Lithuanian journalist-researcher: I think Nagorno-Karabakh problem is a war not between Christians and Muslims

Day.Az: Whose position of the two sides of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict seems more fair to you and why?

Gintaras Visotskas: My sympathies are with Azerbaijanis. My compliments are with Azerbaijan, which, despite the enormous loss, remained a decent state worthy of respect. Baku protects its honor and dignity only by decent means.

But this time my search was not easy. In such cases, first and foremost, I try to find out who was the first to shoot and why. Without answers to these questions it is difficult to understand the real causes of conflict situations.

I hate lies, misinformation and demagoguery. Over the last century Lithuania has endured much, lost much including territory. So I understand the pain of the Azerbaijanis from Nagorno-Karabakh tragedy.

I became closely interested in Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict a few years ago when I met with Chairman of the Society of Azerbaijanis in Lithuania Mahir Hamzayev. The event in memory of the genocide of the Azerbaijani people held in Vilnius on March 31, 2009 in the premises of Center for the Study of Genocide and Resistance of Lithuanian people particularly left a deep impression on me.

I must admit that for a long time I took side of Armenians not because I was hostile to Azerbaijanis. Simply, thanks to a powerful propaganda, a considerable number of Lithuanians believe that the Muslims are cruel, fanatical, treacherous people and are prone to crimes.

The opportunity to get to know the Muslims came in 1994, when I was invited to go to Grozny and find out what is really happening in the rebellious republic. Later, when I wrote a series of articles "From the Chechen diary" in the Lithuanian newspaper, I always emphasized that to live among the Muslims was not only simple, but pleasant.

In this case, I can only be glad that my portal was the first in Lithuania which showed "severe" version of the movie about your tragedy.

Q: What is the reason for your position? Do many people share it in Lithuania?

A: Not many likes my position in Lithuania. I frequently hear reproaches that I betray Christian ideals. Some of our "figures" have already sent me a pile of questions, like, why do I keep silent, how many Christian priests (Catholic priests) were killed in today's Turkey, what brutalities Azerbaijani soldiers committed  in Nagorno-Karabakh... But I identify provocateurs, as they say, by the smell.

Q: How it happened that as a Catholic your are more sympathetic to the Muslim Azerbaijanis living in Lithuania than to Christian Armenians?

A: I do not think that the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh is a war between Christians and Muslims. There are other things. Firstly, it is quite clear for me that Armenians would have not occupied Nagorno-Karabakh had it not been for the support of Russia's military forces. Secondly, Christianity prohibits to kill, to hurt the weaker and torture women. But in the course of military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh did Christians act as required by Christianity? My colleague Richardas Lapaytis with which your portal has recently made an exhaustive interview, told what horrors he saw while working as a military journalist on Armenian-Azerbaijani frontline. These horrors were made not by Azerbaijanis.

Furthermore, today Christianity sees not the best times. More religious Muslims can become an excellent example to Europe which loses faith.

/Day.Az/