EAFJD condemns diplomatic attempts to restrict the participation of Artsakh ensembles in the Vienna festival

ArmInfo. The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) condemns the politically motivated exclusion of the Artsakh State Orchestra of National Instruments and the "We Are Our Mountains" State Song and Dance Ensemble from the upcoming Vienna International Cultural Festival.

The EAFJD statement recalls that Zoran Strezovski, President of the World Association of Festivals (WAFA), admitted that this decision was made under direct pressure from foreign embassies that persecuted these refugee artists.

"This incident represents a blatant attempt to extend the policy of ethnic cleansing and cultural destruction beyond the South Caucasus deep into Europe. Artsakh artists, after being forcibly expelled from their ancestral homeland in 2023, are trying to preserve their intangible cultural heritage. This principle is expressly protected by the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. As numerous resolutions of the European Parliament and decisions of international courts demonstrate, the Armenian cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh is under immediate threat of destruction," the EAFJD noted.

The diaspora organization emphasized that the exclusion of the State Orchestra of National Instruments of Artsakh and the State Song and Dance Ensemble "We Are Our Mountains" is a direct attack on the human dignity, identity, and internationally recognized cultural rights of the ethnically pure indigenous Armenian peoples of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Political and diplomatic intimidation is unacceptable in a European capital. This creates a dangerous precedent for international cultural rights and freedom of expression. Preserving culture is not a political crime, and refugee artists pose no security threat." "Therefore, the EAFJD calls on the festival organizers to stand up for justice and reverse their decision to cancel the artists' participation," the diaspora organization concluded.

As a reminder, on October 23, it was announced that the participation of the Artsakh State Folk Instruments Ensemble and the "We Are Our Mountains" State Song and Dance Ensemble in the Vienna International Festival this November was cancelled following the intervention of several foreign embassies. As the organization reported at the time, Zoran Strezovski, President of the World Festivals Association (WOFA), reported that a letter received from the embassy portrayed Artsakh cultural groups as "dangerous," prompting a proposal to revoke the invitation. On October 23, he further clarified that, according to his information, several embassies intervened, accusing the Artsakh ensembles of engaging in "separatist activity," and insisted that they not be invited to the festival. In this regard, the organization demanded that the WOFA president name the embassies that intervened in the situation and provide factual grounds for the accusations made.