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AZERBAIJAN AT FAULT FOR KARABAKH SKIRMISHES? NEVER MIND.
EurasiaNet
Sept 15 2010
NY
The U.S.'s embattled nominee to be the next ambassador to Baku, Matthew
Bryza, raised some eyebrows during his confirmation hearing in July
by appearing to say that a serious skirmish on the Nagorno Karabakh
line of contact was Azerbaijan's fault. This is what he said in July:
"What transpired that day remains not entirely clear to us, but we do
know that there were several people killed. There was an Azerbaijani
move across the line of contact, Armenia responded, resulted in deaths
which, yes, Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton did condemn."
But now he appears to be backing away from that statement. In responses
to follow-up questions (pdf) from Barbara Boxer, a pro-Armenia senator,
Bryza stepped back from blaming Azerbaijan:
While I said that the Azerbaijanis moved across the line of contact
(LOC), the full details of what triggered the June 18 incident are
unknown. Unfortunately, there are a number of LOC violations each
year by both sides.
So was he right the first time? According to Jane's, yes. The skirmish
was not planned by either government, but was a shouting match between
soldiers on each side that got out of hand, resulting in an Azerbaijan
non-commissioned officer opening fire (article not online):
[T]he skirmishes around Nagorno-Karabakh between 18 and 21 June may
not have been as co-ordinated and planned as at first perceived. The
fighting left four Armenian soldiers dead and four wounded...
The official version of the fighting provided by the Armenian military
on 19 June was that an Azerbaijani unit tried to capture an Armenian
forward position, but failed to do so and retreated, abandoning one
of its dead. The Armenian soldiers died or were wounded defending
their position.
Azerbaijani officials in turn painted their casualty as a "hero" who
fell while defending against an Armenian attack. It also reported
another Azerbaijani soldier killed in a follow-up or retaliatory
Armenian attack in another part of the LoC.
However, speaking off the record to Jane's , sources both inside the
Armenian government and outside it, painted a different picture.
The situation along the LoC is generally calm, despite occasional
exchanges of gunfire. With the two sides' forward positions within
shouting distance of each other, bored Armenian and Azerbaijani
conscripts in remote outposts frequently violate their rules of
engagement....
According to these source in this case too, Armenian and Azerbaijani
soldiers were engaged in some kind of sporadic exchange when an
Azerbaijani NCO unexpectedly opened fire directly on the Armenian
position. He was then killed by return fire.
The Armenian Ministry of Defence statement issued on 23 June also
referred to unspecified "discipline problems" as a possible cause of
the incident. According to official sources, Azerbaijan too denied
ordering the cross-border raid.
The unanswered question is why Bryza changed his tune. It's certainly
not going to help the perception among pro-Armenia groups that he is
a stooge of Baku.
From: A. Papazian
EurasiaNet
Sept 15 2010
NY
The U.S.'s embattled nominee to be the next ambassador to Baku, Matthew
Bryza, raised some eyebrows during his confirmation hearing in July
by appearing to say that a serious skirmish on the Nagorno Karabakh
line of contact was Azerbaijan's fault. This is what he said in July:
"What transpired that day remains not entirely clear to us, but we do
know that there were several people killed. There was an Azerbaijani
move across the line of contact, Armenia responded, resulted in deaths
which, yes, Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton did condemn."
But now he appears to be backing away from that statement. In responses
to follow-up questions (pdf) from Barbara Boxer, a pro-Armenia senator,
Bryza stepped back from blaming Azerbaijan:
While I said that the Azerbaijanis moved across the line of contact
(LOC), the full details of what triggered the June 18 incident are
unknown. Unfortunately, there are a number of LOC violations each
year by both sides.
So was he right the first time? According to Jane's, yes. The skirmish
was not planned by either government, but was a shouting match between
soldiers on each side that got out of hand, resulting in an Azerbaijan
non-commissioned officer opening fire (article not online):
[T]he skirmishes around Nagorno-Karabakh between 18 and 21 June may
not have been as co-ordinated and planned as at first perceived. The
fighting left four Armenian soldiers dead and four wounded...
The official version of the fighting provided by the Armenian military
on 19 June was that an Azerbaijani unit tried to capture an Armenian
forward position, but failed to do so and retreated, abandoning one
of its dead. The Armenian soldiers died or were wounded defending
their position.
Azerbaijani officials in turn painted their casualty as a "hero" who
fell while defending against an Armenian attack. It also reported
another Azerbaijani soldier killed in a follow-up or retaliatory
Armenian attack in another part of the LoC.
However, speaking off the record to Jane's , sources both inside the
Armenian government and outside it, painted a different picture.
The situation along the LoC is generally calm, despite occasional
exchanges of gunfire. With the two sides' forward positions within
shouting distance of each other, bored Armenian and Azerbaijani
conscripts in remote outposts frequently violate their rules of
engagement....
According to these source in this case too, Armenian and Azerbaijani
soldiers were engaged in some kind of sporadic exchange when an
Azerbaijani NCO unexpectedly opened fire directly on the Armenian
position. He was then killed by return fire.
The Armenian Ministry of Defence statement issued on 23 June also
referred to unspecified "discipline problems" as a possible cause of
the incident. According to official sources, Azerbaijan too denied
ordering the cross-border raid.
The unanswered question is why Bryza changed his tune. It's certainly
not going to help the perception among pro-Armenia groups that he is
a stooge of Baku.
From: A. Papazian