Chingiz Mustafayev

Chingiz Mustafayev (Azerbaijani: Çingiz Fuad oğlu Mustafayev; August 29, 1960 – June 15, 1992) was an independent Azerbaijani journalist, posthumously bestowed the state order National Hero of Azerbaijan.[1] Mustafayev, with the medical degree and no formal background in journalism save for a year of on the job training, created a video record of the early stages of the Nagorno-Karabakh War, most of the documentary had to be shot from the frontline which ultimately was the cause of his abrupt death due to mortar wounds.[2]

For the singer, see Chingiz Mustafayev (singer).
Çingiz Mustafayev
Çingiz Fuad oğlu Mustafayev
BornÇingiz Fuad oğlu Mustafayev
(1960-08-29)29 August 1960
Baku, Azerbaijani SSR
Died15 June 1992(1992-06-15) (aged 31)
Nakhichevanik, Karabakh, Azerbaijan
OccupationJournalist, author
NationalityAzerbaijani
Period1991–1992
SubjectPolitics, freedom of press, human rights
Notable awardsNational Hero of Azerbaijan (1992)
Spouse
Rafiga Mustafayeva (m. 1990)
ChildrenFuad Mustafayev

Biography

He was the man behind the video camera, who filmed scenes of atrocity in the Khojaly Massacre of 1992.[3] [4] In order to document the massacre, Mustafayev traveled via an army helicopter which at most time came under heavy enemy fire[5]. He was able to film that which gave evidence to the massacre which showed hundreds of dead bodies strewn across snow-covered fields of Khojaly.[6] The film at times were coupled with commentaries by a sobbing and emotional Mustafayev as he described the carnage he had seen as he filmed.

Azerbaijani's official press tried to cover up the fact that the town had been wiped out by Armenian forces. Human Rights Watch and the Russian Memorial society attributed the carnage to Armenian forces.[7][8]

According to his brother Vahid Mustafayev, during the span of eight months Mustafayev had shot and is credited for about 18 documentaries about the war in Karabakh, leaving behind substantial historical documentation.

Death

On 15 June 1992, while filming an exchange of fire between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces near the village of Nakhichevanik, Mustafayev was felled by mortar fire[9]. According to his brother Vahid Mustafayev, he was fatally wounded when a shell exploded right beside him and shrapnel from the shell severed one of his major arteries. By the time Mustafayev was airlifted to the hospital, he had died of blood loss. His last moments were captured on his own camera.[10]

ANS CM 102 FM the first Radio Broadcasting Company in the Caucasus whose motto was "We are fated to struggle" has renamed the station in his honor.

A foundation was established in honour of Chingiz Mustafayev by ANS for the purposes of arranging journalism contests in various areas.[11] Azerbaijani radio station ANS CM 102 FM also renamed after him and carries his slogan Döyüş alnımıza yazılıb (The war is written on our foreheads).[12]

Background

The Mustafayev family is described as the typical Azerbaijani family. His father was in the military and was working on missiles and rockets in the USSR. His mother hailed from the city of Shaki; Married when she was 19, Chingiz was the oldest child, born in 1960 and he had two brothers, Seyfulla Mustafayev, born in 1962, and Vahid Mustafayev, born in 1968.[13]

Music producer
  • Mustafayev also produced Azerbaijan's first Hip Hop record in 1983.[14]

References
  1. Çingiz Mustafayev kimdir? (in Azerbaijani) Archived August 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Чингиз Мустафаев - человек и пароход. Телевидение на стыке двух эпох (in Russian) Archived 2012-08-04 at Archive.today
  3. https://www.irfs.org/news-feed/azerbaijani-mark-anniversary-of-journalist-chingiz-mustafayev/
  4. Cornell, Svante E. (2015-05-20). Azerbaijan Since Independence. ISBN 9781317476214.
  5. Сергей Таранов. Нагорный Карабах: Солдаты и офицеры армии СНГ воюют по обе стороны конфликта // Известия: газета. — 4 марта 1992. — № 54 (23628). — С. 1-2.
  6. Романов Ю. «Я снимаю войну…» (in Russian) Archived 2012-08-04 at Archive.today
  7. Memorial about Khojaly
  8. HRW about Khojaly
    The most notorious of these attacks occurred on February 25 in the village of Khojaly. A large column of residents, accompanied by a few dozen retreating fighters, fled the city as it fell to Armenian forces. As they approached the border with Azerbaijan, they came across an Armenian military post and were cruelly fired upon. At least 161 civilians are known to have been murdered in this incident, although Azerbaijani officials estimate that about 800 perished. Armenian forces killed unarmed civilians and soldiers who were hors de combat, and looted and sometimes burned homes.
  9. bbc.co.uk:Главы из русского издания книги "Черный сад" (in Russian)
  10. Mustafayev, Vahid. "Documenting the Horrors of Karabakh. Chingiz Mustafayev in Action". Azerbaijan International. 7.3 (Autumn 1999): 57–59. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  11. Azerbaijani Painter receives Man of the Year award
  12. Qan Turalı: ANS efirində urapatriotizm sədaları (in Azerbaijani) Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Our Own Voices, Our Own Minds:Stalin Crushes Would-Be Student Activists
  14. Documenting the Horrors of Karabakh
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSMmA4eq5
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