Armenia: Yerevan Authorities Obstruct Nagorno-Karabakh Documentary Project
Armenian authorities denied entry on March 10 to a European Union-based television documentary crew that is taking an independent look at the Nagorno-Karabkah conflict.
Foreigners routinely obtain visas at Yerevan airport, provided they have appropriate support paperwork. The four-member television crew -- comprising a Lithuanian, Finn and two Estonians – all had valid documentation needed to obtain a visa. Yet, according to an executive producer of the project, Andrius Brokas, border officials denied the crew entry.
A representative of the Armenian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the crew had been barred from entering the country, citing technical reasons. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not grant visas inside the country upon arrival," the ministry representative claimed. "In addition, they did not address us for accreditation according to the set procedure."
Speaking by phone from Helsinki, Finland, Brokas said the documentary crew, is working on the documentary for broadcast by the Finnish National Broadcasting Company YLE. The group had coordinated the project with a local Armenian partner, AZD, a Yerevan-based production company. AZD representatives had assured Brokas that all necessary permissions had been obtained for four days of filming in Karabakh and three in Yerevan.
The television crew may have encountered problems at Yerevan airport because former president and current opposition leader, Levon Ter-Petrosian, was among the individuals lined up for interviews. The documentary project also has conducted its own investigation into the Khojaly tragedy of 1992. Azerbaijani officials assert that Armenian forces slaughtered hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians in the incident.
The television crew spent the night at the airport, Brokas said. The Yerevan-based ambassador of Lithuania, which currently holds the chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, reached out to Armenian officials in an attempt to resolve the issue.
Justin Burke is Eurasianet's publisher.
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