IF WE HADN’T BROUGHT ENCYCLOPEDIA FOR SALE, HOW WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT IT?

The encyclopedia «Большая иллюстрированная энциклопедия географии» in russian, sold in Yerevan bookshops, in which Armenia is represented with unfaithful unfavourable facts (in particular in Armenia besides Armenian is also Azerbaijani, and the basic religions are orthodoxy and islam, in aprticular, Shiite direction, and Arcakh is reprezented as “the historical region of Azerbaijan, inhabited mainly by Armenians”) has been in the centre of attention of “Ankakh” magazine for several days.

The bookshop “The world of books” where we have found the encyclopedia, began to sell it several months ago. Before a clamour raised around the encyclopedia only two instances had been sold within these months, and afterwards two more instances have been sold within several days. Khachik Vardanyan, the director of the bookshop, who studied the encyclopedia only after our first publication, thinks that the reality is exaggerated.

“The disinformation, to say the least of it, is the result of misunderstanding or is made preceeding from some considerations. In any case it shouldn’t be considered as antiarmenian agitation.”

When the director was asked if the shop puts limit on sale of books or he sells them in succession, he answered:

“We don’t accept yellow press and antistate agitetion, we sell everything else. On the whole, we don’t have the right to deside for the customer, what he needs and what he doesn’t. We offer him everything and he chooses whatever he needs.”

Vardanyan doesn’t admit that the bookshop must lodge a complaint concerning this encyclopedia and boycott the sale, mentioning, that this problem must be solved by appropriate state organs. On the contrary he thinks that such books should be sold so as people read them and struggled against them.

“For instance, if we hadn’t put this encyclopedia for sale how would you know about it?,- He says,-one shouldn’t look for a pear under an apple tree. This is a bookshop, we only have some examplars of this book two of which you -journalists – have already bought. The rest will also be sold soon.”

He doesn’t mind the wave of public protest at all.

“If this is a tendency, the machine of Azebaijanian agitation has gained a victory over us,- He says,- and we must blame only us of it. We don’t do anything and instead we sit and wait till we are blown on the head.

We mention that “Ankakh” is going to write an open letter to the british and russian publishers with the demand to withdraw all the books, to reprove desinformation and present Armenia in real facts in a proper way in the encyclopedia. Otherwise the problem will be solved by the court.