April 19, 2012 - 20:35 AMT
Armenian media can influence Azeri public – expert

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement on Armenia’s defeat in the information war is not true to fact, Armenian political analyst said.

“Aliyev claimed that Armenia took active steps to ‘degrade Azerbaijan in the eyes of international community. However, that’s no longer scares Azerbaijan’,” Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan told a press conference, adding that Azeri President didn’t name the specific fields of Armenia’s alleged defeat.

Dwelling on the impact of Azeri media on Armenians, the expert noted that the situation has radically changed since 2003, with Armenian media having notable influence on certain layers of the Azerbaijani society.

Mr. Melik-Shahnazaryan further noted that different national groups in Azerbaijan demonstrate different approach to Armenian media, having numerous times addressed Armenian media with a request to shed light on pressures, namely human rights violations, even physical destruction by the Azerbaijani authorities.

The expert said that Armenian media have great prospects in that direction.