AUA Alumna Translates Caviar Diplomacy
2 min readYEREVAN, Armenia — For over a decade now, journalist Siranuysh Muradyan (CTr ’21) has been reporting on the Council of Europe and its activities relating to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. So it was no surprise that when Muradyan enrolled in the American University of Armenia’s (AUA) Graduate Certificate in Translation (CTr) program, she embarked on the translation of the famous report by the European Stability Initiative called Caviar Diplomacy: How Azerbaijan Silenced the Council of Europe, which is now available through NewMag Publishing House. The report presents Baku’s “caviar diplomacy,” which resulted in an unprecedented corruption scandal involving members of the Council of Europe.
The European Stability Initiative (ESI) was launched in a Sarajevo cafe in June 1999, in response to the need for independent, in-depth analysis of the complex issues involved in promoting stability and prosperity in Europe.
“The investigation was conducted by a team of European journalists who uncovered the manifestation of corruption in the Council of Europe with the advent of Azerbaijan’s entry into the continent’s leading human rights organization,” explains Muradyan, adding, “By admitting Azerbaijan to the European Council, they also accepted the corrupt methods of this dictatorial regime. And while Azerbaijan, as a new member of the Council, had pledged to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh issue peacefully, we now know that these were worthless pledges, which have been left unaddressed to this date.”
As any book-length project incubated in the CTr program, this too had its humble beginnings in the course Practicum in Translation, which, with the encouragement of the professor Dr. Shushan Avagyan, the coordinator of the CTr program, grew into a 156-page publication to be featured at NewMag’s WinterFest. “CTr has clearly left a palpable footprint in the life of the Armenian Republic since its inception in 2012, and I am incredibly proud of our output,” says Dr. Avagyan.
There will be a special panel discussion devoted to the publication during the book festival in which Muradyan, together with other experts on the topic, including former advisor to the RA President Tevan Poghosyan, former member of the PACE Armenian delegation Naira Karapetyan, and expert in Azerbaijani Studies Tatevik Hayrapetyan, will discuss the importance and urgency of this report.
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.