Armenian attack on Western media: threats and blackmails - French expert speaks

Approaching with double standards with similar problems in the former Soviet territories by the pro-West and Western media outlets, especially French, causes dissatisfaction in Azerbaijani society toward the same mass media.

When the USSR was dissolved, some part of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and later Ukraine was invaded by their neighbors under the guise of self-determination of nations. However, the point is that even though the 4 mentioned countries suffer from the same problem today, the approach from the West does not seem unambiguous.

Especially when the issue is related to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, as well as Garabagh, the pro-West (in the former Soviet territories) and the Western media, including the French press, try to present the problems in a completely different direction, that is, in the discussion of the same problems, Azerbaijan is distinguished from the other three post-Soviet countries, and the targets are completely directed against Azerbaijan. Take Rain TV for example. Rain TV is a Russian TV which broadcasts from Europe. When the 44-day war broke out in 2020 with the attack of Armenia on Azerbaijan’s territories, Rain TV sent one of its correspondents to Armenia and the other one to Azerbaijan. The TV allowed Armenian propagandists to tell the "truth" about the events. The TV substantiated its act as media impartiality. However, when the Ukrainian war started the same TV never sent its correspondents to the invaded Ukrainian territories and allowed any Russian propagandists to speak to the TV. This time Rain TV substantiated its act by not trivializing the violation of territorial integrity.

When Ukraine security services arrested Russian agents the pro-West and Western media broadcasted it as a legal act done by the Ukrainian side. But when Azerbaijan arrested Vagif Khachatryan, who had tortured the Azerbaijani POWs and cauterized them with red-hot cress, the same media interpreted it as "kidnapping". When Ukraine blew up the Crimean Bridge, the Western media supported it by saying that Russia uses the bridge not only for humanitarian issues but also for weapon transportation. Later Ukraine was provided with the Franco-British missile SCALP (Storm) which can hit the bridge. However, when Azerbaijan established a border checkpoint on the Lachin-Khankendi road which Armenians used not only for humanitarian issues but also for illegal weapon transportation, the same media made a fuss and accused Azerbaijan of pursuing policy of "ethnic cleansing". French media never criticized their state for providing Ukraine with weapons can hit the Bridge which is the only plausible route for Crimeans. But the same French media, besides inappropriately criticizing Azerbaijan, also called for the imposition of sanctions against Azerbaijan.

As a matter of course, such a position of the West and France towards Azerbaijan not only forms a negative opinion against the double standards of the West in the society, but also completely discredits the image of the Western press. Even those media organizations that supposedly tried to defend Ukraine and other post-Soviet states raised a number of questions about their biased activities among the society.

To clarify the crux of the matter, Azernews learned the opinion of Maxime Gauin, Associate Professor at ADA University, a researcher at the Institute for Development and Diplomacy. He said that it is not frequently as brutal as said but there is a difference of treatment. He emphasized Armenians due to the threats, playing victim cards and business-to-business relations through lobbies, and a lack of appropriate replies from the Turkic side make Western media stand with Armenia.

“Unlike the Armenian diaspora, the Russian diaspora never had groups using electoral blackmail, threats on life of journalists, and corruption in order to promote the re-creation of the Empires of the Tsars. In France, journalists were openly threatened with death during the 2020 war, only because they revealed the participation of neo-Nazis in the ranks of the Armenian army. Others received the same threats for a report on the Azerbaijani civilian victims of the Armenian bombings,” Maxime Gauin noted.

Besides, he said that not the media organs, but some journalists with “unknown” reasons choose to stand with Armenia. He exemplified Alexandre Devecchio and Jean-Christope Buissone.

“Currently, the problems with this daily issues come almost entirely from two editors, Alexandre Devecchio (as a result of his proximity with the Kremlin) and Jean-Christophe Buisson, who found in the “Armenian cause” a compensation to his personal problems (he is notorious for his sad face at the public events, such as the concerts, in Paris). Obviously, the Armenian nationalist leadership encouraged them, and, in the case of Jean-Christophe Buisson, was at the origin of his stance on the issue. Concerning France 24, it is more mixed, because they interviewed Elchin Amirbayov recently and organized a debate between him and ARF leader Franck “Mourad” Papazian during the clashes of April 2016 (what is sometimes called the “Four Days War”). One of the main sources of problems is the fact that they have a correspondent in Yerevan but not in Baku. I think the Azerbaijani side should be more optimistic about this TV channel and take initiatives to obtain interviews of Ambassador Leyla Abdullayeva and leaders of French Azerbaijani NGOs,” Maxime Gouine said.

He elaborated that Jean-Christophe Buisson is not happy in his life and he has the testimonies of several persons who attended the same public events as him.

“Even the music he likes does make disappear the sad expression on his face. For unknown reasons, he finds in the support for the “Armenian cause” something that makes sense, something that brings joy and motivation in his life. I would rather say that defending the Armenian claims fills an empty space nothing has filled yet.

He added that some Armenian businessmen have shares of media outlets and it also impacts the vision of media as well.

“ARF leader Franck “Mourad” Papazian has a minority part of the shares of “Liberation”. Something more frequent is the infiltration of Armenian nationalists in the staff (the archetypal example being Valérie Toranian, ex-wife of former ASALA leader Jean-Marc “Ara” Toranian) and the harassment of ethnic Armenian journalists who are not particularly nationalist, but who do not want to be isolated. A clear example for the second category is Christian Makarian,” he concluded.