The NatalitsaToDushanbe movement

The 2021 #NatalitsaToDushanbe movement is currently a series of mass musical and political demonstrations and protests against the Own Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (OABU) and Televizioni Tojikiston, to allow Natalia Gordienko the right to represent her nation of Bhutan at the 28th Own Asiavision Song Contest in Dushanbe, Tajikistan with her song "High Heels". This is the largest movement and protests in the history of the Own world, the protests and demonstrations began in the lead-up to the 28th Own Asiavision Song Contest, in which Natalia Gordienko fought for her spot in the competition. In response to the demonstrations, a number of countries in the OABU and beyond opposed the plans to allow her into the contest, which caused massive debates and tension within the union. The protests and movement intensified worldwide after the Samoan broadcaster SBC released a huge sponsored advertisement, in collaboration with Bhutanese broadcaster BBS, in which Natalia was pledged to travel to Dushanbe. The OABU, the main opponent of Natalia Gordienko, originally rejected the plans as some broadcasters opposed Natalia due to her potentially "false" claim that she was Bhutanese.

Artist details
Natalia Wangmo Gordienko (Ukrainian: Наталія Гордієнко, Dzongkha: ླཏིཏཙོཏ ྤཅངདོགལམཅ, also spelled Gordienco; born 11 December 1987) is a Moldovan singer and dancer. Gordienko was born in Chișinău, to Ukrainian and Bhutanese parents, on 11 December 1987. Alongside Arsenium and Connect-R, she represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Loca" and placed 20th. She was selected to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Prison"; however, the 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, she represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Sugar" and placed 13th with 115 points.

Country details
Bhutan has participated in the Own Asiavision Song Contest 12 times since making its debut at the eighth contest. The country's best result is second place, achieving this at the Own Asiavision Song Contest 9.

First rumours: Give me some, Bhudda
The first time Natalia was called up for contention of representing Bhutan was back in June of 2021 — when she reportedly sung the lyrics "Give me some, BUDDHA", in her song dedicated to the lyric. This sparked several delegations excitement because it could be the first time Bhutan made it to the Own Asiavision Grand Final since edition 10. The hype grew and grew over the months, and even so the delegation of Laos created the official graphic to support Natalia and Bhutan's participation with the song "Buddha", which boosted the support even more (despite the image inaccurately saying that Nepal would host the 28th edition, which in fact it was Tajikistan.)

First response from BBS
Natalitsa was finally recognised by the BBS (Bhutanese broadcaster) and one of the members of staff said at BBS’s HQ that : "Bhutan will be hiring Kirkorov to rig us to the final next edition bebe." At this point, it was revealed that Natalia had a secret middle name: Wangmo, which further confirmed her as a Ukrainian-Moldovan-Bhutanese singer. However, the OABU remained silent throughout the entire promotion, and nothing was mentioned from BBS about Natalia’s participation.

Result of the first rumours
In the end, BBS has decided to select Ugyen Lhendup feat. Beenu to compete in Fiji, for the 27th Own Asiavision Song Contest with the song "Nyim Dilay". This is because the OABU eventually rejected the countries claim to send Miss Gordienko, in which fans and broadcasters around the world were severely dissapointed. Bhutan came 15th in the semi final, still non qualifying, despite getting their best result since edition 10.

The second uprising: the start of the #NatalitsaToDushanbe movement
October 2021 arrived: and the OABU were beginning to receive their applications for the next Own Asiavision Song Contest, which was to be held in Tajikistan after Manizha won in Fiji with her song "Nedoslavyanka". Bhutan instantly confirmed their participation, with BBS stating "Last edition in Nadi,  Ugyen Lhendup and  Beenu brought great success to Bhutan placing 15th in their semi final, Bhutan's best placing the 10th edition, marking the closest Bhutan has been to qualifying for the final. Despite a television glitch, excitement gathered all over the country as people thought that our goofy neighbours in  Nepal had won the contest. However, sadly this was not the case, although art for the 28th edition in Nepal leaked."

