Baku: Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the Center for Analysis of International Relations and Multiculturalism (AIR Center), has addressed a letter to The Guardian regarding its review of The Black Garden, a documentary directed by an Armenian filmmaker.
According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, Shafiyev’s letter expresses concern over the review’s false and one-sided portrayal of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. He argues that the article fails to provide essential historical and political context, particularly regarding the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, the displacement of the Azerbaijani population, and the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The letter highlights the review’s depiction of the conflict, which casts Azerbaijan as the aggressor while portraying Armenians as victims. Shafiyev points out that this narrative omits significant details, such as Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territories and the ethnic cleansing campaigns that displaced up to 700,000 Azerbaijanis.
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afiyev criticizes the review for failing to acknowledge the UN Security Council resolutions from 1993, which demanded the withdrawal of occupying forces from Azerbaijani territory and reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s sovereignty. He emphasizes that the occupation resulted in widespread destruction, including the devastation of cities like Aghdam, which was likened to the ‘Hiroshima of the Caucasus.’
The letter also addresses the selective framing of events, such as the portrayal of the Talish village, without adequate context of the military and political circumstances. Shafiyev argues that this selective portrayal serves a broader political and information campaign aimed at preserving the traditional Armenian narrative and hindering normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.
The Guardian’s review acknowledges the need for more detailed sociopolitical context, a point underscored by Shafiyev. He warns that narratives reinforcing the binary logic of Armenian victims versus Azerbaijani aggressors strengthen forces
opposing normalization and complicate peace efforts led by Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.