A TALE OF TWO GIFT BASKETS

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A TALE OF TWO GIFT BASKETS

Ian Bremmer

 

Foreign Policy

http://eurasia.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/01/26/a_tale_of_two_gift_baskets

Jan 26 2012

 

When I got to my Davos hotel room, I was greeted by two gifts. One

was to be expected: greetings from the CEO of Nestle along with boxed

chocolates. Thoroughly Swiss and thoroughly appreciated.

 

The second? The most politically controversial gift I have ever

received.

 

The Heydar Aliyev Foundation, run by Azerbaijan's First Lady Mehriban

Aliyeva, supplied guests with a CD set, dubbed the Voices of Garabagh.

 

It wasn't until I opened up the package and read on that I saw what

it was driving at. It was a statement regarding the Garabagh region

between Azerbaijan and Armenia, delivered from a starkly one-sided

point of view:

 

"Unfortunately the conflict ignited as a result of unfair territorial

claims brought against Azerbaijan. The occupation by Armenian invaders

of Garabagh... [has] turned the bright representatives of the Mugham

art into internally displaced people... grief, sorrow, and melancholy

is being felt today in their performance."

 

The package was giftwrapped in cellophane, so it was sure to be missed

by any personnel intent on keeping such subjective perspective out of

the hotel rooms. You have to hand it to this Azeri organization for

so craftily injecting their thoughts into the summit. The takeaway:

Davos truly is the biggest annual global political event -- and you

can't underestimate how far actors will go to get their message heard

on the global stage.

 

There are, of course, more technological and readily available

avenues for communication that are boosting the reach and immediacy

of messages around the world. This is a theme I'll continue to discuss

in conjunction with global democratic trends.

 

Mugham melancholia notwithstanding, I have yet to make time for the

CD itself -- Davos has done its best to keep me busy. And I'll do my

best to keep you posted.