Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Jan 26 2005
PACE passes resolution condemning Armenian aggression
The draft resolution on Upper Garabagh, based on the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe rapporteur David Atkinson’s report,
was unanimously passed at the PACE winter session after heated debate
on Tuesday.
Atkinson stated during the discussions that if a nationwide poll was
held in Upper Garabagh today, most of the population would
undoubtedly vote for independence. However, in this case Azerbaijani
residents in Upper Garabagh would not be able to cast their votes, as
they do not currently live in their native land and were subject to
ethnic cleansing as a result of Armenia’s aggression.
Atkinson indicated three ways for settling the conflict. One of them
is military action by Azerbaijan, which implies that the country will
no longer be a member of the Council of Europe. Another alternative
is granting full independence to Upper Garabagh, which will
jeopardize security in the region. The third option is a peace
settlement, which is the only way to ensure co-existence of the two
peoples.
A representative of Armenia Armen Rustamian stated that adopting the
resolution would complicate the conflict resolution. He said that the
fact the `occupation’ and `separatism’ concepts were used in the
document will allow Azerbaijan to put forth an ultimatum to Armenia.
Following heated discussions accompanied by mutual accusations, PACE
considered the proposed changes to the draft resolution. The entity
rejected the Armenian MPs’ proposal on amending the section that says
`considerable parts of the territory of Azerbaijan are still occupied
by Armenian forces’, by the overwhelming majority of votes.
Only two amendments were introduced to the resolution. One of these
changes stipulated that Azerbaijan is to hold talks with both the
Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Upper Garabagh without
preconditions, while the other one envisioned making technical
changes to the document.
The resolution was further placed on voting and passed by 123 votes,
with only 7 voting against it.
Head of the Azerbaijani delegation at PACE Samad Seyidov says the
resolution passed is of great importance for Azerbaijan.
`This shows that European countries have confirmed that Armenia is an
aggressor and that Upper Garabagh is controlled by separatist
forces.’
The resolution also says that both sides should refrain from military
action and consider using the UN International Court of Justice if a
conflict resolution fails.
So far most international organizations have exercised a double
standard approach to the Garabagh conflict. The Council of Europe is
therefore the only entity that passed a document reflecting a fair
and impartial position on the issue.
Analysts regard the fact that the resolution was adopted in this
composition as a victory of Azerbaijan’s diplomacy.*