My family has recently started watching Eurovision since we have more access to it. Last year, I remember we were all sitting around the computer watching the whole competition. I think it is a good way to connect all the countries in Europe. This year, since the competition is being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, I was a bit concerned about what was going to happen. Initially I was very excited about the contest. Call me innocent, but I thought that maybe this would be a way for Azerbaijan and Armenia to look somewhat united in some way. But after recent events, I know that to be impossible.

The first event is that on February 28, 2012, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev in a speech said, “Our main enemies are Armenians of the world and the hypocritical and corrupt politicians under their control. The politicians who don’t wish to see the truth and are engaged in denigrating Azerbaijan in different parts of the world.”

After a statement like that, I think it would be ill-advised for Armenians to send a group to Eurovision in Azerbaijan. It is funny because the last time I heard something that horrible was when I was listening to Al Qaeda broadcasts.

On March 7^th, 2012, Armenian Public Television officially informed the European Broadcasting Union of their withdrawal from the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.

It has been all over the news that Armenians are shunning Eurovision. But I think that every single country should try to look at it from the Armenians’ point of view.  If the president of a country called your country ‘the enemy,’ would you send any of your citizens to that country? We all know the answer to that.

The second event is Khojaly. Instead of being friendly neighbors, Azerbaijan has not only denied the Armenian Genocide but also made claims of their own ‘Genocide.’ Some of the facts to their ‘Genocide’ are still hazy to many people.

I wish I could say the world is a safe and amazingly fair place but it is not. But we, as people and as countries, show our true colors when it comes to hard decision making. Armenia is protecting its own people by not sending them to Baku. What is Azerbaijan doing? You tell me.