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NGO leaders oppose politicization of Eurovision Contest

29 May 2012 13:59 (UTC +04:00)

It is just a song contest. Thatâ€™s why it is unacceptable to politicize this contest and give a political color to itâ€, chairman of the â€œIndependent Law Centerâ€ Public Union Aydin Karimov told APA.

According to him, the politicization of this contest is contrary to Eurovision ideas and prevents cultural development in the country.

Karimov also commented on Iranâ€™s statements on the song contest and said that Iran had no right to intervene in this issue. He said that Tehranâ€™s protests were inappropriate.

As to the statements of the international organizations on Eurovision, Karimov said that such statements are made in the different countries as well and it was unacceptable to link it to Eurovision.

Chairman of â€œMedia and Civil Societyâ€ Public Union Khanoglan Ahmadov considers it wrong to politicize the Eurovision Song Contest. He said that such contests were significant from the standpoint of introducing Azerbaijan at international level and added that it was necessary to use such event to draw attention to major national problems of Azerbaijan.

As to the protests concerning the contest, Ahmadov said that they were pretexts: â€œSome song contests were held in Azerbaijan up to now, the different contests were held in Muslim countries as well. There was no action against the dignity of the believers and Islamic values in Azerbaijan during this contest.â€