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WHAT A PITY KARABAKHIS ENJOY NO RIGHTS
KarabakhOpen
05-11-2007 17:28:13
The settlement of the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh has been lasting too
long and it needs to be resolved at last, the CoE Secretary General
Terry Davis stated November 5 in Yerevan during the news conference
with the Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan. Davis said he
does not want it to sound like criticism against the OSCE Minsk Group
and the leaderships of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "However, it is in the
interests of people to have the conflict settled," Terry Davis says.
According to him, there are many more important things in life other
than the Karabakh conflict, meanwhile, the unresolved issue distracts
focus from those key issues. The CoE Secretary General thinks the
conflict takes not only attention but also money which could have
been used for better purposes.
The CoE Secretary General is hopeful that the conflict will be
resolved, and Karabakh will benefit from the CoE programs. In this
connection, Terry Davis made an interesting statement. He regrets
that some individuals living in Karabakh do not enjoy the right to
dispute issues at the European Court of Human Rights. Terry Davis
says physically the people living in Nagorno-Karabakh cannot go to the
ECHR, meanwhile it is highly important for a citizen to be protected
from the government, Terry Davis says. He also said turning to Vardan
Oskanyan sitting beside him that such a democratic activist as Vardan
Oskanyan perhaps would also want the people of Karabakh to enjoy this
right. Vardan Oskanyan did not react to this, either through words
or gestures.
The local election held in Karabakh a few weeks ago, unlike the
previous election, was not criticized by the Council of Europe, the
reporters reminded Terry Davis visiting Armenia, who is the secretary
general of the Council of Europe, on November 5. Why this time the
CoE did not criticize the NKR local election, the Armenian reporters
asked Davis with irony.
The CoE Secretary General admitted that this time the CoE did not
utter a critical word for the election. He added, however, that the
Nagorno-Karabakh regime is not recognized by the world, and if he
does not condemn the local election, it does not mean he recognizes
it. According to Terry Davis, if he reacts to every similar thing
taking place in the world, time may not be enough. The CoE Secretary
General went so far as to compare it with the barring of a gay parade,
saying that he does not necessarily need to make a statement condemning
the prohibition. Sometimes silence is the best way of expressing
disagreement, says the secretary general of the Council of Europe,
who perhaps does not know that in the Armenian culture it is quite
the opposite, and silence is a sign of approval.
The reporters also asked why Terry Davis refers to Karabakh as a
regime while he does not refer similarly to Kosovo. Davis explained
that there is a major difference between Karabakh and Kosovo. The
CoE Secretary General says there is no separatist regime in Kosovo,
the United Nations rules there.
Terry Davis says he understands that some in Kosovo want to
separate from Serbia but it is not the government. He compares the
Nagorno-Karabakh government with Abkhazia, Transdniestr and other
similar subjects, referring to them as separatist regimes.
KarabakhOpen
05-11-2007 17:28:13
The settlement of the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh has been lasting too
long and it needs to be resolved at last, the CoE Secretary General
Terry Davis stated November 5 in Yerevan during the news conference
with the Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan. Davis said he
does not want it to sound like criticism against the OSCE Minsk Group
and the leaderships of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "However, it is in the
interests of people to have the conflict settled," Terry Davis says.
According to him, there are many more important things in life other
than the Karabakh conflict, meanwhile, the unresolved issue distracts
focus from those key issues. The CoE Secretary General thinks the
conflict takes not only attention but also money which could have
been used for better purposes.
The CoE Secretary General is hopeful that the conflict will be
resolved, and Karabakh will benefit from the CoE programs. In this
connection, Terry Davis made an interesting statement. He regrets
that some individuals living in Karabakh do not enjoy the right to
dispute issues at the European Court of Human Rights. Terry Davis
says physically the people living in Nagorno-Karabakh cannot go to the
ECHR, meanwhile it is highly important for a citizen to be protected
from the government, Terry Davis says. He also said turning to Vardan
Oskanyan sitting beside him that such a democratic activist as Vardan
Oskanyan perhaps would also want the people of Karabakh to enjoy this
right. Vardan Oskanyan did not react to this, either through words
or gestures.
The local election held in Karabakh a few weeks ago, unlike the
previous election, was not criticized by the Council of Europe, the
reporters reminded Terry Davis visiting Armenia, who is the secretary
general of the Council of Europe, on November 5. Why this time the
CoE did not criticize the NKR local election, the Armenian reporters
asked Davis with irony.
The CoE Secretary General admitted that this time the CoE did not
utter a critical word for the election. He added, however, that the
Nagorno-Karabakh regime is not recognized by the world, and if he
does not condemn the local election, it does not mean he recognizes
it. According to Terry Davis, if he reacts to every similar thing
taking place in the world, time may not be enough. The CoE Secretary
General went so far as to compare it with the barring of a gay parade,
saying that he does not necessarily need to make a statement condemning
the prohibition. Sometimes silence is the best way of expressing
disagreement, says the secretary general of the Council of Europe,
who perhaps does not know that in the Armenian culture it is quite
the opposite, and silence is a sign of approval.
The reporters also asked why Terry Davis refers to Karabakh as a
regime while he does not refer similarly to Kosovo. Davis explained
that there is a major difference between Karabakh and Kosovo. The
CoE Secretary General says there is no separatist regime in Kosovo,
the United Nations rules there.
Terry Davis says he understands that some in Kosovo want to
separate from Serbia but it is not the government. He compares the
Nagorno-Karabakh government with Abkhazia, Transdniestr and other
similar subjects, referring to them as separatist regimes.