Armenia and the information war

[Mos]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Where is this from? Is this for real?

[UrMistake]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Well it's a theatrical play..fun to watch it :/

[Mos]

Re: Armenia and the information war

yeah, at first I was thinking it was something from wikileaks....I mean it's Aliyev sometimes hard to tell...

[ninetoyadome]

Re: Armenia and the information war

i dont know who would believe this bullxxxx

Some People Never Change: A True Story Of How Azerbaijan Was Trying To HELP Armenia During The Karabakh War
TUESDAY, 07 DECEMBER 2010 18:26
In 1988, on the 7th of December, a catastrophic earthquake occured in Armenia. The magnitude of the earthquake which shook northwestern Armenia was 6.9 (some claim 7.2) and this was followed by another earthquake four minutes later, measuring 5.8 on Richter scale. Swarms of aftershocks of the Earthquake of 1988 in Armenia having a magnitude of 5.0, continued for months in the area around Spitak, which was completely destroyed.

Armenia Earthquakes hit an area of approx 80 km that included the towns of Leninakan, Spitak, Stepanavan, and Kirovakan in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. The epicenter of Armenia Earthquake was located in the Lesser Caucasus highlands, an area which has experienced damaging earthquakes in the past. Other damaging earthquakes of 1899 and 1940 occurred within 100 km of the 1988 epicenter. Armenia Earthquake recorded largest death and property damages since the earthquake of 1976 of Tangshan, China that killed more than 240,000 people. 45,000 people were killed, fifteen thousand were injured and 517,000 people became homeless in 1988 Earthquake of Armenia.

Natually, in the first days after the earthquake, regiments of the Civil Defense, as well as volunteers from all over the USSR began arriving to Armenia for help. Azerbaijan reacted as well. Despite the fact, that the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan was already being torn apart by the raging Armenian separatism (and about 210 000 Azeris were forced to leave Armenia itself), Azerbaijanis were the first to offer a helping hand to the victims of the neighboring country.

Azerbaijan sent a IL-76 plane, loaded with humanitarian aid and volunteers into the disaster zone. However, the plane crashed, while approaching the Leninakan. The plane carried two trucks with various medicine, and supplies. As a result of the disaster, a 9-men crew, along with 69 passengers was killed.(how ironic no one heard of this?)

One of those, who was among the volunteers from the Azerbaijani side was a Sumgayit city resident, Haleddin Ibrahimkhalilov, who is retired nowadays.

Tell us, how did you end up in Armenia?

From the firs days after the quake, Azerbaijan organized a trip for the rescuers from the Army of the Civil Defense to Armenia. I was among them, as a reserve officer. I was assigned as a platoon leader. I'll be honest here: even that the war was going on, we didnt even think of this, because there were usual people who needed our help. We went to Ganja, from Sumgayit. There were two IL-76 planes ready. Some people from my platoon wanted to get onto the first plane, however it was already full, and I advised them to go along with me on the second plane. Then, it turned out to be that I saved their lives and mine as well, since the first sent IL-76 crashed. Later on, we found out, that it was shot down with a rocket launcher from the ground. The next day we arrived in Leninakan via the second plane. We were stunned: The city was a complete mess, everything was in ruins, there was no high building visible anywhere. Whole Leninakan was in ruins.

How did Armenians treat the Azerbaijani rescuers?

They were quite negative towards us, I might even say agressive. They would not let us raise our flag on our base there. We thought that at this time, they can forget about their nationalism... didnt happen however. They threatened us, abused, and used to tell us: "We dont need you here, go back to your Azerbaijan, we dont need no help from you". There were no direct conflicts and clashes between us though. They even did not provide us with food. Thankfully to Soviet army soldiers, we did not starve to death. And what did we do - just tried to help out, and this is how Armenians paid us back. I, personally, took out 10 dead bodies under the ruins, but Armenians did not allow us to go near the rescue operations.

How else did Azerbaijan assist Armenia at that time?

Cranes, bulldozers, excavators, huge amout of fuel, lubricants, medicine - all of this was sent out to them. At least, this is what I've personally seen.

How many days have you spent in Armenia?

17 days. All of that time our team did not even shave, according to the Muslim traditions, we kept in mourning for the dead. When we understood, that Armenians simply will not let us go near the rescue works, we decided to leave it as it is, and go back home. The Armenian side did not even provide us with transport to get back. They did not lead us to the border. You know, its like: "We did not ask you to come, you arrived on your own, and thats how you're going back". So we had to go back on our own. This is how they paid us back for what we tried to do for them despite the war.