Sonam Max Choki then said after the confirmation of Bhutan was revealed: "I told y'all that there was so much talent in Bhutan, and one day Bhutan would reach the final if the delegation puts in 100% effort, we got closer than ever so we should carry on and try to improve on last time", to which the cowardly CEO of BBS said nothing. "Therefore it can be officially confirmed that Bhutan will be present in Tajikistan, where we will not have to compete in the pqr for the first time ever".

New rumours
Rumours spread around Asia like wildfire, yet again, that Natalia Gordienko would represent Bhutan in Tajikistan however this was yet to be confirmed by BBS despite posters leaking as shown above. When asked whether Gordienko would represent Bhutan in a press conference on October 5th 2021, a spokesperson stated "Bhutan is full of surprises". It was also been revealed that the budget for the Bhutanese performance has risen from $10.00 to $10.01, with the hope that this extra $0.01 will gain Bhutan many votes for the tasteless Asian and Oceanian juries who blanked them in the past.

After this announcement, several OABU broadcasters started to share their opinions, many supporting Natalia, as it seemed that Natalia’s proposals were actually taken seriously this time round. However, there were a certain few broadcasters which severely condemned Natalia travelling to Tajikistan. These countries were the hosts Tajikistan and New Caledonia.

BBS selects Natalia Gordienko
On the 24th of October 2021, a huge statement was released from BBS HQ in Thimphu, stating: "BBS can now confirm that the entry that will represent Bhutan in the amazmg city of  Dushanbe. We have decided that we want to qualify for the final, therefore we have selected  Natalia Wangmo Gordienko, known simply as Natalia Gordienko to represent us in  Tajikistan. She will sing her song "High Heels". A leakage revealed that BBS had initially carried out an internal selection with the support of numerous other broadcasters, including those of Australia, New Caledonia and Philppines, however, BBS concluded that none of the 3 acts considered met the standards expected by the broadcaster, so Natalia Gordienko was selected instead due to her passion for representing her country and the amount of effort she put into her entry, as it "far higher quality than all other other possible entries combined".

Reaction to the announcement
Reactions to this announcement were very scarce, it seemed that BBS did not announce her as public as they thought, as barely any broadcasters reacted to the statement, and neither did the OABU. Therefore BBS knew that action must be taken to make this legitimate. However, yet again Laos reacted to the movement very positively, and as a result made another poster advertising Natalia claiming they supported her going to Tajikistan. The poster also included world renowned icon Ana Tajikistania who said "Wow Dushanbe is amaizng"

BBS contacts SBC
On the 25th of October, members of SBC (the broadcaster of the country of Samoa) flew into Paro international Airport to discuss budgets and promises to allow Natalia Gordienko to travel to Tajikistan to represent them at the 28th Own Asiavision.

Samoa is a member of the OABU, which means that they hold some significant power within the Own Asiavision community, therefore they were seen to Bhutan as a trusted partner in this organisation. SBC proposed a new movement for the world to get behind so that Natalia could fulfil her dream. They proposed the #NatalitsaToDushanbe hashtag so that social media influencers and beyond can spread the word to bring this important matter to the OABU.

Filming of the promotional advert
Natalia was invited to fly from Moscow to Bhutan to film her promotional advertisement to begin her campaign to reach Tajikistan for OASC 28. Natalia arrived on the 25th of October, in the evening, as she proved she was rather efficient with her travelling : showing her dedication to the OASC world even more. Filming lasted 1 hour, which also included snippets of the music video of High Heels and a prediction of the future.

Philipp Kirkorov was briefly invited to be apart of the advertisement, but instantly SBC despised the stench of that guy so they instantly lent him home, whilst keeping his snippet into the video. Natalitsa promised that "Kirkorov will not join me in Dushanbe" as SBC stated they would boycott the movement if he did

Completion
The advertisement was complete, Natalia was very satisfied with it and she said "This will certainly get me to Bhutan", as she left Bhutan back to her home in Moscow. Kirkorov was then as a result banned from Samoa as SBC said "Fuck you."

