The general terms of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as declared on May 25, 2007 in Baku by the OCSE Minsk Group mediators B. Fassier and Y. Merzlyakov, contradict the expectations of the Armenian people for a peaceful and secure future. The main principles of the proposed settlement declared in Baku imply:
The surrender to Azerbaijan of the liberated lands of Nagorno-Karabakh, controlled by the local Armenian population, and the subsequent transformation of Nagorno-Karabakh into an enclave or semi-enclave within Azerbaijan; In return – an unsubstantiated promise of a referendum in an unreasonably distant future regarding the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, which effectively denies the right to self-determination for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh; Gambling on the absence of an international political recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh.
We would like to inform the OSCE about the Armenian society's position regarding the potential negative consequences of these terms of settlement, should they be realized.
Whereas:
The right of people to self-determination is affirmed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Charter of the United Nations, the Helsinki Final Act and other international treaties and instruments; Nagorno-Karabakh has never been a part of independent Azerbaijan. The League of Nations' recognition of Azerbaijan on January 10, 1920 contained a reservation regarding the unsettled status of its borders. During the Soviet era, Nagorno-Karabakh was forced against the will of its population to become an autonomous region within the Azerbaijani SSR. Upon the secession of Azerbaijan from the USSR, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, based on the effective legislation, had a right to decide whether to remain a part of independent Azerbaijan. The self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh was realized through a legitimate referendum , in accordance with the law; After the referendum and the proclamation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the government of Azerbaijan unleashed a large-scale aggression against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, using types of weapons prohibited by international conventions. Nagorno-Karabakh was compelled to repel the aggression and reclaimed a part of its territory, which was recognized as disputable by the League of Nations. This territory currently serves as a vital element of a security system, which has sustained the ceasefire for the past 13 years; As a result of the pogroms in 1988-1990 hundreds of thousands of Armenians had to leave Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani government unleashed war against Armenian cultural heritage targeting ancient Armenian churches and cemeteries. Thousands of unique Armenian cross-stones of Old Julfa in Nakhichevan that were under the protection of UNESCO had been savagely destroyed. In the past decades the government of Azerbaijan has been propagating ideology of racial hatred towards Armenians and, in violation of the principle of peaceful settlement of conflicts, periodically threatens Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh with the resumption of war. During the years of its independence, Nagorno-Karabakh has made a significant progress in building a free and democratic society based on fair electoral processes and the rule of law, which stands in sharp contrast to the authoritarian clan regime in Azerbaijan.
The general principles of the settlement announced by the OSCE mediators in Baku, should they be realized, will:
Threaten the basic rights to life and freedom of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh; Deny their right to self-determination and independence; Destroy the existing system of regional security in the South Caucasus.
By pushing the Armenians to unilateral concessions, the OSCE is taking a responsibility for a future Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh. Such an aggression will inevitably take place immediately after Karabakh surrenders to Azerbaijan the historical Armenian lands around its boundaries. In the past, the world has committed similar unforgivable mistakes leading to hundreds of thousands of new victims and making entire generations of people suffer . It has neither moral, nor legal rights to repeat its mistakes. People's right to freedom must not be subjected to political gambling. |
