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AAA: Armenia This Week - 11/01/2004

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  • AAA: Armenia This Week - 11/01/2004

    ARMENIA THIS WEEK
    Monday, November 1, 2004

    MEDIATORS, ARMENIA CRITICIZE AZERBAIJAN'S KARABAKH TACTICS
    Mediators from the United States, Russia and France last week criticized
    Azerbaijan for its effort to force a debate on the Karabakh conflict at the
    United Nations' General Assembly (UN GA). Capitalizing on solidarity from
    members of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and using a UN
    procedural loophole, Azerbaijan was able last week to introduce the Karabakh
    issue as an additional item on the UN GA agenda.

    UN GA resolutions, unlike those of the UN Security Council, are not
    mandatory for member states. The UN consensus is for the Organization for
    Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and not UN, to deal with the
    Karabakh conflict.

    In a deliberately vague memorandum that does not mention either Armenian or
    Karabakh authorities, Azerbaijan alleged that unnamed entities were engaged
    in "illegal activities" in Karabakh, "in particular by transfer of settlers
    in order to create artificially a new demographic situation in those
    territories."

    Azeri officials and government-connected entities have made numerous
    unfounded accusations against Armenia and Karabakh over the years. Just last
    week, Azeri Deputy Parliament Speaker Ziyafet Askerov told British MP's
    that Osama Bin Laden might be hiding in Karabakh. Armenian observers believe
    that Azerbaijan chose the "settler issue" to raise at the UN since that
    might resonate the most with Islamic countries, on whose support Azerbaijan
    is counting, and which are known for their criticism of Israel's settlement
    policies.

    Armenia's Ambassador to the UN Armen Martirosyan accused Azerbaijan of an
    effort to scuttle ongoing peace talks and attempt to add a "religious
    dimension" to the Karabakh conflict. Martirosyan also repeated Armenia's
    position that should Baku step back from talks on a comprehensive settlement
    of the conflict and make efforts to separately address its individual
    components, such as raised in its UN proposal, then Azerbaijan should deal
    directly with the Nagorno Karabakh Republic's (NKR) government. Although
    Azeris had negotiated directly with NKR when the sides secured the ongoing
    cease-fire, Baku has refused to recognize the existence of Karabakh
    authorities since then.

    France's Deputy Ambassador to the UN Michel Duclos, speaking also on behalf
    of the U.S. and Russia, argued that Azerbaijan's proposal "would be harmful
    to efforts to find a just, lasting settlement" to the conflict. The
    Netherlands' Deputy Ambassador to the UN Arjan Hamburger, speaking on behalf
    of the European Union and several candidate countries, opined that the UN GA
    session underway was "neither the time nor the venue to pursue this and that
    the Azerbaijan initiative may jeopardize the on-going negotiations."
    Ninety-nine countries, including the United States, abstained from voting on
    what are typically consensual decisions.

    Azerbaijan's UN envoy Yashar Aliyev admitted last week that his country's
    initiative in the General Assembly was "meeting numerous resistances," but
    indicated that Azerbaijan would press on for a debate. Turkey, Pakistan and
    Iran, along with thirty-eight other, mostly Muslim countries, backed
    Azerbaijan's effort. The Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamlet
    Gasparian noted, however, that 40 percent of mostly Muslim OIC member
    countries did not succumb to pressure from Azerbaijan and Turkey.

    Azerbaijan also secured the support of Ukraine after the Azeri President
    Ilham Aliyev made an unscheduled visit to meet with the pro-government
    candidate facing a tight presidential race there. Georgia did not
    participate in the vote.

    As part of the UN discussion last week, the three mediators also suggested
    sending an OSCE fact-finding mission to the region as a way to address any
    concerns about developments there. Armenian officials indicated that they
    would welcome such a mission, but noted that it would be up to the NKR
    leadership to approve visits to areas under Karabakh's control and that any
    mission should cover both sides of the Line of Contact. Azerbaijan has made
    no public comment on the proposal and it had previously opposed similar
    missions.

    Writing last week, the Azeri daily Zerkalo indicated that Azerbaijan was
    deliberately seeking to undermine ongoing talks and that "Baku's move might
    bury pressure exerted on Baku by super powers to make it sign an unfavorable
    peace accord."

    Most Armenian observers see Azerbaijan's latest effort as another indication
    that its government is aiming to postpone any settlement. Earlier this year,
    President Aliyev stated publicly that he was not "in a hurry" to resolve the
    conflict, and that since Baku was anticipating additional revenues from
    development of the Caspian oil, the country would soon be better positioned
    for a new war in Karabakh.

    Armenian officials have in turn warned Azerbaijan of "disastrous
    consequences" should its leaders resort to military force as they did in the
    early 1990s. (Sources: Armenia This Week 2-13, 4-23, 6-18, 8-2, 8-30; Agence
    France Presse 10-20; ANS TV 10-27; UN GA Press Release 10-27, 29; Armenian
    Foreign Ministry 10-29; Azertag 10-29; Zerkalo 10-29)

    A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
    122 C Street, N.W., Suite 350, Washington, D.C. 20001 (202) 393-3434 FAX
    (202) 638-4904
    E-Mail [email protected] WEB http://www.aaainc.org
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