum to Armenian government, and law enforcement agencies in Armenia should take up the case for further proceedings.

It remains to be seen whether the voices of such bloggers are heard by the authorities and action is taken to prevent homophobia in Armenia from turning deadly before it's too late.

Despite attempts by the authorities in Baku to downplay the incident, news that the names and addresses of 43 citizens who voted for the Armenian entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest had been obtained by police in Azerbaijan continues to send out shock waves through the international media and the Internet.

Of course, Eurovision has been no stranger to such controversies, with all three countries in the region letting politics and ethnic rivalries spill out into proceedings.

The competition had already got off to a bad start in February when Georgia entered an entry mocking the Russian prime minister, former President Putin, but then Armenia and Azerbaijan soon took the level of animosity to even greater heights with actions that bordered on the infantile. This might be reason enough for many to consider Eurovision as more absurd than it already is, but when the two countries remain in a state of war, even a simple and otherwise mundane song contest takes on a frightening new dimension.

However, many consider this latest development as more serious than those before it. Indeed, says FR33 Agents, it identifies the intolerance and racial prejudice many have accused the Azeri government of promoting against Armenians in the past.

When you’re talking about government, “strange” is a relative term. Still, voting for the wrong team in the Eurovision Song Contest hardly seems like a matter of national security. Azerbaijan’s National Security Ministry seems to disagree. Rovshan Nasirli, one of 43 Azeris to send a text message voting for Armenian duo Inga and Anush over the national team, was summoned last week to answer for his treasonous behavior.

[…]

The Azeri government is a little on edge about the Nagorno-Karabakh region. This disputed territory is within the imaginary lines of Azerbaijan, but most residents are ethnic Armenians. There seems to be a lot of hate flying between the two ethnic groups, and at least one of the governments appears ready to punish race traitors.

Eternal Remont also recognizes the same, but manages to see the funny side.

[…] it seems that liking Armenians in Azerbaijan is kind of being considered a crime. […]

[…]

Frightening and hilarious. However, before you judge the Azerbaijani authorities for overreacting, look at the Armenian Eurovision entry from this year. I got some questions for people who voted for this.

It Is What It Is agrees.

[…] Azerbaijan just does not get it. According to a news the police there had been questioning people who voted for Armenia. Get with it, Azerbaijan, caring about the Eurovision Song Contest is sad! Are you trying to be camp or something? If so, I think you're getting it wrong. The whole heavy thing - you're not quite getting it, like if Santa Claus dyed his beard pink in an attempt to be feminine. Just not as cute.

Regardless, the ramifications were clear.

Reports that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) will now be investigating the incident prompted Thattalkshop's Blog to consider whether Azerbaijan will be prevented from entering the competition in the future.

Despite the fact last November both the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders agreed to intensify their efforts to find a political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh region it seems the problem is far from sorted.

[…] what a conundrum?

Well it seems like the EBU will try to brush this under the carpet, would they not want to upset some countries in the region, allies of Azerbaijan such as Turkey, which indeed in previous years we have seen Azerbaijan broadcaster promoting people voting for Turkey.

Does this really amount to less than Lebanon law requiring non recognition of Israel not being able to compete in 2005, the EBU forcing them to withdraw. We will just have to wait and see […]

Ianyan, a U.S.-based Armenian blog, however, considers what this all means for peace between the two estranged neighbors, but ends on an optimistic note.

A total 1,065 Armenians voted for the Azerbaijani entry and Armenia gave Azerbaijan one point. A total of 43 Azerbaijanis voted for the Armenian entry.

Here’s to hoping this scandal is just a small blip on the radar that will be overshadowed by strong desires and efforts for mutual peace.

Writing for The Armenian Weekly, a U.S.-based newspaper incorporating blogging and commenting features for its online version, Andrew Turpin also hopes that something good can come out of the scandal.

The fact remains that as the world saw in Iran, “It rains on the just and unjust alike.” And there are good Azerbaijanis that need to be supported in their efforts if Azerbaijan is ever to make headway in its desperately needed civil society reforms.

So if you know a good Azerbaijani activist or student, send them a gift of support and solidarity, as they dwell like Daniel in a geopolitical lion’s den. And if you don’t, find one and forge a new friendship, if for no other reason than to counter the Azerbaijani rhetoric and deflate the sounding war drums.