/Vesti.Az/

here is what i found about azerbaijan's participation in the rescue:

The outpouring of aid from both private individuals and governments around the world was very generous, though much of it had a great deal of trouble reaching Armenia through Azerbaijan which was blocking and damaging shipments.

America is sending medical aid and sniffer dogs capable of detecting survivors.

Dogs sent by France alerted aid workers to 60 people buried alive under the rubble yesterday.

India has sent clothes and blankets while Britain is transporting excavating equipment

Five tonnes of clothes have already been collected by Aid Armenia based in Britain.

nothing about azerbaijan. they had even blocked the border with Armenia at that time

[SevSpitak]

Re: Armenia and the information war

I have no idea where to ask this... Why did "Yerevan" change to "Erivan" in Google Maps?

[Muhaha]

Re: Armenia and the information war

I have no idea where to ask this... Why did "Yerevan" change to "Erivan" in Google Maps?

Interesting. Google Earth still shows Yerevan, so I don't know.

[Federate]

Re: Armenia and the information war

I have no idea where to ask this... Why did "Yerevan" change to "Erivan" in Google Maps?

It has been edited by an Azeri user. Check for the edit button, you can change info for places and they take awhile before it is approved. Check recent edits, someone has changed it back to Yerevan (some user named Ashtarak) but it's awaiting approval.

[Muhaha]

Re: Armenia and the information war

It has been edited by an Azeri user. Check for the edit button, you can change info for places and they take awhile before it is approved. Check recent edits, someone has changed it back to Yerevan (some user named Ashtarak) but it's awaiting approval.

lmao. Such children.

[ninetoyadome]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Documentary on vandalism: MEPs impressed, Azeris enraged

December 14, 2010 | 12:51
The Azerbaijani Delegation to the European Parliament and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan handed a note of protest over to President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, complaining against the Armenian delegation to the Armenia-EU parliamentary commission.

The reason was the documentary “Juga: vandals of the 21st century” shown in Brussels on December 1-2. The documentary tells about the Armenian cemeteries destroyed by Azeris.

Elham Polukhov, Spokesman for the Azerbaijani foreign office, expressed his indignation at the “European Parliament not preventing the Armenian side’s attempts to misinform” and sent a note of protest.

“I laugh at the wordings contained in the Azerbaijani note of protest, which carries everything to the point of absurdity. In its note Azerbaijan claims to be taking care about other nations’ cultural heritage. Our partners in the European Parliament had the opportunity to see this ‘care’, Azeris breaking Armenian khachkars (cross-stones) with axes and throwing them into the river gorge,” Head of the Armenian delegation, Chairwoman of the Standing Committee on European Integration, RA Parliament, Naira Zohrabyan told NEWS.am.

She pointed out that the European MPs were impressed. “The Armenian side will continue this activity. At the next meeting of the European Parliament we will demonstrate a short film on Armenian pogroms in Baku, Marag and Sumgait. I think that, after seeing it, the President of the European Parliament will take Azeri notes’ of protest with humor as well,” Zohrabyan said.

She reported that the Armenian delegation members also held many other meetings. Specifically, the MEP Bert Sticey is to visit Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. He is also dealing with the issue of sending observers to Old Juga.

http://news.am/eng/news/41631.html

[ninetoyadome]

Re: Armenia and the information war

Azerbaijan: Italian Newspaper Provokes Rage in Baku
December 14, 2010 - 1:53pm
Azerbaijan Belarus US Aliyev Family WikiLeaks


Italian newspaper Il Foglio has romantically linked Azerbaijan First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. (Photo: mehriban-aliyeva.org)
Azerbaijan is grappling to come to terms with a fresh Internet news scandal. This one doesn’t concern pesky domestic bloggers who tweak government sensitivities. And it is not about media rights. Rather, it covers a topic generally given a wide berth in Baku, even by Azerbaijan’s political opposition -- First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.

Aliyeva over the past few weeks has become the subject of unprecedented coverage in foreign newspapers. First, the right-wing Italian daily Il Foglio published an article December 3, using unnamed diplomats as sources, alleging “informal meetings” of a possibly romantic nature occurred in Berlin between Aliyeva and Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko. Then, on December 12, a British daily, The Guardian, published a story about a WikiLeaks cable, reportedly prepared by a US Embassy staffer in Baku, describing the political influence and business interests of Aliyeva’s family, and speculating about the First Lady’s possible use of plastic surgery.

