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ARMENIA: DESTINATION KARABAKH FOR ARMENIAN-SYRIAN REFUGEES?
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65757
Aug 6 2012
NY
As reported earlier by EurasiaNet.org, the arrival in Armenia
of Armenian-Syrian refugees is creating some friction. Now, some
politicians from both Armenia proper and Nagorno-Karabakh are floating
a controversial remedy; encouraging those fleeing the Syrian violence
to settle in the breakaway republic.
Since the 1988-1994 conflict that resulted in the expulsion of the
territory's Azeris, Nagorno-Karabakh has experienced a steady decline
of its Armenian population. To halt the demographic trend, the region
has hosted a mass wedding, and, recently, authorities mulled offering
convicts a fresh start there.
The idea of Armenian-Syrians resettling in Karabakh has irked the
Azerbaijani government, which still is struggling to regain the
territory. Officials in Baku have asked international negotiators
mediating the Karabakh conflict to exert influence on Yerevan to
abandon the idea.
Meanwhile, a large American organization, the Armenian General
Benevolent Union, announced that it had set aside $1 million as an
emergency fund for Syrian-Armenians - for both those who seek to flee
the violence and those who choose to remain in Syria.
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65757
Aug 6 2012
NY
As reported earlier by EurasiaNet.org, the arrival in Armenia
of Armenian-Syrian refugees is creating some friction. Now, some
politicians from both Armenia proper and Nagorno-Karabakh are floating
a controversial remedy; encouraging those fleeing the Syrian violence
to settle in the breakaway republic.
Since the 1988-1994 conflict that resulted in the expulsion of the
territory's Azeris, Nagorno-Karabakh has experienced a steady decline
of its Armenian population. To halt the demographic trend, the region
has hosted a mass wedding, and, recently, authorities mulled offering
convicts a fresh start there.
The idea of Armenian-Syrians resettling in Karabakh has irked the
Azerbaijani government, which still is struggling to regain the
territory. Officials in Baku have asked international negotiators
mediating the Karabakh conflict to exert influence on Yerevan to
abandon the idea.
Meanwhile, a large American organization, the Armenian General
Benevolent Union, announced that it had set aside $1 million as an
emergency fund for Syrian-Armenians - for both those who seek to flee
the violence and those who choose to remain in Syria.