Baku, Azerbaijan, July 27
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
"Zhara" is primarily an international music festival, it should not be politicized, but should be perceived as an event taking place in the sphere of culture, Member of Azerbaijani Parliament Hikmet Babaoglu said July 27.
The Azerbaijani MP noted that, if this issue is approached in this context, the participation of one or another artist in the festival will be one of the least important issues.
"Because this refers to art, culture, music, and this event serves the promotion of Azerbaijani culture, Azerbaijani music. Therefore, the artificial hype, which some people attempt to create in social networks and media structures, is inappropriate. Our lands have been occupied by Armenia, and we cannot be at war with everyone because of this country. On the contrary, we need friends to solve the problem. If the Russian singer, a native of Armenia of Kurdish origin Zara, who is a citizen of Russia, expresses respect for Azerbaijani culture, music, Baku city, recognized in the world as the capital of multiculturalism, wants to come here, sing in our language, then, in my opinion, it should be perceived normally," Babaoglu said.
He noted that, Azerbaijan is recognized as a tolerant country in the world.
"Therefore, a somewhat restrained and cold-blooded attitude to such issues can lead to more objective reflections. But, unfortunately, individuals and entities with a realistic attitude are attacked for it in some cases. The international music festival "Zhara" has already begun, and has aroused much interest this time, too, like every previous year. This music festival will be remembered as one of the important events that has contributed to the promotion of Azerbaijani music, art and Azerbaijani realities," Babaoglu said.