Important positive developments have emerged in the aftermath of the decision to cancel Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Armenian cultural ensembles’ participation in the Vienna international festival, the Artsakh Cultural Preservation Centre NGO has informed in a statement.
“In an official letter, the World Festival Association (WOFA) informed us that, following an extraordinary meeting of its Organising Committee, it had been decided to issue a new invitation to our ensembles to participate in the festival scheduled to take place in Vienna in March 2027.
Another significant development is WOFA’s decision to approach the European Union to seek clarification and guidance on how to address similar situations in the future.
We regard these developments as meaningful progress resulting from our sustained efforts, the public attention brought to the issue, and the support of numerous individuals and organisations. They reaffirm the importance of safeguarding cultural rights, ensuring fair treatment, and making decisions based on facts and evidence.
We extend our sincere gratitude to the media and journalists for their professional and persistent coverage of the issue; to public figures for their principled positions and public support; and to cultural organisations and individuals for their solidarity and support.
At the same time, we emphasise that the decision to issue a new invitation does not mean that the matter has been fully resolved.
We continue to seek clear answers as to which diplomatic representatives made allegations concerning our organisation’s alleged ‘separatist activities’ and on what factual grounds those allegations were based. We also call for clarification regarding a claim conveyed in separate correspondence with the festival organiser, in which our cultural ensembles were characterised as a ‘dangerous group’.
It is equally important to establish how these allegations influenced the decision to cancel the ensembles’ participation in the festival.
We welcome WOFA’s willingness to continue dialogue and cooperation and expect clear, comprehensive and evidence-based responses to the questions raised.
Culture should bring peoples together, and cultural rights must not be restricted on the basis of allegations that lack a factual foundation,” adds the statement by the Artsakh Cultural Preservation Centre NGO.