Democratic Azerbaijan
Oct 14 2006

`Echo’: What Do We Need Armenian Citizens For?
14.10.2006

Baku warns Yerevan against Issue of Armenian Passports for
Azerbaijani Citizens, Living on Occupied Territories
`Issue of Armenian passports for separatists of Nagorni Garabagh may
be evaluated as illegal issue of national documents of Armenia for
citizens of Azerbaijan or as a fact of recognition of Nagorni
Garabagh as state on the part of Yerevan’. Both contradict to peace
process agreements’. Chief of Information Policy Administration and
press of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Tair
Tagizade, stated it for `Echo’ on commenting probability of mass
issue of passports by Armenia for citizens of our country, living on
occupied territories. Accordingly to him, anyway taking into account
absence of law on dual citizenship in Armenia, – `these people
remains to be our citizens’.
It should be reminded that early December this year, separatists of
Nagorni Garabagh scheduled to hold referendum on adoption of
Constitution of non-recognized regime. Within the scope of discussion
of the fundamental law project, as Armenian mass media informed,
discussions were held on adoption of law on citizenship of separatist
regime. At the same time, the so-called `law’ envisages principle of
dual citizenship that people living on occupied territories of
Azerbaijan can `freely obtain Armenian passports’.
Armenian mass media make clear that separatists will have passports
of Armenia without law, `however, this business needs some
arrangement’. Thus one cannot exclude that issue of national
passports of Armenia for people on occupied territories will be of
mass nature. And it is not the first case when separatists in
different regions of the world obtain passports of other states. For
example, Russian Federation issues its documents for separatists of
Georgia and Moldova, thus causing protests of officials of these
states.
In turn, chief of administration of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Azerbaijan, T. Tagizade, informs that first of all OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs should have responded to issue of passports for
separatists. `Such steps can be characterized any way one likes, but
they cannot be called constructive movement on the way of achievement
of acceptable regulation of Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorni-Garabagh
conflict’, T. Tagizade stresses. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
underlines that today the crucial question for Azerbaijan is who of
persons living on occupied territories are citizens of Azerbaijan and
who are not. `As there are people on occupied territories, who came
there after beginning of conflict, what means that they cannot be
citizens of Azerbaijan’, representative of home Foreign Affairs
Ministry said.
Milli Mejlis deputy representing ruling party and member of standing
commission on state security and defense, Aydin Mirzazade, responded
to Armenian initiative more rigidly. Accordingly to him, currently
considerable flow-out of Armenian citizens from the country is
observed, connected with poor economic situation in the country.
`With such developments, the number of people living in Armenia will
be less than that of Russian soldiers serving for military base in
Gumri’, deputy said. He holds that it is not strange that official
Yerevan authorities are attempting to rehabilitate by starting the
game of dual citizenship; they hope to get new citizens-Armenians to
the country. At the same time deputy reminds that Armenian leadership
and different nationalistic groups in Yerevan failed to realize the
project on international recognition of separatist regime in Nagorni
Garabagh. `No doubt it restricts foreign trips of representatives of
Armenian community of Garabagh to a considerable degree’, deputy
holds. In this connection Armenian part rapidly starts dual
citizenship process attempting to provide 50000 representatives of
Armenian diaspora of Nagorni Garabagh with any kind of legal
document.
`But with the first departure to foreign country they don’t want to
return either to occupied territories or to Armenia, wishing to
escape police regime’, deputy said. In addition, Milli Mejlis deputy
reminds that there is no law on dual citizenship in Armenia. `Any
citizen of Azerbaijan becoming citizen of other state, automatically
forfeits ours’, Mirzazade stresses. Thus, in case separatists are
granted citizenship of Armenia, then, accordingly to Milli Mejlis
deputy, `it won’t affect occupied territories, which remain to be
sovereign territories of Azerbaijan’, deputy emphasizes. At the same
time our country currently seeks liberation of occupied territories.
Mirzazade specially underlines that Armenian citizenship is not
prestigious, `everyone understands that sooner or later these
territories will be returned to Azerbaijan’.
`People living on occupied territories will prefer successful
Azerbaijan to backward Armenia’, Milli Mejlis deputy is convinced. He
stresses that even now living standard of Azerbaijan is higher than
in Armenia, `and what will be observed in some years?!’.
As for possible statements that from this date (after issue of
passports (author’s remark) Yerevan will protect rights of its
citizens on occupied territories of Azerbaijan, deputy stresses that
such position will cause misunderstanding: `And what citizens of
Armenia are doing on our territories? We have no diplomatic
relations!’. Accordingly to him, after acquiring citizenship of
Armenia, people living on occupied territories, will turn to be under
jurisdiction of Armenia which has clear frontiers and they
(separatists – author’s remark) will have nothing to do on our
territories, as such illegal form of residence in Azerbaijan will be
punished.
Political scientist and head of center on political innovations and
technologies, Mubariz Ahmadoglu, sees similar tendencies on obtaining
of Russian passports by people living in provinces of neighbor
Georgia in Armenian wish to issue passports for Armenians living on
occupied Azerbaijani territories. `All separatists understand very
well that they will fail to get international recognition’, head of
center says. Political scientist holds that separatists are
attempting to join with other states. At the same time, he points
that political authority of Armenia and Russia at international level
is incomparable. Unlike Yerevan, the Kremlin is strong player
strongly affecting international processes. `That is, expectation of
threats of Armenian acts is not worthless’, political scientist
stresses. He also reminds that, Baku never took separatists of
Nagorni Garabagh as separate object. `These territories are occupied
by Armenia, so there is nothing astonishing in Yerevan’s new game’,
he added. In given situation the issue of Armenian citizenship has no
importance. `As even now considerable part of separatists have
Armenian passports and actively use them while departing abroad’,
political scientist informs. Accordingly to Ahmadoglu, steps of
Armenia should be taken as psychological game to which Baku will
attach no importance. On the contrary with the use of such facts,
Azerbaijan can draw attention of world community to annexationist
goals of Armenia.

S. Rzayev, N. Aliyev

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