Azerbaijan denounces poll in separatist Karabakh as “sham”

ANS TV, Baku
18 Jun 05

[Presenter] On the one hand, Armenia is holding talks with the
Azerbaijani foreign minister and the Karabakh mediators of the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs in Paris and on the other hand, it is going to
conduct a sham [parliamentary] election in Nagornyy Karabakh tomorrow
[19 June]. The Azerbaijani Central Electoral Commission has already
issued a statement on the 19 June elections to be conducted by the
self-declared Nagornyy Karabakh regime.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also protested against the elections.
Turkey regards the separatist regime’s plan to hold parliamentary
polls in Karabakh on 19 June as an attempt to undermine the process
of settling the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

[Passage omitted: correspondent says the Paris meeting between the
Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers yielded no results].

Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said that separate and joint
meetings between the ministers and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
are a follow-up to the Prague meeting.

[Azimov over telephone from Paris] It is yet too early to speak about
progress. The process is under way. Nevertheless, the pace of meetings
and the essence of the discussions, in my opinion, are promising.

[Correspondent] Nevertheless, the separatist Nagornyy Karabakh regime
thinks differently. So, Arman Melikyan, the self-styled foreign
minister of the Armenian community of the Nagornyy Karabakh, said that
they were expecting nothing extraordinary from the meeting between
the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers. Melikyan said that
the Armenians would never give up Karabakh’s independence.

[Aleksey Manvelyan from Yerevan] They are sticking to what they
have been saying for ages. Another generation has been brought up
believing in the right of their state to exist. I am constantly
looking for someone who would say that he is ready for coexistence.
There are no such people. They listen to radio and TV reports which
frighten them. They have no confidence. When you interview Armenians
in Armenia, they prove to be more moderate than the ones in Karabakh.

[Correspondent] Such views and the conduct of the illegal parliamentary
election will have a negative impact on the talks. Therefore, the
[Paris] meeting condemned the Armenian step.

[Azimov] The co-chairs issued a statement which recognizes Nagornyy
Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan. The statement does not
recognize the separatist regime and the legitimacy of the event to
be held under this regime.

[Correspondent] The Azerbaijani Central Electoral Commission has
issued a statement regarding the conduct of the elections in Karabakh
by the Armenians as an attempt to mislead the international community
and to undermine the peace talks.

[Chairman of the CEC Mazahir Panahov] Irrespective of the geography,
it is illegal to conduct elections on occupied lands. The elections
will be of no significance. They are designed to irritate Azerbaijan.

[Correspondent] The statement added that the sham elections on the
occupied Azerbaijani territory run fully against international legal
norms and the constitution of Azerbaijan. Elections and referendums
on the occupied lands can be conducted only on the basis of the
Azerbaijan’s constitution after the liberation of the lands and
the restoration of Azerbaijan’s integrity. The CEC also urged
international organizations to refrain from monitoring the bogus
elections in Karabakh, end of quote.