CONSTITUTION AFFIRMING INDEPENDENCE OVERWHELMINGLY PASSES IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Voice of America
Dec 11 2006

Election officials say voters in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region
of Azerbaijan have overwhelmingly approved a new constitution that
affirms the area’s independence.

The head of the region’s election commission, Sergei Nasibyan, said
Monday that 98 percent of those voting in Sunday’s referendum favored
the constitution. Voter turnout was about 86 percent.

The balloting took place on the 15th anniversary of the 1991 referendum
in which the region’s majority ethnic Armenian population backed
independence.

A declaration of independence in 1988 triggered a six-year war that
claimed 35,000 lives. A ceasefire has been holding since 1994, but
tensions persist.

The international community does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh’s
independence. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
has been seeking to mediate the dispute. In a statement Monday the
group called the referendum counterproductive for efforts to settle
the ongoing conflict.