Azerbaijani diplomat accuses Armenia of a campaign in disputed enclave

AP Worldstream
Mar 10, 2005

Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Hungary on Thursday accused Armenia of
settling Armenians in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region with
the aim of maintaining the status quo and preventing refugees from
returning to the province.

Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been under ethnic
Armenian control since 1994, when a cease-fire ended a six-year war
that killed some 30,000 people and drove a million from their homes.

The enclave’s final political status has not been determined, and
shooting breaks out frequently between the two sides, which face off
across a demilitarized buffer zone.

The settlements are being supported not only by the Armenian government
but by various non-governmental institutions in other countries,
Hassan Hasanov told a news conference in Budapest.

The diplomat did not specify which NGOs he referred to.

“Organized crime, illegal trading and drugs trafficking are also
problems in Karabakh today,” Hasanov said.