For, if there’s not a single Azerbaijani we can call “jan, jan,” then we may win Eurovision 2009, but that’s as good as it gets.

Although held in May, some media outlets in Azerbaijan last week reported that 43 people who voted for the Armenian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest have been identified by police and one has even been called in for questioning. Still effectively in a state of war over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, the news is just the latest of many scandals surrounding both countries in the international music competition.

The Snowolf says that it is not sure whether the news is alarming or entertaining. By the end of the post, however, the blogger seems to have decided on the former.

[…] Bloody hell. He voted for a fucking song. It's not just us that use the security dogwhistle as an excuse to give someone a hard time for the hell of it, then.

[…]

One final little question; How did the authorities know this man had voted for the Armenians? I'm willing to bet that it was down to the retention of all telephone calls and text messages on some sort of central database.

Brett Neely comments on the Soviet-era tactics employed by the authorities.

The super-cheesy annual Eurovision song contest (held in May) has had its share of political undertones in the past few years (Georgia, Russia, etc), but the latest case of politics creeping into the event has a downright Stalinist cast to it (minus the Siberian gulag).

[…]

Though the Azerbaijan entry wound up getting a very respectable third place, the thought that Azeris might support Azerbaijan’s arch-enemy, Armenia, was a bit too much. Never mind that the Azeri entry included an Iranian-Swedish singer joined by an Azeri pop star – which prompted Nasirli’s protest vote for Armenia. Even scarier is how the Azeri spooks discovered Nasirli’s “traitorous” voting:

[…]

A couple of points worth noting here. First, the Azeri state must feel insanely insecure if someone within the security services felt the need to look up SMS records to find out who’s not for Team Azerbaijan in one of the world’s silliest televised events. Human Rights Watch has documented the country’s heavy-handed attempts to silence dissent.

Others are not surprised, especially as Eurovision was already off to a bad start with Georgia's aborted entry in February. Eurovision central has more.

[…] his action is broadly representative of Azerbaijan’s government. International Politics rearing its head in the Eurovision? Who’d have thunk it?!

Here’s the Armenian entry that got the voters in trouble – I wonder if they still think it was worth it?

A Fistful of Euros says that the news is indicative of the state of democracy — or lack of it — in both republics.

That’s actually a fairly good index of the relative freedoms of the two countries. Armenia is a managed democracy, where the opposition is kept pretty toothless. Last year, when the government got tired of peaceful protests over a stolen election, they gunned down a bunch of protesters in the street. (And then blamed the opposition, of course.)

That said, Armenia has a formal opposition. The Armenian press is free-ish. (Well, newspapers are. TV and radio, not so much.) Open criticism of the government is tolerated. […] And there’s a much wider field for… I’m not sure how to say it… not dissent exactly. Opinions that differ from the nationalist consensus? There are boundaries that can’t be crossed in Armenia, but they’re much wider. Nobody really cares if you vote for the Azeris.

Azerbaijan, on the other hand, is a fairly repressive dictatorship. There’s not much more to say. Politically, it resembles the former Soviet republics of Central Asia much more than it does either of the other two countries of the south Caucasus. And Azeri society allows much less room for public dissent.

[…]

Anyway. Azerbaijan is a wannabe police state, the Nagorno conflict is intractable. Not really news. But once again, we see the power of Eurovision! And that’s always worth reporting.

Notes from the Bartender says the incident is Orwellian, but adds that the song didn't deserve being voted for in the first place.

Although amusing, these sorts of stories always make me wonder about the mindset of people who get into positions of power. Is their grip on power so tenuous that they need to monitor who their citizenry vote for in a song contest? Are the government really using resources to read everyone’s phone texts? How distorted has their sense of patriotism become?

[…]

[…] Long-time EU members now seem to treat the contest as something of a joke, seeing who can enter the most ridiculous contestant. New inductees into the wider European community, however, tend to take things a little too seriously, perceiving victory as a mode of national advancement.

I could understand if this was a visit from the Taste Police. […]

Life after Helsinki 2007 calls the heavy-handed tactics absurd, while The Armenian Observer simply concludes that if only 43 Azeri citizens voted for Armenia in this year's competition, and reportedly without the telephone number to do so being displayed, it is unlikely that any will do so in 2010.