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AZERBAIJANI-AMERICAN COUNCIL: ARMENIA SHOULD DISASSOCIATE ITS FOREIGN POLICY FROM FAIRY TALES
Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 31 2011
The Canadian Guardian published a letter of General Director of the
Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC) Javid Huseynov in response to the
publication of article 'Locked in ethnic and territorial disputes'
in The Guardian by Henry Srebrnik, the AAC reported.
Huseynov said Srebrnik listed some historical facts and linked them
to the present-day Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
in his letter titled 'Locked in ethnic and territorial disputes' in
The Guardian of Oct. 18, 2011 (ironically, the day also marked the
20th anniversary of Azerbaijan's Declaration of Independence). Some
of these associations, however, need clarification, Huseynov wrote
in his letter.
"The ideology of [pan-]Turkism, which originated in the 1880s, did
not seek to create a unified Turkic empire, was never directed against
any other group, including the Armenians. It was a social movement for
liberation and modernization of the Turkic-speaking Muslim communities
within the Russian Empire. According to its key ideologists - Ismail
Gasprinski, Ali Huseynzade, and Yusuf Akcura - Turkism was aimed at
a language reform as a way of educating and bringing Turkic peoples
closer to the progressive and secular European values," Huseynov wrote.
The unrelated 1919-1920 war between Azerbaijan and Armenia was
not indecisive. Azerbaijani forces defeated Armenian militants and
remained in control of the Mountainous (Nagorno) Karabakh in 1919,
the letter reads.
The Allied Powers recognized the authority of Azerbaijan-appointed
Governor of Karabakh, Khosrov Sultanov, as did the region's Armenian
community. According to a prominent Armenian scholar, Professor
Richard Hovanissian of UCLA, the Armenian Republic also recognized
Azerbaijan's sovereignty over the Mountainous Karabakh in 1919.
"In 1987-88, when ethnic Armenians in Karabakh and in Armenia advanced
demands to transfer the territory from Azerbaijan to Armenia. The
first victims of the conflict were two Azeris killed near the town
of Askeran, and the first refugees of the conflict were Azeris
expelled from Kafan and Gugark districts of Armenia in late 1987,"
Huseynov wrote.
Huseynov said neither modern Turkey nor Azerbaijan ever viewed Armenia
as an ideological or geographical barrier for co-operation.
A perfect proof of that is Armenia's neighbour Georgia, an ancient
Caucasus nation that preserved its rich cultural identity while living
in peace and understanding with its Turkic neighbors. So the ball is
in Armenia's court to cease the occupation of Azerbaijani territories,
to disassociate its foreign policy from fairy tales, and to live in
synergy with its ages-old neighbours, the letter reads.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. -
are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.
Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 31 2011
The Canadian Guardian published a letter of General Director of the
Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC) Javid Huseynov in response to the
publication of article 'Locked in ethnic and territorial disputes'
in The Guardian by Henry Srebrnik, the AAC reported.
Huseynov said Srebrnik listed some historical facts and linked them
to the present-day Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
in his letter titled 'Locked in ethnic and territorial disputes' in
The Guardian of Oct. 18, 2011 (ironically, the day also marked the
20th anniversary of Azerbaijan's Declaration of Independence). Some
of these associations, however, need clarification, Huseynov wrote
in his letter.
"The ideology of [pan-]Turkism, which originated in the 1880s, did
not seek to create a unified Turkic empire, was never directed against
any other group, including the Armenians. It was a social movement for
liberation and modernization of the Turkic-speaking Muslim communities
within the Russian Empire. According to its key ideologists - Ismail
Gasprinski, Ali Huseynzade, and Yusuf Akcura - Turkism was aimed at
a language reform as a way of educating and bringing Turkic peoples
closer to the progressive and secular European values," Huseynov wrote.
The unrelated 1919-1920 war between Azerbaijan and Armenia was
not indecisive. Azerbaijani forces defeated Armenian militants and
remained in control of the Mountainous (Nagorno) Karabakh in 1919,
the letter reads.
The Allied Powers recognized the authority of Azerbaijan-appointed
Governor of Karabakh, Khosrov Sultanov, as did the region's Armenian
community. According to a prominent Armenian scholar, Professor
Richard Hovanissian of UCLA, the Armenian Republic also recognized
Azerbaijan's sovereignty over the Mountainous Karabakh in 1919.
"In 1987-88, when ethnic Armenians in Karabakh and in Armenia advanced
demands to transfer the territory from Azerbaijan to Armenia. The
first victims of the conflict were two Azeris killed near the town
of Askeran, and the first refugees of the conflict were Azeris
expelled from Kafan and Gugark districts of Armenia in late 1987,"
Huseynov wrote.
Huseynov said neither modern Turkey nor Azerbaijan ever viewed Armenia
as an ideological or geographical barrier for co-operation.
A perfect proof of that is Armenia's neighbour Georgia, an ancient
Caucasus nation that preserved its rich cultural identity while living
in peace and understanding with its Turkic neighbors. So the ball is
in Armenia's court to cease the occupation of Azerbaijani territories,
to disassociate its foreign policy from fairy tales, and to live in
synergy with its ages-old neighbours, the letter reads.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. -
are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.