In the early morning of May 17 the car of the well-known Bulgarian TV journalist, the author of a series of documentaries on the Karabagh War Tsvetana Paskaleva was damaged. The unknown criminals broke the glass, tore out the walkie-talkie set and threw it on the floor of the car. Yet, neither the personal belongings of Paskaleva were touched, not the documents and videotapes. The incident took place near the building of the House of Cinema, where, during the nights, in the studio of “Sharm” company Paskaleva is editing the new documentary “The Faith and the Spirit”. The film is devoted to the reminiscences of the participants of Shushi-Lachin operation and their concern over the future of Azerbaijan territories, currently controlled by the troops of Mountainous Karabagh.
As Tsvetana Paskaleva told Yerevan Press Club, what happened to her is a direct forewarning, an action of threat. Paskaleva links an attempt to exercise pressure not only with the film ”The Faith and the Spirit”, but also to her activities in protection of Samvel Babayan (the former Minister of Defense of Mountainous Karabagh, sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment for plotting the attempted assassination of MK President Arkady Ghukasian in March 2000).
Tsvetana Paskaleva was shooting the war in Mountainous Karabagh since its early days. Paskaleva’s documentaries received the awards of most reputable international festivals. The name of Paskaleva (author, director, camerawoman and producer all in one) was among the first in the rating of the American International Documentary Association – as a camerawoman, working at a hot spot. “I went through the whole war and one cannot intimidate me by what has happened. Those who think I will yield my positions are mistaken”, said Paskaleva. “At the end of May it will be exactly 10 years since I came to work in Armenia and Karabagh. This is the “gift” I have been presented with”, she added.
The investigation of the attack on the car of Tsvetana Paskaleva is conducted at the Central Division of Interior Affairs of Yerevan.
