Armenia's decision to take part in European Games in Baku despite threats is victory for sport diplomacy

Armenia's decision to take part in the first-ever European Games in Azerbaijan, which take place this month, was a victory of sorts for sport diplomacy, RFE/RL article reads.

According to the article, the two countries have been feuding for 25 years over the fate of Nagorno Karabakh. More than 30,000 people were killed there in a war in the early 1990s. So there was cheering when Armenia's National Olympic Committee (NOCA) announced in March that it planned to send athletes to the games. But not everyone in Armenia was pleased, and two high-profile athletes, both Greco-Roman wrestlers and both medal winners from the 2012 London Olympic Games: silver medalist Arsen Julfalakian and bronze medalist Artur Aleksanian and his father and coach, Gevorg Aleksanian, are staying away from the games for security concerns.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Armenian Service, Julfalakian said his decision was based on the bad experience he had in Baku in 2007 when Azerbaijan hosted the Greco-Roman wrestling world championships. Julfalakian said he and his teammates felt like "prisoners" and were shadowed constantly by Azerbaijani security forces. "Even going to the bathroom was done under a tight security watch," the 28-year-old wrestler said. "A security guard checked it in advance and only after that could we use the bathroom. We were separated from the public; we couldn't go into the city."

Julfalakian said he's convinced things will be the same at the European Games, despite Azerbaijani assurances that Armenian athletes will be treated like everyone else. "No matter how much they say that there will be equal conditions, it is one thing to say it and another thing to do it. I say this not just because I think so -- I've seen it," Julfalakian said. He explained that in 2007, when the Armenian athletes arrived to compete in the Greco-Roman championships, they were taken to their hotel on a bus with a Turkish flag on it and were told it was "to avoid any attack." "No vehicle could come close to our hotel. Only Armenians and ethnic Armenians from foreign countries lived in that hotel, with the exception of, I think, Switzerland. The whole beach was cordoned off by police. There was one fully armed soldier every 15 meters,” he added.

According to RFE/RL, Armenia is sending 25 athletes to compete in six disciplines ranging from tae kwon do and judo to boxing and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxer Hovhannes Bachkov told RFE/RL's Armenian Service that he is used to the hostile crowds in Azerbaijan, having performed there twice in the past. "The whistles and screams used to bother me, but it shouldn't bother me now since I experienced it there before," Bachkov said in a recent interview.

Another boxer, Samvel Barseghian, sees the games as a chance to defend Armenia's national honor. "We realize that it is going to be difficult there," Barseghian told RFE/RL. "But in some sense it is also a great opportunity, a chance to have the flag of our country raised in Azerbaijan, a chance to uphold the honor of our nation."

According to the article, many in the international community welcomed Armenia's decision to go to the games, viewing any interaction between the two rivals as positive. James Warlick, the U.S. diplomat who co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group mediating talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh, called the decision "good news" in a tweet back in March. He hoped Azerbaijan would also welcome the decision.

As the article has it, critics accuse Baku of using the event to try to whitewash the country's poor human rights record. "No one should be fooled by the glitz and glamor of the international show Azerbaijan is putting on to portray a squeaky-clean international reputation and attract foreign business,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's director for Europe and Central Asia.

After the Vice-President of the Azerbaijani National Olympic Committee, Chingiz Huseynzade, declared that the host country will cover all the expenses of the 50 delegations taking part in the Games, including the Armenian delegation, Azerbaijan saw a rise of a wave of calls to refuse hosting the European Games because of the financial crisis. The chief operating officer of the First European Games Baku 2015, Simon Clegg, told the journalists during a press briefing that the Armenian sportsmen will cover their own expenses for the competition. The head of the so-called “Karabakh Liberation Organization” (KLO), Akif Nagi, voiced yet another threat to the Armenian national team. “We will not give the representatives of Armenia the chance to visit Baku. Otherwise we will take any measure to hinder them and even drive them out of Baku,” Nagi said.

On 12-28 June, Baku will host the first European Games under the auspices of the European Olympic Committee. According to media estimates, the Games will cost the Azerbaijani population $10 billion. However, they have become a serious headache for the locals with numerous bans and demolition of property. The preparatory works for the Games are accompanied by crackdowns and brutal repressions against dissent.