Epress.am News from Armenia
A statement published on the official Eurovision website Wednesday issues a word of caution to the government of Azerbaijan to provide guarantees on security and freedom of expression, as well as sufficient entrance visas during the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.
“In line with standard requirements that have to be fulfilled to host the Eurovision Song Contest, the government of Azerbaijan has been requested by the EBU [European Broadcasting Union] to provide guarantees about security during the event, as well as freedom of expression, according to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and in line with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, to all participants, fans, accredited journalists and the individual citizens of the country that access official Eurovision Song Contest premises.
“The EBU also requested that all accredited individuals and ticket holders shall receive sufficient entrance visa for the required duration. Such guarantees are expected to be given in the weeks to come,” reads the statement, as first reported by the blog Unzipped.
As Escdaily rightly pointed out: “Such words are more than likely to refer to the question of Armenia’s participation, VISA entry requirements, and questions about press freedom in the would-be host country.”
Escdaily also notes that as of yet, “the EBU has not explicitly confirmed that the show will take place in Baku for certain, with this subject to Icimati [Azerbaijan’s Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company] being able to fulfill EBU requirements.”