De Waal weighs in on "damage" from Baku park with dummies of ArmeniansApril 15, 2021 - 11:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - British journalist and writer on the Caucasus Thomas de Waal has commented on Azerbaijan's new "war trophy park" with dummies of Armenian soldiers and helmets of fallen Karabakh servicemen. De Waal's remarks came after the authors of what they described as "sculptures" said: "We tried to create the most realistic representations. It was a long and difficult process. We gave them hooked noses, flat heads and other features." On April 12, the President of Azerbaijan attended the opening of a “park” dedicated to Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war in Baku, where alongside Armenian military equipment seized during hostilities, wax figures of what Azerbaijan claims to be Armenian servicemen, as well as their personal belongings and the helmets of fallen Armenian troops were also displayed. "Horrible. The Jewish part of me feels this acutely. In the 19thC Caucasus “hook-nosed” “greedy” Armenians echoed anti-Semitic tropes in Europe. Now a young sculptor studying in Venice repeats it today," De Wall said in a tweet. "I’m glad to see Azerbaijanis rejecting this, but big damage has been done," he added, although most Azerbaijanis on social media platforms seem to be defending the park. Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. The United States believes there should be an international mission to provide transparency. Partner news | Turkey extends military presence in Azerbaijan The Turkish parliament has adopted a bill submitted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend the mandate of Turkish troops. Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills Armenian, Saudi Foreign Minister meet in Riyadh The two commended the positive dynamics of the development of political dialogue between Armenia and Saudi Arabia Pashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”. |