Armenian chess player removed from tournament in Turkey at the request of Azerbaijani delegation

[Tigranes]

Maria Gevorgyan


The Sivas Buruciye International Open Chess Tournament-A, which began on August 19 in Turkey, refused to finance well-known Armenian chess player Maria Gevorgyan at the request of Azerbaijani participants, the Armenian media claims.

Allegedly, Azerbaijani participants threatened to withdraw from the competition themselves if she participated.

Maria Gevorgyan is an international FIDE master, a three-time champion of Armenia in women’s chess and a prize-winner of international tournaments.

• Azerbaijani sports commentator suspended for a month after racist joke

This information was published on the Facebook page of Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, who is an MP of the Armenian parliament and chairman of the standing committee on Science, Education, Culture, Diaspora, Youth and Sport.

Tournament organizers have yet to comment on the situation. The Turkish and Azerbaijani media have also kept silent on the matter.

Information from Armenia
Armenian MP Mkhitar Hayrapetyan wrote that he had received the information from “a tournament organizer by the name of Mustafa Eroglu.”

He said that he had met with the international chess master and three-time chess champion of Armenia Maria Gevorgyan and had shown her the official request, which had already been sent to the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

In his post, Hayrapetyan demands an explanation of why they did not a member of the Armenian national team from participating in the international tournament in Turkey:

“The Azerbaijani team is, in fact, trying to exert force with its racist rhetoric,” writes Hayrapetyan, demanding that FIDE “give an answer to the chess community.”

In his post, the MP also says that the Armenian football player Henrikh Mkhitaryan was unable to take part in the Europa League final in Baku as part of the British Premier League club Arsenal on May 29, 2019. Hayrapetyan accused Azerbaijan of failing to “provide a sufficient amount of security” to the Armenian athlete.

It is worth noting that there were different opinions regarding Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s refusal to participate in the Europa League final in Baku. In particular, the Azerbaijani government and the Union of European Football Associations (EUFA) had guaranteed that “Arsenal player Henrikh Mkhitaryan will have no problems in Baku.”

But the athlete himself, as well as Arsenal, decided not to risk it.

Information from Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijani repress has not reported any recent incidents between Armenian and Azerbaijani chess players. The Armenian chess team came to Baku for the World Cup and their leader, Levon Aronian, was photographed in front of the Maiden Tower. The Armenian chess players did not encounter any problems.

https://jam-news.net/armenian-chess-...ijani-players/
https://gagrule.net/bbc-armenian-che...ni-delegation/

[Tigranes]

Gevorgyan shared this on her FB page

[Armenian Bishop]

Turkey has been like a cucked older brother for Azerbaijan, they basically do whatever Baku tells them to do.

That's what went wrong with the 2009 arbitrated protocols for better diplomatic relations (without preconditions) between Turkey and Armenia. As time went on, Baku, Azerbaijan pressured Ankara, Turkey to raise the bar and make more demands after the agreements were already signed. Yerevan, Armenia couldn't accommodate the postscript demands which included concessions on the Karabakh front. After years of haggling, in March, 2018, the former Armenian President Serge Sarkisian finally disowned the entire agreement (which was riffled by Ankara's shenanigans).

"The leadership of Turkey are mistaken if they think that those documents can be held hostage forever and ratified only at the most opportune occasion from their very point of view," Sarkisian said.
https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-turk.../29071069.html

[Kivan]

This is a joke. Look at the biased source in the OP:



Now what the other link says:



https://jam-news.net/armenian-chess-...ijani-players/
https://gagrule.net/bbc-armenian-che...ni-delegation/

[Armenian Bishop]

This is a joke. Look at the biased source in the OP:


Now what the other link says:


https://jam-news.net/armenian-chess-...ijani-players/
https://gagrule.net/bbc-armenian-che...ni-delegation/

It's grimly laughable to equate Azerbaijan's News Sources with News Sources worldwide. Azerbaijan is one of the most abusive countries, in regards to crackdowns and repression against journalism. Please see below to look at samples from abusive activities perpetrated against journalists in Azerbaijan.

In 2015 Azerbaijan had the biggest number of journalists imprisoned in Europe and Central Asia, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and was the 5th most censored country in the world, ahead of Iran and China.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_..._in_Azerbaijan

“I told [Merkel] about arbitrary arrests, torture, people being killed in custody of law enforcement,” Ismayilova said. “I told her of the risks we take as journalists that is also shared by our lawyers who are disbarred for defending us.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...710_story.html

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Azerbaijan ranks among the top countries for jailing members of the media. Nine journalists are among Azerbaijan’s 158 detainees described by rights groups as political prisoners, according to Amnesty International and other watchdog organizations.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...710_story.html

A SIGH of relief greeted the 2016 release from prison of the Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova after 537 days in jail. She was unjustly incarcerated to silence her investigations of high-level corruption and cronyism.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...7ce_story.html

As a reporter, Ms. Ismayilova uncovered hidden financial links in the telecommunications, construction, gold mining, hotel, media and airline services industries in Azerbaijan. Then, in 2014, she was arrested and imprisoned. The money flows and property holdings she exposed belonged to Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, and his family, who used their positions to vastly enrich themselves.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...7ce_story.html

Washington, D.C., May 29, 2019 -- Azerbaijani authorities should drop the charges against journalist Anar Mammadov and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
https://cpj.org/2019/05/azerbaijani-...-suspended.php

"Informing the general public about important events is what journalists do, and authorities should support that work instead of punishing reporters," said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said in New York. "Azerbaijani authorities should not contest Anar Mammadov's appeal and should allow him to work without fear of reprisal."
https://cpj.org/2019/05/azerbaijani-...-suspended.php

"Azerbaijani authorities relentlessly campaign against independent reporters who expose corruption, injustice, and lies, and have stepped up their repressive tactics by leveling charges of treason," Gulnoza Said, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said in New York. "Azerbaijani authorities should immediately release journalists Ikram Rahimov and Polad Aslanov and drop all charges against them."
https://cpj.org/2019/06/two-journali...-in-azerba.php

[Tigranes]

https://twitter.com/sputnik_TR/statu...49605335052291

The majority of Turkish users on Twitter seem to approve this cowardly move.

[Tigranes]

https://twitter.com/sputnik_TR/statu...49605335052291

The majority of Turkish users on Twitter seem to approve this cowardly move.