FORMULATION ‘BROAD AUTONOMY TO ARMENIANS OF NAGORNO KARABAKH’ – VEILED
FORMULA OF SURVIVAL OF ARMENIAN POPULATION: KARABAKH SPECIALIST IN
POLITICAL STUDY

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 25. ARMINFO. The statement of Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev on readiness “to provide high status of autonomy to the
Armenians residing in Nagorno Karabakh with use of the positive
experience of autonomy in Europe” evidently shows the unwillingness of
official Baku to make a step towards all embracing settlement of
Karabakh conflict. Karabakh specialist in political study David
Babayan made this statement commenting to ARMNIFO on the Azerbaijani
President’s statement at GUUAM Summit in Kishinev.

“First of all, the idea of any autonomy as part of Azerbaijan is
inadmissible for Nagorno Karabakh. We have already had such autonomy
for 70 years and everyone knows which it has led to. Second, the
wording ‘autonomy’ itself is discriminatory in its essence,” he said.
According to him, speaking of autonomy, Ilham Aliyev did not mean the
Nagorno Karabakh, but the Armenians residing there. “In the given
context autonomy can suppose just cultural autonomy and nothing more.
And the characteristic Aliyev gave to the conflicts in the GUUAM area
– ‘result of aggressive separatism’ is another evidence of it.”
Babayan said “to prevent ‘aggressive separatism’ one must not provide
broad autonomy.” “This separatism is either recognized independent, or
neutralized. The notorious formulation ‘broad autonomy to the
Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh’ is a veiled formula of survival of the
Armenian population on its historical Motherland. For Nagorno Karabakh
it is naturally inadmissible and absurd,” Babayan said.