The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest: Grand Finale Pt.11

This can be read as a continuation of the previous parts; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-2018-eurovision-song-contest-grand.html

The Last Star Falls.

One of the longest running and bitterest feuds at the Song Contest is between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

This is because through the Nagorno-Karabakh Region (NKR) the two nations have been engaged in one of the World's longest running frozen conflicts. The NKR conflict has its roots in the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 and only intensified following the break up of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's.

In April 2016 the then very poor relationship between Turkey and Russia led to Azerbaijan launching an attack on Armenian forces in the NKR. This triggered four days of active warfare between the two nations. 

At the Song Contest held in May 2016 Swedish police assigned armed bodyguards to the delegations of Armenia and Azerbaijan for the duration of the contest. Primarily to remove either delegations excuse for bringing their own weapons with them and to prevent them attacking each other.

In many ways that Armenia and Azerbaijan will use the Song Contest to insult each other has become our North Star. We use it to orientate ourselves before embarking on the chaos which is all the other competitors.

Azerbaijan: Their entry this year was "X My Heart" by Aisel.

This year Azerbaijan did not insult Armenia. Instead the main message of their entry was a protest against child marriage. Although not exclusively Muslim this is a practice which is more common within Muslim societies such as Azerbaijan.

The video in support of what is primarily a love song showed the 29 year old singer in contrast with a pubescent girl. Many of the scenes featuring the pubescent girl feature her laying alongside an adult man. 

The adult man cradles a love heart while the pubescent girl cradles a crescent moon. Along with a single star a crescent moon is a common symbol of Islam featuring of the flags of many Muslim nations including Azerbaijan. 

The video also feature many euphemisms for female virginity such as a blossoming flower that the girl carries and gives away. 

Although they have chosen to write it as; "X My Heart" the title of the song and its chorus is actually; "Cross My Heart." The cross on which Jesus was crucified is as powerful symbol of Christianity as the single star and crescent moon are of Islam.

So far from insulting its Christian neighbour Armenia Azerbaijan were actually complimenting it. Particularly by claiming that its Christian culture is superior to Azerbaijan's Muslim culture on the issue of child marriage.

The lyrics also featured many conciliatory overtures to Armenia. Such as; "Take my hand it’s time" and "I tear down the firewalls" in reference to opening the tightly sealed borders between the nations. 

The somewhat strange lyric; "I am stronger than cannonballs" was a gesture that love and companionship are better then the artillery shells Azerbaijan and Armenia often exchange over the NKR.

So in short Azerbaijan were being nice to Armenia. The World has tumbled from its axis, the stars have fallen from the sky and mice have started chasing cats.

Armenia: This year they were represented by Sevak Khanagyan with the song; "Qami (Wind)."

Traditionally Armenia are the first nation to select their Song Contest entry. Normally in October/November of the previous year. This year they have broken with that tradition selecting their entry in late February 2018. This allowed them to accommodate the recent political upheaval in the country.

Since 1999 Armenia has been ruled by the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). Between 2008 and 2018 the RPA's leader and President of Armenia was Serzh Sargsyan.

In 2015 Serzh Sargsyan changed Armenia's system of government from a Presidential system to a Parliamentary one. In order to allay public fears that he was doing this simply to extend his time in power by taking up the newly powerful role of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan made a firm promise to the people of Armenia: He would never become Prime Minister.

On April 17th (17/4/18) the Armenian Parliament ended months of speculation by electing Serzh Sargsyan Prime Minister. This triggered mass protests which forced Sargsyan to resign on April 23rd (23/4/18). On May 8th (8/5/18) - the day before the First Semi-Final - protest leader Nikol Pashinyan was sworn is a Prime Minister.

To me this has seemed like just a normal part of the democratic process. The Prime Minister has broken a promise to the public leading to protests calling for their resignation. The Prime Minister has then resigned and a new Prime Minister has been selected.

However the extremely Russophobic elements in the west have been quick to promote this as some big, beautiful colour revolution against Russian oppression. 

Rather like the big, beautiful colour revolution the US organised in Ukraine in 2013 in order to create Shamali Province and plunge the nation into civil war. Or like the big, beautiful colour revolution the US organised in the Croatia region of Yugoslavia in 1991 which plunged much of the Balkan Region in conflict.

Armenia's entry this year is very much in that spirit of revolution. It is very heavily inspired by the 1989 song; "Winds of Change" by the Skorpians. One of the most famous songs in Cold War history.

In the late 1980's the Soviet Union adopted the twin policies of; "Perestroika (Restructuring)" and; "Glasnost (Openess)." The NATO nations response was to make Winds of Change into a massive hit across western Europe. This massive radio airplay allowed it to be picked up in Soviet bloc nations. Particularly in East Germany.

The song is all about someone walking through the main street in Moscow's Red Square listening to the whispers of change in the air. Along with the lyrics the tone of the song contributes to this febrile atmosphere where in a magic moment anything is possible.

The creation of this atmosphere of revolution directly led to the Berlin Wall being torn down on November 9th 1989 (9/11/89). 

That evening the spokesman of  the East German Socialist Unity Party in East Berlin - Gunter Schabowski - held a press conference in which he announced that they would start issuing visas for East Germans to travel to West Germany; "Immediately." He said that thinking everyone would understand it to mean; "Immediately, the following morning."

However inspired by the Winds of Change East Germans took it to mean; "Immediately." As soon as Schabowski had finished speaking they flocked to the checkpoints in the Berlin Wall on mass. This overwhelmed the border guards who were forced to throw open the gates. The rest, as they say, is history.

Armenia's entry calls on people to take their wings and follow on the winds of change to escape; "the cost of a madman’s (Sargsyan) wounds."  
  
Despite its revolutionary tone the song also contains a number of subtle warnings to the Armenian people.

For example Sevak Khanagyan won Shamali Province's version of The X Factor in 2016. I don't think I need to remind people that alongside Sevak Khanagyan civil war also seems to be extremely popular in Shamali Province.

Throughout the video in support of the song the singer is shown boxed in on both sides by these dark, ominous concrete walls.

In leading his protest campaign Nikol Pashinyan has blamed Armenia's significant economic woes on the corruption of the RPA and Serzh Sargsyan. The madman's wounds.

Obviously corruption does not help the Armenian economy. However its main problem is that it has long existed effectively under a complete economic blockade.

Armenia's eastern border with Azerbaijan is sealed due to the NKR conflict. It's western border with Turkey is sealed partly due to the NKR conflict and because historically Ottomans have not got on well with Armenians.

Armenia's northern border with Georgia is also sealed. That's because Armenia is closely allied with Russia and Georgia is in a long running dispute with Russia over the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions.

As a result Armenia's sole trading route is with Iran to the south-east. Iran itself is pretty heavily sanctioned. 

So it seems Azerbaijan can be extremely supportive of Armenia. 

When Armenia is rushing to turn itself into the next Shamali Province or Yugoslavia. 


17:50 on 7/6/18 (UK date).