FREEDOM HOUSE:
FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2004
Armenia / Azerbaijan
NAGORNO-KARABAKH
Political Rights: 5
Civil Liberties: 5
Status: Partly Free
Population: 150,000
Religious Groups: Armenian Apostolic Church (majority)
Ethnic Groups: Armenian (95 percent), other (5 percent)
Ten Year Ratings Timeline [OMMITTED]
Overview
Internationally mediated efforts to find a political settlement to the
protracted Nagorno-Karabakh conflict made little progress in 2003. With
presidential elections scheduled for both Armenia and Azerbaijan during the
year, neither country’s leadership appeared willing to risk a public
backlash by agreeing to compromises over the disputed territory’s status.
Meanwhile, a mounting number of cease-fire violations led to concerns over a
possible threat of renewed larger-scale confrontations.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, a territory largely populated by
ethnic Armenians inside the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, was
established in 1923. In February 1988, Nagorno-Karabakh’s regional
legislature adopted a resolution calling for union with Armenia. The
announcement triggered the first mass violence related to the conflict with
attacks against Armenians in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait several days
later.
Successive battles and counteroffensives were fought over the next several
years between various Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Nagorno-Karabakh forces. At
its inaugural session in January 1992, Nagorno-Karabakh’s new legislature
adopted a declaration of independence, which was not recognized by the
international community. By the time a Russian-brokered cease-fire was
signed in May 1994, Karabakh Armenians, assisted by Armenia, had captured
essentially the entire territory, as well as six Azerbaijani districts
surrounding the enclave. Nearly all ethnic Azeris had fled or been forced
out of the enclave and its surrounding areas, and the fighting had resulted
in thousands of casualties and an estimated one million refugees.
In December 1994, the head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s state defense committee,
Robert Kocharian, was selected by the territory’s parliament for the newly
established post of president. Parliamentary elections were held in April
and May 1995, and Kocharian defeated two other candidates in a popular vote
for president in November of the following year.
In September 1997, Foreign Minister Arkady Ghukasian was elected to replace
Kocharian, who had been named prime minister of Armenia in March of that
year. In the territory’s June 2000 parliamentary vote, 123 candidates
representing five parties competed for the assembly’s 33 seats. The ruling
Democratic Union Artsakh (ZhAM), which supported Ghukasian, enjoyed a slim
victory, winning 13 seats. The Related Territories Reports 643 Armenian
Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutiun won 9 seats, the Armenakan Party
captured 1 seat, and formally independent candidates, most of whom supported
Ghukasian, won 10. International observers described the electoral campaign
and voting process as calm and largely transparent, although problems were
noted with the accuracy of some voter lists.
In February 2001, former Defense Minister Samvel Babayan was found guilty of
organizing a March 2000 assassination attempt against Ghukasian and
sentenced to 14 years in prison. His supporters insisted that the arrest was
politically motivated, as Babayan had been involved in a power struggle with
Ghukasian. Others, however, welcomed the arrest and conviction of Babayan,
who had been accused of corruption and reportedly wielded considerable
political and economic power in the territory.
Ghukasian was reelected to a second term as president on August 11, 2002,
with 89 percent of the vote. His closest challenger, former parliament
speaker Artur Tovmasian, received just 8 percent. Voter turnout was close to
75 percent. Observers from countries including the United States, the United
Kingdom, and France reported no serious violations. While a number of
domestic and international nongovernmental organizations concluded that the
elections marked a further step in Nagorno-Karabakh’s democratization, they
did voice some criticisms, including the limited access for the opposition
to state-controlled media. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry described the
election as a violation of international norms, insisting that a legitimate
vote could be held only after a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
With both Armenia’s president, Robert Kocharian, and Azerbaijan’s president,
Heydar Aliev, poised to seek reelection in 2003 – and the domestic political
risk associated with either leader’s making significant public concessions
over the territory during a campaign year – few observers expected any
breakthroughs in the conflict during 2003. An upsurge in shooting incidents
along the ceasefire line in the summer, which both Armenian and Azerbaijani
officials accused the other side of instigating, fueled concerns of a
further and more widespread escalation of violence. Meanwhile, speculation
grew over the impact of Aliev’s failing health and the October election of
his son, Ilham, to succeed him as president on prospects for a negotiated
settlement to the conflict.
