Azeri society reacts negatively to pressure group’s Karabakh war idea

ANS TV, Baku
5 Jan 05

[Presenter Natavan Babayeva] The Karabakh Liberation Organization’s
[KLO] united proposal for liberating the occupied Azerbaijani lands
militarily today was submitted for consideration by the Presidential
Executive Staff, the Milli Maclis, the Defence Ministry, the Baku City
Executive Authorities and a number of political organizations.

[Correspondent, over archive footage of news conference at KLO
premises] The KLO has managed to bring the authorities and opposition
closer. It became known that none of them wants war. Neither
government structures nor political parties supported the KLO’s
position that the peace option in the Nagornyy Karabakh settlement has
exhausted itself and there is a need for war. In its united proposal
for liberating the occupied lands militarily, the KLO calls on the
Azerbaijani government, first, to reject the idea of talks with
Armenia and, second, to put an end to either official or unofficial
ties with that country at all levels.

It is clear that the [Azerbaijani] Foreign Ministry is the addressee
of this demand. The ministry does not believe that the talks have
exhausted themselves. On the contrary, the ministry regards some
agreements reached at the recent meetings in Prague, Sofia and
Brussels [between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers] as
an incentive to hold more meetings. By opting for a military solution,
one could turn into the subject of condemnation from the international
community, the ministry believes.

Let us now look at the paragraph in the proposal submitted for
consideration by the political parties. All political forces should
recognize the need for the military option. This unconditional
position has absolutely nothing to do with the views of the political
forces. For example, like pro-government parties, the [opposition]
Musavat Party believes that the talks have not exhausted themselves
and that during these years one should strengthen the army and develop
the economy.

The authorities know better whether the talks are necessary because it
is government officials precisely who are taking part in the
talks. This is the position of the [opposition] Azarbaycan Milli
Istiqlal Party. The party also believes that the military option is
becoming less topical as the conflict has become internationalized.

The leadership of the [opposition] Democratic Party of Azerbaijan
believes that it is impossible to prepare the parties for war by
sending messages of this kind, despite the fact that the party is
dissatisfied with the peace talks. The party officials, however,
think that the way out not to resume hostilities, but to have a normal
foreign policy.

The state and society should pay more attention to strengthening the
army and to ensuring public control over the army. The [Azerbaijani]
Defence Ministry has indirectly rejected the aforesaid paragraph of
the KLO’s document. In fact the public oversees the army, our doors
are open to the KLO as well and detailed answers are being given to
the questions they put, but this does not mean that the army should
open its doors to anyone who will just knock on them, end of quote.

The KLO believes that every move, which may have a negative impact on
patriotism and fighting spirit in the country, should be decisively
thwarted. But the head of the public and political department of the
[Azerbaijani] Presidential Executive Staff, Ali Hasanov, does not
support the idea of creating a war-like atmosphere in the country. He
believes that the war could be started at any moment, but there is no
need for making the international community hostile to Azerbaijan by
doing so.

This was our presentation of society’s preliminary reaction to the
KLO’s proposal. It took them a long time to prepare the proposal,
which as they say, appears not to be so united after all.

Eldaniz Valiyev for ANS.