HULIQ.COM: AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA ON TWO OPPOSITE SIDES OF MADRID PRINCIPLES

Panorama.am
14/05/2010

"Azerbaij an and Armenia have in principle agreed to the Madrid
Principles proposed by the mediators as a way to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. However, the two countries look at the
principles from two opposite points of views," Huliq.com publisher,
editor Armen Hareyan writes.

According to him, Azerbaijan wants the return of the Azerbaijani
refugees to Nagorno-Karabakh and a referendum to determine the final
status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia, on the other hand, says the
international status of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) is the
core of the conflict. Thus, we need to start from it, Armenia says.

It calls for more specification on how and when the referendum will
be conducted to determine the future status of the Nagorno Karabakh.

Armenia has said it is willing to discuss issues that are of mutual
interest with Azerbaijan, but only after the latter is ready to
discuss the future status of NKR.

Armenia says bringing back the Azeri refugees back to Nargorno Karabakh
and making them to leave side by side with the Armenian majority of
Karabakh before the conflict is resolved is an invitation to another
conflict. This is why Armenia insists to start from the status and
details of the referendum for the future status of NKR.

"The core of the conflict is the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, which already for 20 years is de facto independent from
Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan does not want to accept it, but also does not
explain how it can convince Karabakh population to vote to remain in
one country with it. This conflict started because of the violated
human rights of the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh’s
Autonomous Region. Thus the region voted for independence. If the
mediators are really interested in this conflict’s quick resolution
they need to get a hold of the problem and not the symptoms.

Otherwise, currently it seems that everyone is trying to heal the
symptoms, leaving the problem at the end," A. Hareyan highlights.

The Nagorno-Karabakh (armed) conflict broke out back in 1991, when,
subsequent to the demand for self-determination of the Nagorno-Karabakh
people, Azerbaijani authorities attempted to resolve the issue
through ethnic cleansings, carried out by Soviet security forces
(KGB special units) under the pretext of the implementation of the
passport regime and by launching of large-scale military operations,
which left thousands dead and caused considerable material damage. A
cease-fire agreement was established in 1994. Negotiations on the
settlement of the conflict are being conducted under the mediation
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen (Russia, USA, France) and on the
basis of their Madrid proposals, presented in November, 2007.

Azerbaijan has not yet implemented the 4 resolutions of the UN
Security Council adopted in 1993, by continuing to provoke arms race
in the region and openly violating on of the basic principles of the
international law non-use of force or threat of force.