FALSE REPORT BOOMERANGS AGAINST ARMENIA

After lengthy deliberations and the ordinary hysteria, Armenia has made the decision to refuse to participate in the "Eurovision" song contest due to be held in Baku in May this year.

"We are disappointed with this decision of Armenia. Despite the efforts of the European Broadcasting Union and the security guarantees of the host country, Armenia has made a decision that is beyond our control," the executive director of the "Eurovision" song contest, Jon Ola Sand, has said in an interview with Eurovision.tv. Thus, only 42 of the originally listed 43 countries will take part.

The Armenian hysteria over "Eurovision-2012" started immediately after the victory of the Azerbaijani duo of Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal in this prestigious competition. As R+ has already reported, on the eve of the event Armenian news agency News.am circulated false information that European countries were allegedly hesitant over participation in Eurovision-2012. "The Czech Republic, Poland and Iceland, the news agency reported gleefully, have already declared that they would not participate in the song contest, while Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Luxembourg have not made the final decision." Other Armenian media followed suit by indulging in wishful thinking over the European countries' intention to 'boycott' the Baku contest. Perhaps this tactic was intended to attain one goal: what if this canard does mislead someone. It didn't.

After some deliberations, the Armenians decided to follow the usual scenario: to raise a hue and cry around the world and pretend yet again to be the "long-suffering" nation. In late February, a group of Armenian singers issued a letter to Armenian Public TV and the European Broadcasting Union, announcing their unwillingness to take part in Eurovision and urging everyone to boycott the contest. The reason for the defiance was the death of Armenian soldier Albert Adibekyan near the village of Chinar in Tavush region of Armenia. The Armenian Defense Ministry quickly said that the soldier had fallen victim to an Azerbaijani sniper. A few days later, the investigation established that he wasn't killed by an Azerbaijani sniper but by his own colleague, a soldier of the same military unit. That's it! The Armenian boomerang of lies turned against the organizers of political provocation.

In a desperate attempt to convince the world of Azerbaijan's "bloodthirstiness", the Armenian side seems to forget that it is the first anniversary of the killing of nine-year-old Azerbaijani boy Fariz Badalov by an Armenian sniper. Armenia made this gift to Azerbaijani mothers on 8 March 2011. The killing was recorded and condemned by all international organizations. Just as the death of Azerbaijani girls Aygun Samxaliyeva in the Alibayli village of Tovuz in June 2011. The girl was killed by a bomb which was built in a toy and released by the Armenians down the river Tovuzchay.

 But even that did not stop Baku providing security guarantees for the Armenian participants and guests of the Eurovision. In addition to the statements at the ministerial level, in October 2011 Prime Minister Artur Rasizada assured the European Broadcasting Union in writing that all participants of the contest, members of their delegations and guests of the country would be safe.

It is worth recalling that Azerbaijan has held many international events in recent years, including scientific and cultural forums and sports tournaments joined by representatives of Armenia. And the safety of Armenian participants was always ensured at top level. This is reflected in the reports of international organizations and sports federations. Trying to mislead the world, Yerevan apparently forgets that.

While Armenia is still recovering from its own stupidity, the European Broadcasting Union has finalized the list of participants. But even worse news for Armenia as an economically impoverished country is that now it will have to literally pay for depriving itself of the Eurovision spectacle. Competition laws are fair and participation in such an authoritative event is no laughing matter. Any violator shall be held responsible. In this case, Armenia will have to pay the European Broadcasting Union a penalty for refusing to participate in the competition after the official list of 43 countries had already been approved. Now they will be 42.

On the other hand, this may also be a good outcome for Yerevan. By refusing to participate in the contest, Armenia seems to have got away with fewer losses than it would have suffered if it had to play host to the contest next year (theoretically it is possible). It is unlikely that Armenia's economic capacity, or rather its absence, would enable it to cope with such a huge task.