LESSONS LEARNED FROM LEBANON

"Aparazh" newspaper, Stepanakert
Yerkir.am
August 25, 2006

We witnessed the horrors of war on the TV screens in the past forty
days.

Once again, people saw that wars are the most inhumane phenomenon of
the humanity.

Beyond all this, it once again became clear for us, people who lived
through a war, that international forces starting with the UN and
the European Union cannot ensure peace if balance between conflicting
parties is not preserved.

We saw that peace cannot be achieved in conflict zones if the conflict
is not settled in a just manner.

The international community disapproved of the elections held in
Palestine.

This disapproval encouraged Israel to take action against
Palestine. This was a distortion of the balance, at least
psychologically. On the military side, USA’s and the Western countries’
support to Israel was obvious to everyone.

Moreover, in the course of the war we witnessed a new contract signed
between USA and Israel for provision of high precision rockets.

We have succeeded in establishing a balance with the enemy due to the
liberated territories. Those who want to object to this statement
should look at Azerbaijan’s increasing military budget and the
expected revenues from oil. We are the ones who should ensure this
balance through all possible legal and military means. The war in
Lebanon showed that there is no use in relying on peacekeeping forces.

The key word of the Gordian Knot of the Middle East conflict, as well
as all other conflicts, is justice. We are sure that all conflicts,
including the Artsakh conflict, can only be solved if the main
principle of justice is preserved.

Humanity’s laws and legal norms have justice as their primary aim. The
international community cannot solve any conflicts and establish
sustainable peace unless it recognizes the people’s right for justice
and freedom. This is equally true for our case. The international
actors are trying to eliminate the consequences of clashes between
conflicting parties and propose short-term solutions.

With the same logic, they propose that we should withdraw from
liberated territories so that international forces are dislocated
there with the assumption that then the refugees would be resettled
and in ten years a referendum will be held…

The international developments showed once again that relying on
one’s own strength is the only way to go. Unfortunately, leaders both
in Armenia and in Nagorno Karabagh Republic are somewhat hesitant
about this approach. Let us not be deceived and let us stand for our
positions firmly.