Azeri pressure group’s war plan not universally welcomed
Sarq, Baku
6 Jan 05
Text of Xalid Ilyaszada’s report by Azerbaijani newspaper Sarq on 6
January headlined “There are mixed responses to the KLO’s war plan”
Several days ago the Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) released a
document outlining the measures to be taken to recapture the
Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories.
The document, called “A single plan to liberate the Armenian-occupied
Azerbaijani territories in a military way”, will be forwarded to all
political parties. The objective is to drum up political support for
the idea. The author organization believes that all opportunities for
achieving a negotiated settlement to the problem have been exhausted,
that the tactics of dealing with the problem have to be changed, that
a lot needs to be done to boost the spirit of military patriotism and
that it is time to start military action to retake our lands. The plan
has caused mixed responses among the country’s political forces.
A member of parliament representing the ruling New Azerbaijan Party,
Bahar Muradova, said: “I have no doubt that the KLO, which has
authored a number of ideas on Karabakh, has put forward this plan
because it is genuinely interested in liberating the occupied
territories. I am convinced that the plan has been prepared because
the Azerbaijanis are getting increasingly worried about the
problem. The issue worries the Azerbaijani authorities too, which is
reflected in the statements by the head of state and other government
officials.”
At the same time, Muradova added that the war option does not reflect
the Azerbaijani realities.
“I don’t think the calls for war are quite in line with the general
and political course the country is pursuing. The Azerbaijani
government has never ruled out that it may take the necessary steps if
need be. At this point, I think the negotiations have entered into a
new stage and there seems to be some optimism. Therefore, I think
Azerbaijani society has to advocate a single position. If there is a
need for change, the Azerbaijani government, not an organization, will
have to make a decision. The state can certainly take into account any
calls that reflect public opinion,” Muradova said and added that the
Azerbaijani head of state is defending the position of Azerbaijani
society in the negotiations. This is why it would be wrong to take
steps that are not part of the negotiating process.
The co-chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, Araz
Alizada, who recently put forward his own model of a “patriotic war”,
said with regard to the “single plan” that some aspects of the plan
are not known to him. However, he said: “If the point is about the
liberation of our lands, special attention has to be paid to army
build-up. We have to learn a lesson from what happened to us in the
past.”
The deputy chairman of the People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party [PFAP],
Nuraddin Mammadli, expressed a slightly different attitude to the war
plan.
“The Azerbaijani state has made a commitment to solve the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict peacefully and the Azerbaijani opposition parties
have joined that commitment. Therefore, we are in favour of honouring
our commitments,” Mammadli said. Peaceful remedies have not been
exhausted yet, he said and added that the KLO’s plan can only be
implemented by the authorities.
“Every organization has the right to express its opinion, but it is
necessary to bear in mind that eventually the Azerbaijani state will
decide what measures shall be taken,” he said. He also noted that the
KLO had not yet forwarded its plan to the PFAP and said that if it
does, the party would discuss it as a matter, of course. At the same
time, he sees the suggestion as a propaganda attempt.