ITB Berlin warns Armenia against distributing "material of a  political nature" at ITB Berlin 2023

ArmInfo. Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Armen Ashotyan posted a letter by ITB Berlin 2023 to Armenia's Ministry of Economy. 

The letter reads: 

"ITB Berlin 2023 - The World's Leading Travel Trade Showr "7-9 March  2023 "Dear Ms. Atoyan,

"Concerning the participation of the Tourism Committee of Ministry of  Economy of the Republic of Armenia at ITB Berlin 2023, we kindly ask  you to carefully read our Exhibition Terms and Conditions as well as  our General Terms of Business, especially with regard to advertising.

"In general, advertising of a political nature is strictly prohibited  (see section 12.2 in General Terms of Business) even when it is in  the form of art and culture. As stated in section 7g in our  Exhibition Germs and Conditions, this means in detail that no  information material of a political nature may be distributed in the  form of posters, information material etc. Moreover, no political  statement may be included in the design and decoration of the stands.

"Our advice refers to the region of Nagorno Karabakh. The occupation  of Nagorono Karabakh was condemned by four resolutions of the United  Nations Security Council (822. 853, 874 and 884).

"We will monitor your stand, your decoration as well as the  information material and brochures distributed on your stand by the  aforementioned aspects during the ITB Berlin 2023. Messe Berlin  reserves the right to respond to infringements accordingly.

"With best regards." 

In commenting on the letter, Mr Ashotyan wonders that "exhibition  organizers refer to 'four resolutions of the United Nations Security  Council.'" 

"Only Azerbaijanis and Turks used to make noise at the Armenian  pavilions during international tourist exhibitions. However, before  Nikol Pashinyan came to power, no steering committee would prohibit  Armenian tourist agencies from presenting historical and cultural  facts and materials proving Nagorno- Karabakh is attractive to  tourists," he wrote.   

He accuses Armenia's premier and his team of following the wrong  foreign policy course, which has resulted in such prohibitions.