Mens Europa lørdag aften holdt europæisk melodi grand-prix i Aserbajdsjan i det østlige Kaukasus og svenskerne vandt en overvældende sejr, har flere opsætsige musikere fra værtslandet måttet gå i eksil efter forfølgelse i den gamle sovjet-republik.
Det skriver den globale NGO mod musikcensur, FREEMUSE, der har verdenssekretariat i København, i en pressemeddelelse fredag.
In a video interview with Freemuse, Azer Cirttan talks about censorship, fear and Eurovision from his exile in Holland. He feels that anything can happen to anyone who is as loudly outspoken as he is in some of his songs.
Another artist, rapper and guitarist Jamal Ali fled his home country on 16 May 2012.
In an interview with Human Rights Watch, Jamal described how police officers tortured him for two days, placing a bag on his head and beating him with a truncheon (knippel), after he and his bassist were detained after a performance at an anti-government rally in March 2012.
These are examples of the ugly realities behind the image of happy, smiling people and postmodern architecture, which Azerbaijan presents to the hundreds of millions tv viewers, FREEMUSE states.
Should Eurovision be stopped?
Several activists have called for an international boycott of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan over concerns about the country’s poor human rights record and clampdowns on dissidents.
The Eurovision Song Contest is produced under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The EBU has come under fierce criticism for not using the Eurovision occasion to confront Azerbaijan on its human rights record.
This is seen as a setback for artists, journalists and others in Azerbaijan standing up for freedom of speech.
“The human rights situation is extremely severe in the host country, but Freemuse does not advocate cultural boycotts as such”, says journalist Ole Reitov, Freemuse Programme Manager:
“Their effects are doubtful and can even have negative effects for those artists who represent important oppositional voices. EBU certainly could have made more ‘noise’. However, the Eurovision event has led to an increased focus on the situation for artists’ rights to freedom of expression,” Ole Reitov notes, adding:
“We hope the media and international human rights organisations will continue to monitor the violations of musicians and other artists’ rights to freedom of expression in Azerbaijan when the spotlights in Baku fades. Freemuse certainly will continue documenting this… even on Monday.”
Related music
Jamal Ali’s new song and music video ‘Vermisel’
Published 16 May 2012 on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=naylKpnnCyo
After just one week this video had been seen by more than 30.000 viewers.
1:38 in the video, the lyrics of the song go:
“I was beaten for what I said
Shoved into the police car
They showed on AZTV [1st governmental channel]
and called us bandits
What? Am I not right?
My house is demolished
I’m homeless, no roof over my head
Is Eurovision what I need now?”
Related documentation
Jamal Ali: Rock musician flees to Germany over concerns for his safety – se
www.freemuse.org/sw47686.asp
Azer Cirttan: Interview (text and video) with exiled singer and composer Azer Cirttan from Azerbaijan – se
www.freemuse.org/sw46307.asp
Freemuse articles and seminars on cultural boycott:
www.freemuse.org/sw12614.asp
http://freemuse.org/sw47789.asp
Generelt om menneskeretskritikken:
Voksende kritik har rejst sig mod den olie- og naturgasrige værtsnation, Aserbajdsjan, som langt fra lever op til de europæiske standarder for demokrati og menneskerettigheder, skønt landet har været medlem af Europarådet siden 2001.
Modargumentet fra EBU, European Broadcast Union, der står bag melodi grand prixet, har været, at sang og underholdning ikke har noget med politik at gøre.
Ilham Aliyevs præsidentfrue har imidlertid været øverste ansvarlige for at arrangere grand prixet, svigersønnen stod for pauseunderholdningen og talrige demonstranter er fængslet i den uge, hvor eurovisions-cirkusset har slået lejr i hovedstaden Baku.
Desuden drev Aserbajdsjans sikkerhedspoliti klapjagt på borgere, som vovede at stemme på ærkefjenden Armenien ved grand prixet i 2009.
Systemkritikere chikaneres, mens kritiske journalister bliver overfaldet, fængslet, truet til stilhed og i værste faldt slået ihjel. Ifølge International Media Support sidder mindst syv journalister p.t. fængslet på tvivlsomme anklager.
Organisationen Reporters Without Borders placerer Aserbajdsjan som nummer 162 ud af 179 lande på listen over pressefrihed.
Systemkritikere frygter konsekvenserne, når kameraerne igen har vendt ryggen til Aserbajdsjan.
Yderligere oplysninger hos:
Programme Manager Ole Reitov, tlf. 23 23 27 65
FREEMUSE on FREEMUSE:
Freemuse is an independent international organisation which advocates freedom of expression for musicians and composers worldwide. The organisation’s home page, freemuse.org, is the world’s largest knowledge base on music censorship.
For more information about Freemuse, its activities and publications, see www.freemuse.org
