Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Feb. 22, 2008
OSCE Chairman-in-Office: The political will to resolve the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict must come from the parties themselves – EXCLUSIVE
[ 22 Feb 2008 16:57 ]
Baku. Tamara Grigoryeva-APA. Foreign Minister of Finland, OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Ilkka Kanerva interviewed by APA
-What are the priorities of Finland as a country chairing OSCE in
2008?
-The theme of the Finnish Chairmanship is Continuity, Coherence and
Co-operation. Among our objectives is to strengthen the OSCE’s
capacity to act. We also aim to create enabling conditions for the
peaceful resolution of regional conflicts by activating existing
negotiation mechanisms and by encouraging all of the parties to
resume negotiations to find feasible political resolutions to the
conflicts. We will also strengthen the status of the OSCE as a
regional security organization that promotes openness, transparency
and co-operation in politico-military issues by deepening the
security dialogue among OSCE participating States. In the economic
and environmental fields, we will increase security and protect the
environment through focusing the OSCE Economic and Environmental
Forum process on maritime and inland waterways co-operation in the
OSCE area. Finland will also emphasize respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms, implementation of the rule of law and
strengthening democratic governance. Particular priorities are
combating trafficking in human beings, promoting tolerance and
non-discrimination, in particular with regard to Roma and Sinti, as
well as gender mainstreaming in all OSCE activities.
-How can Finland help to solve the so called `frozen conflicts’ in
the OSCE area, particularly Nagorno-Karabakh conflict? Does Finland
have any new proposals for the conflict parties and what are they?
The Finnish Chairmanship has put the so called frozen or protracted
conflicts in the OSCE area at the top of our agenda. As a Chair of
the OSCE, Finland will give its full support to the Minsk Group
Co-Chairs in their continuous efforts towards conflict resolution. We
also consider the activities of the Chairman-in-Office’s Personal
Representative important. I have already visited Moldova in January
and I intend to visit Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia at the end of
February. My Special Envoy, Heikki Talvitie, will also work actively
to support the existing conflict-resolution structures and to promote
conflict resolution. However, the political will to resolve the
conflict must come from the parties themselves. We call for political
courage from the leaders.
-There are a number of problems with media freedom in OSCE region.
What does Finland propose to solve this problem? Some of the
journalists were released after President Ilham Aliyev’s order late
in 2007, but three are still in prison. How is Finland going to
pressurize that situation?
-Though the pardoning of some journalists in December was a welcome
step towards improving and normalizing the media situation in the
country, I call on the authorities to release those journalists who
remain in detention. In addition, swift progress is needed on legal
reforms that would prevent the criminalization of journalistic work
and allow the media to report on issues of public interest without
fear of prosecution. Decriminalization of libel and defamation is a
necessary step that I hope will come soon. The OSCE is ready to
further support the Government of Azerbaijan to fulfil its OSCE
commitments with regard to freedom of the media.
-Presidential elections will be held in Azerbaijan in autumn, 2008.
What is OSCE going to do to make this election free and fair?
It is for the Azerbaijani authorities to ensure that the election is
conducted in line with OSCE commitments. The ODIHR is currently
assisting the government with improving the electoral framework. We
look forward to an early invitation to observe the elections.
The OSCE is an organisation that is based on cooperation, not
confrontation. We will continue to engage with the Azerbaijani
authorities with a view to improving the conduct of elections. The
government has committed itself to follow-up on recommendations made
in previous election observation reports. It is not too late to put
this commitment into practice, and the OSCE is willing to do what it
can to assist with such efforts.
-Do you think that Ǻland model is good one for the unresolved
conflicts? And is it possible to use it for the settlement of
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
-Finland has presented the Ǻland model on a number of occasions
as a model for conflict resolution, including for the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. The model applied for the Ǻland islands is a
very democratic one. However, it is up to the parties to make use of
it or not, taking into consideration the peculiarities of each
conflict.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress