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BAKU: German paper chides Karabakh independence

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  • BAKU: German paper chides Karabakh independence

    AssA-Irada, Azerbaijan
    October 30, 2009 Friday

    GERMAN PAPER CHIDES GARABAGH INDEPENDENCE


    The Berlin-based Berliner Zeitung daily newspaper has ridiculed
    separatists announcing the Armenia-occupied Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh
    region of Azerbaijan as independent. Despite everything, Upper
    Garabagh wants to be independent. The republic has a president, but no
    country recognizes him, the publication said. Armenia has been
    occupying over 20% of Azerbaijans internationally recognized territory
    since the early 1990s. As a result of this aggression, the separatist
    regime in the occupied Upper Garabagh region proclaimed so-called
    independence in 1991. The declaration of independence, which is,
    itself, a blatant violation of international law, has not been
    recognized by any country, to date.

    Berliner Zeitung said that the leader of the self-proclaimed Upper
    (Nagorno) Garabagh republic Bako Saakian says our uniting with Armenia
    is not being discussed with our brethren and claims, having paused
    briefly: Upper Garabagh has been an independent state for several
    years. Saakians facial expression is very serious as he says this.
    However, such statements cause either irony or laughs in the whole
    world and among the countrys diplomats, Berliner Zeitung said. The
    newspaper said, further, that Upper Garabagh is located at the
    crossroads of Europe and Asia, has a population of 140,000, but its
    territory is the size of two Saarland squares. Since 1994, Upper
    Garabagh has been striving for independence, but, to the resentment of
    Bako Saakian, the world community is neglecting these calls. The story
    says the capital of the self-proclaimed republic is Stepanakert
    (Khankandi), but all payments are made here with Armenian currency,
    and cars with Armenian license plates and passports are in use. Also,
    the paper points out that the republic is located in one of the
    explosive hotspots of the world the Caucasus. The United States, the
    European Union and Russia are vying for energy resources here, while
    the Caucasus peoples are turning each others lives into hell. The
    Berliner Zeitung reporter reminded that Upper Garabagh was also part
    of Azerbaijan during the Soviet times, but it had autonomy and was
    predominantly populated by Armenians. After independence was declared
    in 1991 [by the former Soviet republics], a bloody civil war erupted
    in the region. As a result, Upper Garabagh insurgents, aided by the
    Armenian military, squeezed Azerbaijans armed forces from there.
    Afterwards, Armenia did not annex Upper Garabagh, and an idea was
    borne in some peoples minds in Stepanakert that Upper Garabagh could
    become an independent republic (they were not even ashamed of the fact
    that the world community will view these attempts as nationalist
    euphoria). Some military analysts say Garabagh could emerge as the
    next bomb in the Caucasus. Georgi Petrosyan, who considers himself
    Upper Garabaghs foreign minister, says the self-styled republic is
    afraid of war with Azerbaijan. He is confident that the republic will
    be recognized, but is not inclined to cite a specific timeframe for
    this. Petrosyans main task today is to boost relations with the
    diaspora abroad. According to the German paper, the Armenian lobby
    channels millions of dollars to the Caucasus region every year. An
    officer serving in a Khankandi military unit says: We train every day
    - the soldiers must be ready any moment. He said shootings on the
    frontline are frequent there, claiming that the skirmishes take place
    despite the fact that the conflict over Upper Garabagh has been
    resolved and Garabagh has won. Berliner Zeitung noted, however, that
    this is not the case in terms of international law. It said that,
    according to pundits, Upper Garabagh should either be a part of
    Armenia or gain an autonomy within Azerbaijan, but, in no case can it
    be an independent state.
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