YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–The mass media of Azerbaijan have recently published articles and shown programs on TV telling about the "fruitful work" of Azerbaijan’s national security agencies in exposing "terrorist–spying and subversive activities of Armenia’s special services in Azeri territory," the Public Relations Department of the ROA Ministry of National Security said in a newsletter.
According to the Ministry–the Azeri mass media reported that since the beginning of the Karabakh war the special services of Armenia–organizing 32 terrorist acts in the territory of Azerbaijan–are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent people. The same sources cite data suggesting that since 1992 the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan exposed 157 spies and terrorists. The placement of the prominent Armenian writer and publicist Zori Balayan on the list of wanted by Interpol as an exposed terrorist is described by the Ministry as nonsense.
"The point of the mentioned press articles and TV reports is to "prove" that terrorism in Armenia has become an official policy," the Ministry said in the newsletter. According to the Ministry–"It is clear that the secret services of Azerbaijan–repeatedly committing acts of sabotage on the borders with Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh–as well as in the Marneuli region of Georgia–on the communication lines leading to Armenia (In the period of 1993-94 the gas pipeline was blown 13 times)–seeking to vindicate themselves–accuse the Armenian side–primarily in the eyes of the international community–of having plotted and committed acts of sabotage in Azerbaijan. To substantiate their claims–the special services of Azerbaijan fabricate materials and later publish ‘the uncivilized methods of work of Armenia’s special services.’" Then the Ministry says that it is for this purpose that people whose actions and behavior confirm their links with Azerbaijan’s special services arrive in Armenia occasionally; and these people are used as a "bait" to catch Armenia’s national security agencies–which–if successful–would have made it possible to give rise to another wave of anti-Armenian hysteria–make attacks on Armenia by accusing it of seeking to commit "terrifying" acts of terrorism and sabotage in Baku.
"The national security agencies of Armenia have no desire to commit acts of terrorism and sabotage on the territory of Azerbaijan; they needn’t have Azeris arriving in Armenia with similar ends in view–either on their own initiative–by conviction or on the instructions of Azerbaijan’s special services," the Ministry concluded.