Voice of America, DC
Aug 13 2004

Elections in Breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Draw Reaction
Bill Gasperini
Moscow

Local elections were held last Sunday in Nagorno-Karabakh, a
mountainous enclave located inside Azerbaijan which has long been in
dispute with neighboring Armenia. The voting angered the Azeri
government, although longstanding efforts for foreign power including
the United States to mediate in the dispute will continue.
Some international organizations have criticized local elections held
last Sunday in Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in Azerbaijan populated
by ethnic Armenians that broke away after a bloody war ended a decade
ago.

Authorities in Azerbaijan called the voting illegal, as it was held
outside their jurisdiction and did not take into account the wishes
of refugees who were forced to flee the mountainous region during the
conflict.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has long
overseen negotiations aimed at bringing peace to the region.

OSCE spokesman Ayhan Evrensel says the organization’s position is
that any lasting solution must be reached by the two parties
involved. `What the OSCE through the co-chairs is trying is do is
facilitate a solution, to bring the sides together and discuss about
the issues. It has to come from both sides,’ he said.

Along with Russia and France, the United States has led what is known
as the “Minsk group” of 12 nations attempting to mediate an end to
the dispute.

On Monday, the American embassy in Azerbaijan restated the
longstanding U.S. position that “the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan must be respected”. It added that the elections would
likely not have an impact on the peace process in the region.

There have been periodic meetings of the Minsk group, as well as
encounters between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia, but so
far, all attempts at resolving the dispute have been inconclusive.

An estimated 35,000 people died and one million forced to flee their
homes in a conflict that lasted from 1988 to 1994, when a cease-fire
left ethnic Armenian forces in control of the enclave as well as a
large buffer zone around it.

Shooting incidents still occur periodically along the cease-fire line
not far from Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital city, Stepanakert.