From Madrid Principles to ‘Smoking Fuse’: Nagorno-Karabakh settlement in a documentary

People in Nagorno-Karabakh have no idea about the Madrid Principles but they know for sure that the lands will not be returned.

This is the plot of the film shot by 28-year-old local film director Jivan Avetisyan, who during the past two months created “Smoking Fuse” (Tskhatsogh Patruyg) – the first documentary dedicated to the Madrid Principles that are the basis of the current Armenian-Azerbaijani talks around Nagorno-Karabakh.

As the author of the documentary explains, the Madrid Principles remind him of a fuse, which must either be put out or let alone until it blasts. (The Madrid principles imply a withdrawal of Armenian forces from several districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the return of Azeri refuges, an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for its security and self-governance and a future determination of the final legal status of the territory.

“In my film I mention that I am for Nagorno-Karabakh to be a negotiating party, because now it is high time ‘we showed our teeth.’ People in Nagorno-Karabakh are also concerned over these issues,” Avetisyan says.

Highly evaluating the existence of such films, member of the ‘Xenophobia Prevention Initiative Council’ Tigran Khachatryan said that on the one hand they are struggling for the closure of anti-Armenian websites, however, Armenian political analysts go to Russia and meet Azeri political figures who insist that Nagorno-Karabakh is western Azerbaijan.

“It means that there is a mess in the information sector, one does not know what to do – to struggle or not struggle; is Azerbaijan our enemy or friend? Heghine Bisharyan (from Orinats Yerkir Party) may say [Turkish PM Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and [Turkish FM Ahmet] Davutoglu do not make any statement, that Serzh Sargsyan does not make evident statements concerning ceding territories, however, his party members are already surrendering Aghdam,” said Khachatryan.