The Messenger, Georgia
Nov. 5, 2004

Great Britain’s MPs show interest in Karabakh

According to the Karabakh newspaper Azat Artsakh, a delegation of
British members of parliament headed by the MP Gordon Marsden recently
visited Karabakh. A total of 5 MPs, including the vice-speaker of the
House of Lords, baroness Caroline Cox, made up the delegation. The
British MPs met with the president of Karabakh, speaker of the region’s
National Assemble and NGO representatives.
Marsden told journalists before leaving the region that they will
evaluate the achievements of Karabakh and will provide assistance to
local citizens, “who have been forced to suffer from the lots of
terrible events in recent years.” He also noted that interesting issues
connected with the issue of how Great Britain can help Karabakh in the
future were also discussed during the meetings.
Asked what result were achieved, Mardsen said that the group will
present its own observations to the governments of Great Britain and
the European Union, which will then decide how they can assist
Karabakh. The head of the delegation highlighted the group’s meetings
with the NGOs, particularly with women’s organizations. “We have
already received lots of new information. More new information can be
gained from face-to-face meetings than from books and official
information,” he said as quoted by the paper.
The paper also writes that “one thing is clear, that interest toward
Karabakh has increased, especially from the side of Great Britain.”
According to the paper, it was specifically British organizations that
entered into an international consortium set up to assist finding ways
for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Several projects have
already been implemented in Karabakh within the framework of this
consortium. However, the paper writes, “time will show whether it is
possible to assess the interest of Great Britain toward Karabakh as a
positive event.”