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COURT OF JUSTICE PUT THE RIGHT OF NATIONS TO SELF-DETERMINATION ABOVE THE PRINCIPLE OF TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY
Karine Ter-Sahakyan / PanARMENIAN News
PanARMENIAN.Net
July 23, 2010
Very soon we will be faced with yet another application of double
standards. It's about the former Soviet autonomies, which inspired
by the decision of the Court, will require recognition of their
independence too.
On July 22 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed that
proclamation of Kosovo's independence did not contradict international
laws. And although the court's decision is not mandatory, it finally
put an end to the issue of the former colonies' right to independence.
It is quite likely that after the decision of the ICJ many
states, which considered Kosovo part of Serbia, will recognize its
independence. One could even say that the two-year fight of Kosovars
for their rights produced the logical result.
However, not everything is as easy as it seems, and we will very soon
be faced with yet another application of double standards. It's about
the former Soviet autonomies, which inspired by the decision of the
Court, will require recognition of their independence too. First and
foremost, these are Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and
Transdniestria. As for the former Georgian autonomies, they have been
recognized by Russia and by another 2 or 3 states, but not by the U.S.
and EU. The status of Transdniestria is not incomprehensible at all.
Things are hardest with Nagorno-Karabakh, which declared independence
20 years ago, but never achieved recognition as an independent
subject of international law. It would be naive to expect that
anyone, including Armenia, would recognize the independence of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Moreover, after Kosovo various international platforms came to
say that Kosovo cannot become a precedent for the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In fact, in this case, we are dealing with
a bright example of double standards, which are designed to hold Baku
back. The logic of the West in this matter is quite clear - "oil in
exchange for non-recognition". By the way, a similar hypothesis in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, "peace in exchange for territory" did
not work, and all the more so cannot work in case of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Before sitting of the International Court, Serbian Foreign Minister
Vuk Jeremic stated that if the court decides in favor of the Kosovars,
none of the disputed borders in the world could ever be considered
safe. "The first and most important principle for any democratic
government in the world is protection of its own sovereignty and
territorial integrity," declared the Foreign Minister of Serbia,
BBC reports.
Political consequences of the verdict will appear not only on the
post-Soviet territory, but also in Spain, China, Belgium, i.e. it will
result in the redivision of the world formed after the Yalta treaty.
In fact, the process of redivision started with the collapse of the
Soviet Union and continues to this day. But, unfortunately, nobody
can say when and how the recarving of borders will end, and how long
the peoples can go on without bloodshed. We have been repeatedly
writing that conflicts are rarely regulated at the negotiating
table. A peace agreement is a result of a finished war, and once
there is no agreement, then war is not over yet. Sad but true. But
the thing is that in today's geopolitical reality starting a war is a
little difficult for newly created states, like Azerbaijan. Georgia
has already made an attempt and lost its autonomies. The same fate
awaits Azerbaijan. Things were somewhat different with Georgia:
Russia came to the rescue of Ossetians and Abkhazians.
Armenians will not be expecting help from anywhere or anyone, and
in the event of renewed hostilities, they'll have to rely only on
themselves, never reassuring themselves that the world powers will call
Ilham Aliyev to order. They may also wait and see the outcome of the
"blitzkrieg" promised by Baku. But on the other hand, the verdict of
the Court of Justice, beyond question, put the right of nations to
self-determination above the principle of territorial integrity. It
is a very important and demonstrative fact. Another important fact
is that the NKR may turn to the International Court of Justice,
which is exactly what will be done.
From: A. Papazian
Karine Ter-Sahakyan / PanARMENIAN News
PanARMENIAN.Net
July 23, 2010
Very soon we will be faced with yet another application of double
standards. It's about the former Soviet autonomies, which inspired
by the decision of the Court, will require recognition of their
independence too.
On July 22 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed that
proclamation of Kosovo's independence did not contradict international
laws. And although the court's decision is not mandatory, it finally
put an end to the issue of the former colonies' right to independence.
It is quite likely that after the decision of the ICJ many
states, which considered Kosovo part of Serbia, will recognize its
independence. One could even say that the two-year fight of Kosovars
for their rights produced the logical result.
However, not everything is as easy as it seems, and we will very soon
be faced with yet another application of double standards. It's about
the former Soviet autonomies, which inspired by the decision of the
Court, will require recognition of their independence too. First and
foremost, these are Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and
Transdniestria. As for the former Georgian autonomies, they have been
recognized by Russia and by another 2 or 3 states, but not by the U.S.
and EU. The status of Transdniestria is not incomprehensible at all.
Things are hardest with Nagorno-Karabakh, which declared independence
20 years ago, but never achieved recognition as an independent
subject of international law. It would be naive to expect that
anyone, including Armenia, would recognize the independence of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Moreover, after Kosovo various international platforms came to
say that Kosovo cannot become a precedent for the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In fact, in this case, we are dealing with
a bright example of double standards, which are designed to hold Baku
back. The logic of the West in this matter is quite clear - "oil in
exchange for non-recognition". By the way, a similar hypothesis in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, "peace in exchange for territory" did
not work, and all the more so cannot work in case of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Before sitting of the International Court, Serbian Foreign Minister
Vuk Jeremic stated that if the court decides in favor of the Kosovars,
none of the disputed borders in the world could ever be considered
safe. "The first and most important principle for any democratic
government in the world is protection of its own sovereignty and
territorial integrity," declared the Foreign Minister of Serbia,
BBC reports.
Political consequences of the verdict will appear not only on the
post-Soviet territory, but also in Spain, China, Belgium, i.e. it will
result in the redivision of the world formed after the Yalta treaty.
In fact, the process of redivision started with the collapse of the
Soviet Union and continues to this day. But, unfortunately, nobody
can say when and how the recarving of borders will end, and how long
the peoples can go on without bloodshed. We have been repeatedly
writing that conflicts are rarely regulated at the negotiating
table. A peace agreement is a result of a finished war, and once
there is no agreement, then war is not over yet. Sad but true. But
the thing is that in today's geopolitical reality starting a war is a
little difficult for newly created states, like Azerbaijan. Georgia
has already made an attempt and lost its autonomies. The same fate
awaits Azerbaijan. Things were somewhat different with Georgia:
Russia came to the rescue of Ossetians and Abkhazians.
Armenians will not be expecting help from anywhere or anyone, and
in the event of renewed hostilities, they'll have to rely only on
themselves, never reassuring themselves that the world powers will call
Ilham Aliyev to order. They may also wait and see the outcome of the
"blitzkrieg" promised by Baku. But on the other hand, the verdict of
the Court of Justice, beyond question, put the right of nations to
self-determination above the principle of territorial integrity. It
is a very important and demonstrative fact. Another important fact
is that the NKR may turn to the International Court of Justice,
which is exactly what will be done.
From: A. Papazian