The #NatalitsaToDushanbe movement begins
On the 25th of October, that same day, SBC in collaboration with BBS finally reveal the advertisement which will be displayed around the world. The #NatalitsaToDushanbe movement has finally kicked off, and instantly it was a hit. Several broadcasted instantly announced their intentions to support from all over the world: from Asia to America, Africa and more. SBC and BBS had managed to include several renowned people in the campaign to attract the most viewers possible.

Important elements
Firstly, the Samoan Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, was invited in the video, stating that "It is important we get Natalitsa to Dushanbe to perform her song ‘High Heels’ for the safety of the world." This was just announced after SBC had pledged in the campaign they are ready to transfer up to $4.7 million dollars to the OABU to let Natalia compete in Tajikistan. Even world renowned Samoan icon Levina stated she supported the #NatalitsaToDushanbe movement. The video then pannned to Natalia in the Own Asiavision arena where she was asking for everyone’s votes, sitting next to Kirkorov and another random guy. This was Said to be Kirkorov’s only involvement in Natalia’s campaign.

Ana Bhutania appearance
Even Ana Tajikistania (breifly called Ana Bhutania) was invited along to the filming, as a quick design was drawn up for Ana to wear in support of Natalia Gordienko.

International reactions
International support continued to storm in and more and more countries announced their support, with very few rejecting the idea. Certain countries greatly expressed their love:

Support for the movement
Several countries and organisations made short statements towards the movement, some examples :
 * — "Just 1 word: #NatalitsaToDushanbe. BRTC supports this multicultural icon and believes Natalia will be able to inaugurate a golden era for Bhutan. We believe in her talent and can’t wait to cheer for her on the Asiavision stage!"
 * — "BBS will be issuing a statement in the morning katebox."
 * — "This is a even better campaign than sealand."
 * — "The delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Laos will support the #NatalitsaToDushanbe movement alongside with the Bhutanese and Samoan delegations. We can also confirm that Natalitsa will perform her Bhutanese entry High Heels in Regarde:Lao 4 as well!"
 * Flag of Earth.svg OABA — "OABA is incredibly delighted to show our support for Natalia! We believe she will absolutely eat the stage in Tajikistan, and we hope to see her making an appearance in our events too as a special guest! We truly believe our queen deserves to show her power to Asia! Go Natalia! The Americas support you! #NatalitsaToDushanbe!"
 * Flag of Earth.svg OABU — "This lady is very talented! We hope to see her performing on our stage in Dushanbe and make Bhutan finally qualify after such a long period of absence in the Grand Final. We believe she will be able to bring a victory for this small and beautiful country. Go Bhutan! #NatalitsaToDushanbe!!!"
 * Flag of Earth.svg OEBU — "OEBU officially shows its support for queen Natalia to perform in Tajikistan! She already showed Europe her talent and achieved the 4th place in OESC and now she’s ready to slay and win! #NatalitsaToDushanbe."
 * — "SBC will do everything in its power to get Natalia Gordienko on the stage in Dushanbe, so Bhutan finally gets the chance to perform in the final and hopefully WIN. Please support this movement and spread the word we WILL get Natalia to Tajikistan !!! #NatalitsaToDushanbe "
 * — "Western Sahara supports #NatalitsaToDushanbe movement. However Western Sahara only supports #NatalitsaToDushanbe if the delegation can ensure kirkorov will have no involvement."

Support against the movement

 * — In a discussion over Zoom, the delegation of Oman asked "Wait... Bhutan it's not a joke???" in which the delegation of Mongolia replied "It is, or it better be".
 * — "I’m too sober for this shit." In a discussion between both New Caledonia and Tajikistan. The delegation of Tajikistan stated that "we wont give her a stage pass so she can't perform slay" and the New Caledonian delegation responded with "New Caledonia welcomes this decision".
 * — "Her visa will be declinedt anyway because she worked with k*rkorov i'm afraid." "I'm sorry but we're blocking her from entering Tajikistan for using a fraudulent Bhutanese passport".

Neutral countries

 * — "Bhutan what you have done it’s beautiful. However Tonga remains neutral officially because it can’t afford to fight a war against either side"

International Reactions
International reactions to the #NatalitsaToDushanbe movement: