DEMOCRACY IN NKR ELECTION VS. INT’L DOUBLE STANDARDS
By Jason Cooper

Tiraspol Times & Weekly Review, Moldova
July 17 2007

A presidential election in the unrecognized Nagorno Karabakh
Republic is shaping up to be a battle between local democraticy
and international double standards. On one hand, observers and
analysts consider Nagorno Karabakh’s democracy to be stronger than
in neighboring countries. Nevertheless, the international community
refuses to recognize the right of local residents to democratically
choose their political leaders.

Nagorno Karabakh (shown) was once an autonomous republic but was
forcefully incorporated into the Azerbaijani SSR by StalinSTEPANAKERT
(Tiraspol Times) – Amid the now-customary condemnations of illegitimacy
and non-recognition, voters in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
will go to the polls on 19 July to elect a new president. As expected,
Azerbaijan and a number of Western countries have declared the vote
illegal from the outset and international organizations will not
send observers despite repeated invitations by Nagorno Karabakh to
participate in monitoring the election.

There are five candidates for the Nagorno Karabakh presidency:
Vanya Avanesyan, Armen Abgaryan, Masis Mailyan, Grant Melkumyan, and
frontrunner Bako Sahakian. All of them, except Communist Party leader
Grant Melkumyan, were nominated by public organizations. Turnout is
expected at 70 percent to 80 percent.

Outgoing President Arkady Gukasyan is convinced that "a tradition
of conducting fair elections has evolved in Karabakh" and that at
present there are "ideal conditions" for a free expression of the
people’s will.

While observers and analysts consider Nagorno Karabakh’s democracy to
be stronger than in neighboring countries, the international community
continues to refuse recognition of the right of local residents to
democratically choose their political leaders.

Nagorno Karabakh declared independence after the fall of the Soviet
Union but had to defend itself against Azerbaijan for the right
to self-determination. It was once an autonomous republic but was
forcefully incorporated into the Azerbaijani SSR by Soviet dictator
Josef Stalin. When the USSR broke apart, residents sought to undo
the Stalin-imposed union.

Democratic standards exceed nearby recognized countries Today, an
influential Russian analyst points out that despite being unrecognized,
Nagorno Karabakh has democratic standards which are higher than in the
neighboring recognized countries of both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Sergei
Markedonov, head of the department of international relations at
Russia’s Institute of Political and Military Studies, says that "today
Karabakh continues to remain as a peculiar lighthouse for Armenia,"
and adds that Azerbaijan is also less democratic.

" – The democratic standards in unrecognized Karabakh are higher
than in internationally recognized Azerbaijan. Karabakh will also
pose lots of inconvenient questions in front of the world community.

Conceptions on democratization as an important precondition for the
processes to peacefully resolve ethnic-political conflicts serves
as an axiom for the United States, Europe, as well as influential
international organizations (UN, OSCE). In reality this thesis does not
work always. There is not a single presidential candidate in NKR who
would not support democratic principles. Just the opposite, Karabakh
people accept democracy not as an abstract value, but as an effective
mechanism of international legitimization," said Sergei Markedonov.

Markedonov notes that during Nagorno Karabakh’s 2005 parliamentarian
elections, the so-called "Kosovo principle" (first democratization,
then self-determination) was declared a key tenet of the policy of
Karabakh and politicians of Karabakh, setting an example for other
countries and unrecognized countries to follow. The strides toward
more democracy did not change the official attitude of the West,
however, who still continue to hold different standards for Kosovo
and Nagorno Karabakh.

One set of rules for Kosovo, different rules for everyone else
While Kosovo’s elections are always recognized as legitimate,
despite heavy violence and a lack of safeguards for minorities, the
same international organizations routine condemn elections in other
unrecognized states as illegitimate.

" – The international community can easily recognize only a
referendum organized with NATO or the OSCE assistance," said Armenian
political analyst Stepan Grigoryan. However, whether recognized or
not recognized, what matters is the reality on the ground and the
actual fact that the election is recognized by the voters. Voters
in Transdniestria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus, Somaliland, and Nagorno Karabakh go to the polls
on a regular basis and elect political leaders who are recognized as
legitimate by themselves, but not by the international community.

Stepan Grigoryan also noted that granting independence to Kosovo
can influence the situation in Nagorno Karabakh. "Because Kosovo and
Nagorno Karabakh have similar problems," he stressed adding that they
differ only in their scale.

Azerbaijan threats stir new war fears Although democracy is an
important part of any conflict resolution process, the West has
developed a tradition of not recognizing any elections in areas of
"frozen conflicts" except Kosovo. This is seen as a double standard by
voters in other areas whose status settlement processes have been left
unresolved for longer than Kosovo. The lack of support for peaceful,
democratic development is now causing many to fear that new wars
are underway. Combined with a lack of support from the international
community, bellicose statements from neighboring states fuel this fear.

Azerbaijani president Ilkham Aliyev said last week that Nagorno
Karabakh must voluntarily give up its independence if it wants to
avoid a new war.

" – Azerbaijan is militarily the strongest power in the region,
and our neighbors should face up to this. Armenia should voluntarily
withdraw its troops from Azerbaijani lands. Only on this condition
will it be possible to say with certainty that there will not be a
new war," warned the president of Azerbaijan.

In Nagorno Karabakh, none of the five candidates support war. All
five are committed to peaceful conflict resolution while at the same
time rejecting any talk of coming under Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction.

The commitment to independence matches the overwhelming general
sentiment among the population.

Outgoing President Arkady Ghukasian has characterized the election
campaign as "close to ideal." Addressing students on 2 July 2007,
Ghukasian pledged to ensure that the 19 July vote is free and fair,
stressing that his republic "always holds the best election in the
post-Soviet space," even if the international community declines
to recognize the vote as legal and valid, Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty reported. (With information from RFE/RL)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress