Correspondents of PanARMENIAN.Net news agency and Azg newspaper representing Armenia at the exhibition festival of press and information agencies in Tehran have decided to boycott the event.

“As the Iranian side failed to keep its promise and return the photograph of We and Our Mountains memorial, placing a photo of Yerevan fountains instead, we took the decision to boycott the event. The Armenian delegation will circulate the statement among the other participants of the exhibition, afterwards we will close the pavilion,” PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent Yekaterina Poghosyan said.

The statement says:

“Dear colleagues,

We, the correspondents of PanARMENIAN.Net and Azg newspaper, representing Armenia at the exhibition festival of press and information agencies, apologize for ceasing our participation over the unsatisfactory organization of the event, during which media freedom is being infringed and limitations are imposed on materials providing information about our country. We express our indignation at the fact that the exhibition organizers disallow placement of We and Our Mountains monument image on our stand, thus yielding to provocative acts of the Azerbaijani delegation, which used the event to push on anti-Armenian propaganda and claims to the historical Armenian land, Artsakh. With the exhibition organizers failing to keep their promise and return the photograph of the monument to the Armenian pavilion as well as to ensure security of the Armenian delegation, we consider our further participation in the event to be impossible.”

A photograph of Artsakh’s symbol - We and Our Mountains memorial which was featured in the Armenian pavilion at the 17th media exhibition in Tehran aroused indignation of the Azerbaijani delegation. While the correspondents from PanARMENIAN.Net and Azg were preparing their pavilion for opening, the Azerbaijanis were closely following the action. After the map of Armenia and Artsakh Republic was stuck to the stand, they first demanded that the map and the image of the monument should be removed but then, without waiting for any decision by the exhibition management, one of them burst into the pavilion and tore away the map. It’s also worth mentioning that the Azerbaijanis called the Turkish delegation to protect their interests. Attempts to draw the infuriated Azerbaijani aside attracted attention of a dozen of foreign attendees.