October 3, 2013 - 16:44 AMT
OPINION
Lies, insinuations never beneath Baku's dignity

Serzh Sargsayn had hardly returned from PACE session when Azerbaijan hurried to yet again to stack up accusations against the Armenian leader while portraying own President as a dove of peace.

The Chief of the Political Analysis and Information Department at Azerbaijani presidential office Elnur Aslanov, for instance, stated that Sargsyan tried to suggest that Aliyev pointed out Armenians as No.1 enemy.

Seems like Aslanov is unaware of the international community’s response to Aliyev’s bellicose statements on Karabakh, with Baku having confirmed to be buying weaponry for a war against Armenia.

Aslanov went on to recall that “30 000 Armenian nationals currently reside in Azerbaijan, with their basic rights and freedoms guaranteed by the country’s Constitution.” Interestingly enough, Aslanov suggested the Armenian minority has their own newspaper.

One might wonder if Aslanov has any idea what year it is. The last Armenian-language newspaper in Azerbaijan was closed in 1989 after the deportation of the Armenians by the “most tolerant nation.” Stopping just short of accusing Armenia of fascism, Aslanov justifies the anti-Armenian hysteria by Baku’s “protecting ideals and values common to the civilized countries and defending the state’s interests which are based on those values.”

Clearly, Baku suffers from inferiority complex, with all of its statements aimed at self-affirmation and proof of its ancient origin. Indeed, a nation having no clear proof or idea of its roots, starts from appropriating the lands and culture of the neighboring countries.

And a mention of the recently deceased great Armenian actor Sos Sarsyan who once said “to you Karabakh is a territory, to us it’s a sacred fatherland” was completely out of reason. A tolerant and civilized state should have known better than mentioning those deceased in any context. And Aslanov better keep silent.

Karine Ter-Sahakian/ PanARMENIAN.Net