Azeri paper says democracy is way to get breakaway area back amid war calls

Azadliq, Baku
2 Feb 05

Text of unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq on 2
February headlined “‘You can have Karabakh back only in one way: it is
democracy'” and subheaded “The co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group,
Bernard Fassier, put pressure on I. Aliyev”

The new French co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Bernard Fassier,
met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during his diplomatic visit to
Baku last week. The French visitor said that the calls for renewed
war in Azerbaijan are not taken seriously in Europe. Fassier said:
“They believe in Europe that such calls may be aimed at covering up
the wish for democracy of the Azerbaijani people and it’s naive to
hope that Nagornyy Karabakh can be liberated in such a way.”

Fassier added that under the circumstances the renewal of military
hostilities may be perceived across the world “as the fight for
influence between the two authoritarian regimes and both countries may
face serious sanctions”.

Fassier said: “I would like to say that this is the position not only
of France, but also of the EU.”

At the same time, other aspects of the issue are also interesting.
First, Azerbaijan has been in such a poor situation that a co-chairman
of the commission established to resolve the conflict dares to issue
an ultimatum to the Azerbaijani government.

Second, an explicit message has been sent to the Azerbaijani
government and the public that the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict can be
resolved in Azerbaijan’s favour only after it introduces democratic
reforms.

Third, even in Europe they know that Azerbaijan’s propaganda for a
solution to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is insincere. They can well
see that the mafia-type government of Azerbaijan is anyway not in a
belligerent mood and all such calls are just a fake.

Fourth, all the EU member states advocate a solution to the Karabakh
problem in the interests of a country which shares EU
values. Undoubtedly, if there is a democratic regime in Azerbaijan,
any possible solution to this problem in Azerbaijan’s favour will
satisfy the whole democratic world. However, if democratic changes
were to occur in Armenia before Azerbaijan, the Nagornyy Karabakh
problem may be resolved in Armenia’s favour once and for all. The fact
is that any democratic changes in Azerbaijan are not about the desire
of any political force for power, but about the country’s territorial
integrity.

Finally, it should also be noted that a lot of money is required to
wage a war. The government of Azerbaijan, where 60 per cent of the
economy works for the “black market”, does not intend to pursue a
war. The slogan “everything for the motherland” usually works in
countries at war, while in Azerbaijan there is unlikely to be any
alternative to the slogan “everything for the governing
clan”. Moreover, since the Azerbaijani military industrial complex is
also involved in corruption, only an idiot can think of fighting with
the resources at its disposal.