Tweet
Official Baku fears Stepanakert airport opening
Dictators, in general, love to shoot down passenger planes, and in
this respect Ilham Aliyev is no better than Muammar Gaddafi.
Opening of the airport in Stepanakert may and must become a cold
shower for the excessively belligerent Azerbaijani officials, who use
any information from Artsakh to show their warlike character to the
world. And it should be noted that this belligerence is ungrounded
and, most obviously, is designed for the Azeri population, as Baku is
incapable of intimidating the people of Karabakh.
March 22, 2011
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Opening of the airport is dedicated to liberation of Shushi, and no
one doubts that it will open exactly on May 9. According to head of
the Department of Civil Aviation of NKR, Dmitry Atbashyan, by this
date Stepanakert airport will be fully ready for operation. The very
next day after Atbashyan's statement, director of the State Civil
Aviation Administration of Azerbaijan Arif Mammadov announced
Azerbaijan would shoot down the aircraft that would be landing at the
Stepanakert airport. The Azeri side has already managed to complain to
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). `We notified
that the airspace over Karabakh is closed. The Law on Aviation
envisages physical destruction of airplanes landing on this
territory,' Mammadov said. Moreover, official Baku considers itself
entitled `to destroy any planes that will come to land at the airport
of Stepanakert'. According to Mammadov, the ICAO management
recommended making every effort to avoid possible negative effects in
the region. In ordinary language, ICAO warned Azerbaijan against use
of force. Let us note that dictators, in general, love to shoot down
passenger planes, and in this respect Ilham Aliyev is no better than
Muammar Gaddafi. The difference is that the Libyan leader did shoot
down planes, while Ilham Aliyev fears. But just in case, there are
statements made on behalf of Aliyev, and they should be taken
seriously by the international community. One may even say that
Official Baku fears opening of the Stepanakert airport, as it may
become another window on the world for Nagorno-Karabakh. It is also
possible that thanks to the airport there will rise the number of
people who want to travel to Karabakh and it is what Ilham Aliyev does
not approve of. Neither is it excluded that the `black list' of the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry will expand...
Apparently, this attack of Baku against the Republic of Artsakh was
not well thought out, for the leadership through Arif Mammadov
received a response from U.S. Ambassador Matthew Bryza, who apparently
surprised everyone in Azerbaijan by declaring about the
inadmissibility of using force against civilian aircraft en route to
Nagorno Karabakh. Once again Baku forgot the simple truth: no matter
how well an ambassador treats his host country, the most essential
thing for him is interests of the country he represents, in this case,
those of the United States. The USA that turns a blind eye and a deaf
ear to the arming of Azerbaijan, its bellicose rhetoric, violation of
the ceasefire regime, finally made it clear to Aliyev that its
patience is not unlimited. Baku is given freedom of action, but only
within well-defined borders. Washington is well aware that even the
attempt to shoot down a civilian airplane in the sky over Artsakh
would definitely result in war. `We urge the sides to work together to
resolve all issues of commercial aviation safety prior to the planned
opening of a new airport in Nagorno-Karabakh,' the diplomat said in an
interview to RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service. `Any slight attempt
Azerbaijan might take will be fraught with unpredictable consequences
for Azerbaijan itself,' declared David Babayan, head of the Central
Information Department at the Office of the President of Artsakh.
And what will come out of this is quite easy to predict. Russia and
Iran will not stand by, Turkey and the United States, either. As a
result there will break out a regional war that could easily spread
throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, the more so when under
the current circumstances striking a match is enough to blow up half
the world.
`Azerbaijan seeks to scare Artsakh people into refraining from airport
services. We are resolute in our intention to open the airport, no
matter whom it vexes in Azerbaijan. And if Azerbaijan makes even a
slight attempt to carry out her intentions, it is going to be fraught
with unpredictable consequences for this country itself,' Babayan
stressed.