Despite continued high-level discussions in the framework of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group – which
was established a decade earlier to facilitate dialogue on a political
settlement on Nagorno-Karabakh’s status – a resolution of the long-standing
dispute remained elusive at year’s end. While Yerevan insists that
Nagorno-Karabakh should be left outside Azeri jurisdiction, Baku maintains
that the territory may be granted broad autonomy while remaining a
constituent part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan also has refused to negotiate
with Ghukasian, who has demanded direct representation in the peace process.
Political Rights and Civil Liberties
A self-declared republic, Nagorno-Karabakh has enjoyed de facto
independence from Azerbaijan since 1994 while retaining close political,
economic, and military ties with Armenia. Parliamentary elections in 1995
and 2000 were regarded as generally free and fair, as were the 1996 and
1997 presidential votes. However, the elections were considered invalid by
most of the international community that does not recognize 644 Freedom in
the World – 2004 Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence. Nagorno-Karabakh’s
electoral law calls for a single-mandate system to be used in
parliamentary elections; lawmakers have rejected the opposition’s demands
for the inclusion of party-based lists.
The territory officially remains under martial law, which imposes
restrictions on civil liberties, including media censorship and the banning
of public demonstrations. However, the authorities maintain that these
provisions have not been enforced since 1995, a year after the cease-fire
was signed.
The government controls many of the territory’s broadcast media outlets, and
most journalists practice self-censorship, particularly on subjects dealing
with policies related to Azerbaijan and the peace process. Some observers
maintain that the government used the attempted murder of President Arkady
Ghukasian in 2000 as a pretext to intensify attacks against its critics.
The registration of religious groups is required under Nagorno-Karabakh’s
1997 law on religion. The Armenian Apostolic Church, which is the territory’
s predominant religion, is the only faith registered with the state.
According to Forum 18, a religious-freedom watchdog group based in Norway,
members of various minority faiths, including Pentecostals, Adventists,
Baptists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses, have faced restrictions on their
activities. In 2003, a local Baptist was beaten, was threatened with
mind-altering drugs, and had threats made against his wife by law
enforcement officials for distributing religious literature on the street,
Forum 18 reported; authorities denied that any threats were made against
him.
Freedom of assembly and association is limited, although political parties
and unions are allowed to organize.
The judiciary, which is not independent in practice, is influenced by the
executive branch and powerful political and clan forces. Former defense
minister Samvel Babayan alleged that he had been physically assaulted during
his interrogation and detention as a suspect in the failed assassination
attempt against President Ghukasian in March 2000. The presiding judge in
the case announced that the subsequent guilty verdict against Babayan was
based on pretrial testimony in which Babayan confessed to the charges,
although he later retracted his admission of guilt, claiming that it had
been obtained under duress. The republic’s government announced that it had
replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment as of August 1, 2003.
The majority of those who fled the fighting continue to live in squalid
conditions in refugee camps in Azerbaijan, while international aid
organizations are reducing direct assistance to the refugees. Landmine
explosions continue to result in casualties each year, with children and
teenagers among the most vulnerable groups. According to the International
Committee of the Red Cross, at least 50,000 anti-personnel mines were laid
during the war, although in many cases, records of minefield locations were
never created or were lost. The HALO Trust, a British nongovernmental
organization, is the major de-mining group operating in the territory.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s fragile peace has failed to bring significant improvement
to the economy, particularly in the countryside, and pensioners are
particularly hard hit. Widespread corruption, a lack of substantive economic
reforms, and the control of major economic activity by powerful elites limit
equality of opportunity for most residents.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress