PARIS, France, July 15. Azerbaijani journalists were killed by Armenian separatists and terrorists not by accident, but because they told the truth, the Head of Baku Network analytical center, Elchin Aghajanov, said, Trend reports.
He made the remark at the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the memory of Azerbaijani journalist-martyrs brutally killed by Armenian occupants during the First and Second Karabakh wars.
"The word that is spoken in the presence of memory should sound quieter than usual. It should come not from the desire to speak, but from the impossibility of remaining silent. Today, we have gathered to call aloud the names of those who can no longer echo. Thirteen journalists. Thirteen destinies. Thirteen voices that have been interrupted. Not by wind, not by illness, not by time. But by a gunshot. An explosion. A fall. A cold and purposeful desire to silence. They were killed by Armenian separatists and terrorists. Killed not by accident. They were killed because they spoke the truth. I will call them heroes, even though they did not strive for heroism. None of them sought death. They were just doing a job. They were just going on a mission, climbing into a helicopter, walking along a road where there used to be people, and now there are only mines left. They'd just turn on a tape recorder. They just set up a tripod. They just asked questions. They were killed for this ‘just’," Aghajanov said.
He noted that these thirteen people were targeted because a word is scarier than a bullet.
"Because a photograph of a destroyed house can shatter a lie. Because accurate reporting exposes the darkness in which crime hides. One of them was killed by a sniper's bullet - the shot went straight through the heart. Another was killed by an explosion as he drove along a road where, in the words of those who booby-trapped it, there should have been no more life. One never made it to the negotiations - the helicopter did not return. The other was shot at point-blank range. That's not how one shoots a person; it's how one shoots for meaning. As Erich Maria Remarque wrote, in war, a journalist is always the target. He is killed not for what he is, but for what he can tell. And in this fear of the killers is the truth of their guilt. Azerbaijan knows the price of truth. For thirty years of Armenian occupation of 20 percent of its territory, my country and people have paid a high price for it," Aghajanov added.
The head of the Baku Network noted that Armenia occupied one-fifth of Azerbaijani land and held it hostage like a criminal who is afraid of light.
"Those thirteen journalists were eyes that saw through the smoke. They were voices that would not allow the pain to be drowned out. They were consciences that tried to be trampled, but which straighten up even when they lie on the ground. Today we are in Paris. A city where every word is measured by centuries of culture. Here, amidst these walls, voices from Karabakh are heard. Thirteen voices. Not loudly. Not from the podiums. But as if in a whisper-but a whisper that can be heard through time," he said.
Aghajanov emphasized that Azerbaijan has achieved liberation of its land, restored its borders, and put an end to the thirty-year tragedy.
"However, this point is not silent. It is the beginning of the speech. The beginning of telling what was happening. The beginning of making sure that every perpetrator, every person, every name responsible for these murders has been named. Has been found. Was convicted. Because the truth doesn't die. Even when those who speak it are killed. The truth is like a seed: you can bury it, but it sprouts.
So these journalists weren't just fighting bullets. They were fighting lies. Distortion. They fought fakery. They fought against fakes. Against planting. Against hybrid warfare that began long before the release and continues to this day.
They were confronted by an enemy who had no face - only shadows. An enemy that spreads fear and panic, not only through weapons, but also through the distortion of the truth. These thirteen men did battle on this invisible front. They died because they did not back down. I am here today, not as a politician. Nor as a diplomat. I am here as a voice. Not my own. But theirs. Because the voice of truth doesn't go away. It's just waiting to be heard again. Listen. It's not a performance. This is an echo. This is memory," he concluded.
Baku Network think tank raised the topic of Azerbaijani journalists killed as a result of Armenian aggression for the first time in Europe by holding several events.
An exhibition was organized in Paris, within the framework of which BN presented materials about the martyred journalists to the public. The event was attended by representatives of the French public, French and foreign journalists.
The event was held at the Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Paris as part of the Baku Network project entitled “Analysis of Hybrid and Ideological Threats against Azerbaijan”. The exhibition was organized with the support of the State Support Agency for Non-Governmental Organizations of Azerbaijan and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in France.
Booklets commemorating martyred journalists were distributed to visitors at the exhibition and to guests attending the presentation marking the 25th anniversary of Icherisheher’s inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The event was held at UNESCO headquarters during the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee.
