Today, Azerbaijan
July 16 2005

Vafa Guluzade: “Referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh should not be held”

15 July 2005 [09:57] – Today.Az

The official Baku must not agree to hold a referendum in Nagorno
Karabakh, as this move will lead to the loss of the native territories
of Azerbaijan, the former state advisor on political issues of the
president of Azerbaijan, a political analyst Vafa Guluzade made such
a statement in his exclusive interview to Trend.

In his opinion, the OSCE Minsk group co-chairmen speak openly from
the anti-Azerbaijani positions and proposals, developed by them,
remain unchanged during the last ten years. “The Minsk group proposes
the Azerbaijani leadership to recognize the fact of the loss of
territories and make obvious surrender to Armenia, one of which is
signing the agreement on holding a referendum in the Nagorno Karabakh”,
a political scientist noted.

In the opinion of Guluzade, for today, the OSCE Minsk group prepared a
“very banal trick”, a referendum in Nagorno Karabakh has been proposed
to be held not immediately after returning the occupied territories
around the Upper Karabakh, but, say in 10 years.

“During the last census at the time of the collapse of the Soviet
Union, the Armenians in the Upper Karabakh exceeded in number the
Azerbaijani population, the political scientist reminded, having
underlined, that such referendum will mean the automatic seizure of
the part of the Azerbaijan’s territory, which is inadmissible.” In
the opinion of the former president’s state advisor, “such a step
will be equal to the high treason.”

Touching upon the Upper Karabakh status, Vafa Guluzade noted,
that any solution of the issue involves constitutional changes in
Azerbaijan. “The Constitution marks, that Azerbaijan is a unitary
state and changing of the basic law is possible only after holding a
referendum in the country”, the political scientist noted. “Peaceful
talks are the deception of the Azerbaijani public, and the status
of the Nagorno Karabakh may be only one – it is the integral part of
Azerbaijan”, summarized Guluzade.

In conclusion, the political analyst voiced the position in regard to
the proposals on bringing the international peacekeeping troops in the
region. “Bringing any peacekeeping troops to the region is fraught
with ruinous and fatal consequences for the integrity of Azerbaijan
and the issue must not be subject to discussion by the official Baku”,
Guluzade thinks.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress