Foreign

Foreign

Political maps printed by Latvian publishing house describe occupied Azerbaijani territories as disputed area â€“ PHOTOSESSION

Political maps printed by Latvian publishing house describe occupied Azerbaijani territories as disputed area â€“<font color=red> PHOTOSESSION</font>

04 April 2011 14:27 (UTC +04:00)

Vilnius. Rustam Mikayilli â€“ APA. The political maps printed by Latvia-based JÄÅ†a SÄ“ta publishing house showed the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenian Armed Forces as disputed area between the two Caucasian countries. The publishing house, which has significant position in the Baltic countries market, also showed the flag of the so-called â€œNagorno Karabakh Republicâ€.

Editor-in-chief of JÄÅ†a SÄ“ta LLC Janis Turlais commented on the fact in his interview to APA.
â€œOur cartography observes its principles â€“ to show de facto and de jure areas. From legal point of view Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan, but actually it has been under Armeniaâ€™s control for 20 years, we have shown this area on the map with hachures. Large-size maps have spots for special notice and we explain the situation there. Unfortunately, small-size maps have no spots for explanation. But we are not going to describe Abkhazia, South Ossetia or Karabakh as a separate state,â€ he said.

Janis Turlais explained why the publishing house marked the occupied territories with special color.
â€œWe draw these maps for the citizens of the Baltic states. We want our citizens to know where they can travel, and where they can not. The color of the hachure tells much. Azerbaijanâ€™s territory is described in orange, the occupied territories in white and orange. One of the targets of our cartography is to inform the users about Nagorno Karabakh problem,â€ he said.

According to editor-in-chief, this approach does not cause negative reaction of the Azerbaijani side.
â€œI meet with my colleagues from Azerbaijan and Georgia at Frankfurt Book Fair. There are various approaches. Armenians want the map to describe Nagorno Karabakh in the similar color with Armenia. But Nagorno Karabakhâ€™s independence is not recognized. We do not have ground to describe Azerbaijani territories in other color. I visited Baku last May and met with head of Baku Cartography Factory and chairman of the State Committee for Land and Cartography. We drew Azerbaijanâ€™s special administrative maps,â€ he said.

Latvian cartographer considers that Azerbaijan does not express its position well enough.
â€œAzerbaijanâ€™s position is not heard on the international level. We hear only Armeniaâ€™s position. Azerbaijani mass media prefer to keep silence concerning the occupation of 20 percent of the countryâ€™s territories. You should speak louder and prove that you are right,â€ he said.

The political map of Europe printed by JÄÅ†a SÄ“ta publishing house and used in the Baltic states described the occupied Azerbaijani territories, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Transnistria and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with similar hachures.