Karine Ter-Sahakyan / PanARMENIAN News
From: A. Papazian
Dictators, in general, love to shoot down passenger planes, and in
this respect Ilham Aliyev is no better than Muammar Gaddafi.
Opening of the airport in Stepanakert may and must become a cold
shower for the excessively belligerent Azerbaijani officials, who use
any information from Artsakh to show their warlike character to the
world. And it should be noted that this belligerence is ungrounded
and, most obviously, is designed for the Azeri population, as Baku is
incapable of intimidating the people of Karabakh.
March 22, 2011
PanARMENIAN.Net -
Opening of the airport is dedicated to liberation of Shushi, and no
one doubts that it will open exactly on May 9. According to head of
the Department of Civil Aviation of NKR, Dmitry Atbashyan, by this
date Stepanakert airport will be fully ready for operation. The very
next day after Atbashyan's statement, director of the State Civil
Aviation Administration of Azerbaijan Arif Mammadov announced
Azerbaijan would shoot down the aircraft that would be landing at the
Stepanakert airport. The Azeri side has already managed to complain to
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). `We notified
that the airspace over Karabakh is closed. The Law on Aviation
envisages physical destruction of airplanes landing on this
territory,' Mammadov said. Moreover, official Baku considers itself
entitled `to destroy any planes that will come to land at the airport
of Stepanakert'. According to Mammadov, the ICAO management
recommended making every effort to avoid possible negative effects in
the region. In ordinary language, ICAO warned Azerbaijan against use
of force. Let us note that dictators, in general, love to shoot down
passenger planes, and in this respect Ilham Aliyev is no better than
Muammar Gaddafi. The difference is that the Libyan leader did shoot
down planes, while Ilham Aliyev fears. But just in case, there are
statements made on behalf of Aliyev, and they should be taken
seriously by the international community. One may even say that
Official Baku fears opening of the Stepanakert airport, as it may
become another window on the world for Nagorno-Karabakh. It is also
possible that thanks to the airport there will rise the number of
people who want to travel to Karabakh and it is what Ilham Aliyev does
not approve of. Neither is it excluded that the `black list' of the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry will expand...
Apparently, this attack of Baku against the Republic of Artsakh was
not well thought out, for the leadership through Arif Mammadov
received a response from U.S. Ambassador Matthew Bryza, who apparently
surprised everyone in Azerbaijan by declaring about the
inadmissibility of using force against civilian aircraft en route to
Nagorno Karabakh. Once again Baku forgot the simple truth: no matter
how well an ambassador treats his host country, the most essential
thing for him is interests of the country he represents, in this case,
those of the United States. The USA that turns a blind eye and a deaf
ear to the arming of Azerbaijan, its bellicose rhetoric, violation of
the ceasefire regime, finally made it clear to Aliyev that its
patience is not unlimited. Baku is given freedom of action, but only
within well-defined borders. Washington is well aware that even the
attempt to shoot down a civilian airplane in the sky over Artsakh
would definitely result in war. `We urge the sides to work together to
resolve all issues of commercial aviation safety prior to the planned
opening of a new airport in Nagorno-Karabakh,' the diplomat said in an
interview to RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service. `Any slight attempt
Azerbaijan might take will be fraught with unpredictable consequences
for Azerbaijan itself,' declared David Babayan, head of the Central
Information Department at the Office of the President of Artsakh.
And what will come out of this is quite easy to predict. Russia and
Iran will not stand by, Turkey and the United States, either. As a
result there will break out a regional war that could easily spread
throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, the more so when under
the current circumstances striking a match is enough to blow up half
the world.
`Azerbaijan seeks to scare Artsakh people into refraining from airport
services. We are resolute in our intention to open the airport, no
matter whom it vexes in Azerbaijan. And if Azerbaijan makes even a
slight attempt to carry out her intentions, it is going to be fraught
with unpredictable consequences for this country itself,' Babayan
stressed.
Karine Ter-Sahakyan / PanARMENIAN News
From: A. Papazian