Controversial CD's distribution prevented by the embassy

Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Turkish Daily News
ISTANBUL

"The map placed on the CD depicts Azerbaijani territories Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan, Nagorny-Karabakh, Lachin and Kelbecer, which were occupied by the Armenians in 1993 as belonging to Armenia
[...]
The ministry replied that the map designer was an employee known for his “patriotic feelings,” adding that it was not possible to place all the geographical details on such a small map."

A music CD containing national anthems of Turkic Republics, which was released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, caused a controversy. The map placed on the CD depicts Azerbaijani territories Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan, Nagorny-Karabakh, Lachin and Kelbecer, which were occupied by the Armenians in 1993 as belonging to Armenia, reported the daily Milliyet yesterday.

The music album with the national anthems of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan was sent to Turkish embassies in the Turkic Republics to be distributed to the public and presented to the diplomats of the mentioned countries in Ankara.

Cultural Advisor of the Turkish Embassy to Baku Fethi Gedikli noticed that the map covering the CDs included false information, showing Azerbaijani land as part of Armenia and warned the embassy not to distribute the CDs, fearing that it might lead to diplomatic tensions between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Informing the Ministry of Culture on February 21 of the incident, the Turkish Embassy to Baku requested the elimination of the mistake. The ministry replied that the map designer was an employee known for his “patriotic feelings,” adding that it was not possible to place all the geographical details on such a small map.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.