International Crisis Group, Belgium
Sept 14 2005
NAGORNO-KARABAKH FROM THE GROUND
Tbilisi/Brussels, 14 September 2005: All sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict need to prepare their people for peace much better if the
seeds of their high-level negotiations are to bear fruit.
Nagorno-Karabakh: Viewing the Conflict from the Ground,* the latest
report from the International Crisis Group, explores how the Armenians
and Azeris from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts live
and how they view the resolution of the conflict.
Despite signs of progress at internationally mediated negotiations
(to be discussed in a subsequent report), rising military expenditures
and increasing ceasefire violations are ominous signs that time for
a peaceful settlement may be running out.
The brutal war over Nagorno-Karabakh killed some 18,500 people and
displaced over a million before settling into a shaky cease-fire in
1994. Eleven years on, life in Nagorno-Karabakh has regained some sense
of normality with a developing economy and elected institutions. Yet
nothing has been done to restore rights of war victims. The creation
of mono-ethnic institutions in Nagorno-Karabakh, the destruction of
Azeri property, and the privatisation of land and businesses pose
significant obstacles to Azeri return and reintegration.
Many displaced persons have become highly dependent on the Azerbaijani
state, with few opportunities to participate fully in political
life and determine their own future. Refusing to allow dialogue and
demonising Armenians through the state-sponsored media and schools,
Baku has hardened anti-Armenian feeling among average citizens. The
Azerbaijanis and Armenians are as separated as they have ever been.
“There is need to counter the hate propaganda and unlock the potential
for confidence building and dialogue between average Azeris and
Armenians”, says Sabine Freizer, Director of Crisis Group’s Caucasus
Project. “This has to happen before the memories of cohabitation fade
and the divide becomes unbridgeable”.
Neither community appears prepared to agree to the kind of settlement
being considered by the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers
in the negotiations sponsored by the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
“The vast majority of those affected by the conflict have been kept in
the dark about the details of the negotiations”, says Alain Deletroz,
Crisis Group’s Vice President for Europe. “But there is no way for
any peace process to succeed unless leaders from all sides start
actively selling the idea to their people”.
Contacts: Andrew Stroehlein (Brussels) +32 (0) 2 541 1635 Kimberly
Abbott (Washington) +1 202 785 1601 To contact Crisis Group media
please click here *Read the full Crisis Group report on our website:
;id=3652&m=1