The Straits Times (Singapore)
July 18, 2009 Saturday
Nagorno-Karabakh
WHAT HAPPENED: An area over-whelmingly populated by Armenians, who are
Christians, was incorporated into the predominantly Muslim republic of
Azerbaijan in 1923.
The Armenians have long lived in the area, but the Azeris settled
around the region, transforming it into a landlocked enclave.
WHY: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin initially accepted that Nagorno-
Karabakh should be included in Armenia. But as he wanted neighbouring
Turkey to join the communist camp, he gave the region to Azerbaijan,
whose people are ethnically and linguistically related to the Turks.
The decision was never accepted by the Armenians but, during the
Soviet era, brute force ensured order.
OUTCOME: Violence erupted in 1988, even before the Soviet Union itself
began to disintegrate. Armenia’s decision to proclaim a ‘union’ with
Karabakh led to almost open warfare with Azerbaijan.
About 4,000 people were killed in clashes over the next five years and
at least 200,000 became refugees.
The problem still festers: Nagorno-Karabakh is ruled by an Armenian
self-proclaimed local government, and international mediation efforts
have so far failed to find a long-term solution.
Russia uses the conflict to maintain control over Armenia, which
supports Russian policies, and to ward off West-leaning Azerbaijan.