NAGORNY KARABAKH INSPIRED BY KOSOVO PRECEDENT
RIA Novosti
May 19 2008
Russia
What the Russian papers say
The government of Nagorny Karabakh, an area disputed by Armenia and
Azerbaijan, aims to gain independence recognition by moving half a
million ethnic Armenians into the self-proclaimed republic.
The president of Nagorny Karabakh, Bako Saakian, said Nagorny Karabakh
should be an independent party to the peace talks with Azerbaijan. The
Nagorny Karabakh Republic is the key party to the conflict, having
"the same priorities as other foreign states," he said.
For the past 14 years, Armenia has handled the talks for it, while
Karabakh only participated in the 1994 truce.
The decision must have been prompted by rumors that Armenia could cede
part of Karabakh’s territory to Azerbaijan in a bid to accelerate the
peace process, said Gegam Bagdasaryan, the only opposition member of
the Karabakh parliament.
The Nagorny Karabakh Autonomous Republic announced its secession from
Azerbaijan in 1988. The move was followed by a military conflict,
in which 25,000-30,000 people were killed and 1-1.5 million refugees
fled the area. The current peace talks are arranged by the Minsk
Group of the OSCE, co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France.
Even Armenia is still undecided about establishing diplomatic
relations with Nagorny Karabakh. The current "no war, no peace"
situation is vividly evidenced by white skeletons of destroyed
houses in Azeri villages and rusty remains of burnt infantry combat
vehicles. Armenian villages, on the other hand, are being restored,
supported by foreign Armenian diasporas. Some of their members even
build mansions in their native villages, with fountains and zoos.
The army accounts for one-sixth of the republic’s population. However,
the economy is slowly reviving. Agriculture is growing intensively
due to the local fertile lands, and so is the alcohol industry. Also,
the Drmbonsky mining and enrichment plant provides for almost a half
of Karabakh’s GDP.
Stability will enable the self-proclaimed republic’s government to draw
up a doctrine aimed at populating the area as densely as possible,
Karabakh Prime Minister Araik Arutyunyan told Vedomosti. The current
population is less than 150,000, according to official statistics;
its density is around one-tenth of that in the neighboring Armenia.
The government intends to boost the population to 500,000 in the
shortest possible time. The current inflow of migrants is twice as
large as the outflow, and the birth rate is growing, too – the current
rate is 14 children per 1,000 people. Population growth might also
help promote independence, "like in Kosovo," Arutyunyan concludes.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said the republic’s status
should be defined by a national referendum.
Leonid Slutsky, deputy head of the Russian parliament’s foreign
affairs committee, said Moscow supported a compromise assisted by
international mediators.