The Il Foglio allegations, accompanied by a photo gallery entitled “Too Beautiful for a First Lady,” seem tabloidish in making a preposterous claim. Among foreign readers the report appeared to inspire no more than a shrug of the shoulders. But in Azerbaijan, where the First Lady’s image is sacrosanct, it has struck a raw nerve.

Azeri culture does not tolerate public discussions of a man’s wife; that rule takes on even greater weight where the glamorous 46-year-old wife of President Ilham Aliyev is concerned. While opposition media outlets may daily criticize the president and government, very rarely do they dare write anything negative about the First Lady.

That means the Italian newspaper report shocked many Azerbaijanis. Even though no Azerbaijani media outlet has reprinted or written about the Il Foglio article, the story’s publication has become one of the hottest topics of discussion in the Azerbaijani capital. Baku residents have been able to slake their thirst for rumor and innuendo by accessing Russian-language translations that have appeared in Russian and Armenian online media since December 8.

The government was quick to respond. In a December 9 statement about the Il Foglio story, the First Lady’s protocol service expressed “extreme indignation with the slanderous insinuations published in Il Foglio, which discredit Mehriban Aliyeva’s honor and dignity.” Calling the report libelous, the service speculated that “some forces which are not interested in the growing prestige of our country and the international authority of Azerbaijan’s first lady” had planted the article. It has demanded a public apology and a full retraction by Il Foglio. Italy, it should be noted, has strong energy ties to Russia, while Moscow and Baku are backing competing energy-export pipeline projects in the Caspian Basin.

Representatives of Il Foglio, based in Milan, did not respond to requests from EurasiaNet.org for comment.

While many Azerbaijanis -- regardless of their political loyalties -- dismiss the allegations as “a dirty load of rubbish” or “simply impossible,” only a few media outlets have even published the statement from Aliyeva’s protocol service. Those that did, published it without any reference to the article in question.

As a member of parliament, deputy chairperson of the governing Yeni Azerbaijan Party, a goodwill ambassador for UNESCO and the Organization of Islamic States, and head of the charitable Heydar Aliyev Foundation – no other woman in Azerbaijan has such a prominent -- and uniformly positive -- public image.

To suggest otherwise is to risk incurring the wrath of President Aliyev, who is known among Azerbaijani journalists for having greater tolerance for public criticism of himself than of his family. A 2010 story by The Washington Post about multi-million-dollar property in Dubai allegedly owned by the president’s 13-year-old son, Heydar, has been cited as contributing to a flare-up of tension in Azerbaijani-US relations.

While Il Foglio has caused a stir for touching on what is seen as President Aliyev’s personal honor, the WikiLeaks information, provided via The Guardian, has not.

The alleged 2010 US embassy cable, which has been republished in some Azerbaijani media outlets, names the First Lady’s family, the Pashayevs, as "the single most powerful family in Azerbaijan,” with holdings in construction/real estate and the financial and telecommunications sectors. The family, it claims, uses “government mechanisms” to keep out business competitors, while maintaining de facto control of certain ministries -- including Culture and Tourism, Youth and Sport, Health, and Education -- that are seen as under the First Lady’s domain.

It describes the First Lady as an MP never seen in parliament and a person “poorly informed about political issues.” It also ventures into criticism of her appearance. A fashionista who has been photographed for Russian Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, Aliyeva, the cable reported, “appears to have had substantial cosmetic surgery” and cannot display “a full range of facial expression.” Her dresses were deemed “provocative even in the Western world.”

The Azerbaijani government has earlier dismissed the WikiLeaks releases as untruthful, and is expected to raise the matter privately with US officials. As with the Il Foglio article, any allegation made against the First Lady herself is not considered a matter appropriate for public debate in Baku.

The public focus on the Il Foglio report is continuing. Explanations for why the article appeared vary from Russian revenge for previous WikiLeaks disclosures about President Aliyev’s criticism of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, to a “provocation” from “the Armenian lobby.”

Individuals asked about their reactions to the article declined to be named. One Baku-based political analyst, who also requested anonymity, believes that the government will use all possible official and unofficial means to make Il Foglio apologize publicly. “It is known that Ilham Aliyev hates when the media writes negatively about his family, but, in this case, it is really a personal offense, which is inexcusable in Azerbaijan,” the analyst said.

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62572