Increasing Azerbaijan’s role in information war will lead to victory – Elvin Talyshinsky
Today, the success of Azerbaijani diplomacy in the fight against fake Armenian propaganda around the world pleases every Azerbaijani. If we pay attention to the recent events, we will see that the successes of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the information war with Armenia and its foreign diaspora have become the subject of discussion and analysis both in our country and abroad.
As President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev noted in his speeches, our country has lived for many years in the conditions of an information war that the world Armenian lobby is waging against us. For many years, Armenia, using the information space of Russia, the United States and the West, waged an active war against our republic and managed to form an oppressed image with the help of lies and slanderous articles in newspapers and magazines, radio and television programs. At the same time, the Armenian side, taking advantage of the Armenian diaspora and the lobby in the West and the United States, was able to prevent Azerbaijan, isolated from the world media, from communicating these realities to the world community in a timely manner, despite the Armenian aggression and terror.
However, in the early 1990s, Armenian slanderous propaganda, which presented to the world community Armenians as a peace-loving people, and Azerbaijanis (Turks in general) as aggressors and disinformation based on slander in Europe, gradually began to be exposed in the years of our independence. Many changes have taken place in our foreign policy over the years of independence. One of the important conditions of the information war was the broad promotion of the main international projects in the information space, which brought success to Azerbaijan, in which Heydar Aliyev plays an important role. Of course, at the same time, the active participation and cooperation of the Republic of Azerbaijan with international and regional organizations is one of the important factors in foreign policy, many of which have already accepted the aggressive policy of Armenia and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan. Resolutions and decisions of international organizations condemning the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan are among the achievements of our republic in the field of information war.
In general, if we compare the current situation in the information war with Armenia with the situation in the early 90s, we can see that our country has made great strides in this area. If during the collapse of the USSR the Armenian side was ahead of Azerbaijan in the information war, now the Azerbaijani side, first of all, methodically wages an information war and is dominant in the information space. That is why Azerbaijan should increase its activity in the information sphere in order to prepare the world community for the inevitability of a military solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Today the superiority of Azerbaijan in the information space is clearly expressed.
In general, information warfare can be defined by two meanings. The first is information warfare – the impact on the civilian population and (or) the military personnel of another state through the dissemination of certain information. Secondly, an information war is a complex of targeted measures taken against an adversary to achieve superiority, while simultaneously protecting their information, information processes and information systems.
It should be noted that any conflict between people, societies, countries, nations is primarily associated with information systems. A person needs information to make any decisions in life. Information not only allows for optimal action in times of conflict, but also allows for the most targeted action and management of systems. Information has long been a unique “source” of attack and defense that has been used as a separate weapon, but only recently have theories emerged that can be used for information warfare methodology. In this context, the expansion of the information war should become an important element of the offensive diplomacy announced by the President of Azerbaijan.
Undoubtedly, the main task of bringing the truth about our republic to the world community lies with our compatriots living abroad and the formed Azerbaijani diaspora. Today we can say with confidence that a lot has been done in this direction as a result of the foreign policy of the independent Azerbaijan state. The Azerbaijani diaspora, operating in many countries and large cities of the world, today is more actively waging an information war with the Armenian lobby and the diaspora. In many places, lies are exposed, fabricated by the centuries-old Armenian propaganda machine. This is the success of the foreign policy of the Azerbaijani state.
After another provocation committed by Armenia in the direction of the Tovuz region on July 12, Azerbaijanis living abroad demonstrated and in time were able to convey the true voice of Azerbaijan to the international community, and the high solidarity of the diaspora and our lobby put the Armenian lobby in a dilemma. After the last provocation committed by Armenia on our border, millions of Azerbaijanis all over the world rose to their feet and united. Our compatriots living abroad have joined rallies in support of Baku and have held large-scale, permitted and peaceful demonstrations in many cities around the world. Thanks to the propaganda demonstrations carried out by the organizations of the Azerbaijani diaspora at a high level, the Armenian aggression, Armenian provocations in the direction of the Tovuz region were brought to the attention of the world community. This message of Azerbaijan was heard in the USA, Europe, Russia and other countries and still remains one of the topics of serious discussion. This worries Armenian nationalists and the ruling clan in Armenia, who understand that the problem is so serious. Because, thanks to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, they have been financed by the foreign lobby for many years and live comfortably. That is why today they invent and spread lies about “Azerbaijan’s aggression against the Armenian people.”
However, Azerbaijan must continue to intensify its information war against Armenia and strengthen its previous achievements in this area. The greatest impact can be exerted by the periodic placement of information and materials reflecting the real position of Azerbaijan in the world’s leading media, especially in the USA, Europe and Russia, which are traditionally considered the “field of activity” of the Armenian side. One of the main tasks of the Azerbaijani media and our diaspora living abroad will be information support for the course pursued by our state on the implementation of a military-political solution to the Karabakh conflict in case of failure of peace negotiations.
Today all over the world there is only one reality that is not a secret to anyone and does not require proof: Armenia occupied Azerbaijani territories. There are many facts confirming the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia. One of them is the decision of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights of June 16, 2015. The decision of the European Court of Human Rights is a document that reflects a legal obligation. The court confirmed that Armenia, being a false state, waged an aggressive war against Azerbaijan. In addition, it should be noted four UN resolutions, uniting 193 countries, which condemn the Armenian aggression, as well as resolutions of the PACE, OSCE, etc.
We must take into account that for more effective management of public opinion, Armenia, with the help of the diaspora and the lobby, can spread disinformation (false information) simultaneously through print and electronic media, television, and the Internet. Therefore, representatives of the Azerbaijani media, every compatriot living abroad, our foreign-language political scientists must expose false information aimed at disinformation in our foreign and domestic policies. Because this information is often disseminated in our country through the Armenian media. Representatives of the Azerbaijani media, users of social networks should take into account these points, remembering that the information provided to the media, guided by the Law on State Secrets, is aimed at protecting the national interests of Azerbaijan and fulfilling international obligations.
I believe that in this direction we need to fight with restraint, reasonably, in accordance with state policy and within the framework of our nationality. The fact that Azerbaijanis all over the world demonstrate unity is a very important factor and a big message for Armenians. At the same time, almost every Azerbaijani seeks to convey the truth about Azerbaijan to the world community through social networks and media in different languages.
Elvin Talyshinsky
political scientist, candidate of political sciences
