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OH! FAMILIAR FACES! FAMILIAR CALLS!
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=723:-oh-familiar-faces-familiar-calls&catid=3:all&Itemid=4
Thursday, 14 June 2012 12:26
On June 11-12, in the framework of a regional visit, OSCE Chairman,
Foreign Minister of Ireland Eamon Gilmore visited Yerevan. Since he
arrived in the capital of Armenia almost a week after the tragic
incidents at the contact-line between the armed forces of the parties
to the Karabakh conflict, which was the result of Azerbaijan's
military provocations, surely, the sharp escalation of tension was one
of the basic issues of the OSCE Chairman's Yerevan meetings.
We can say that against the background of the extremely aggravated
situation, the issue of resolving the conflict itself receded, giving
way to the strengthening of the ceasefire. So, it is natural that we
expected for objective assessments and actions by Mr. Gilmore.
What was the reaction of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to the latest
developments? It was quite predictable, that is seasoned in the spirit
of traditional diplomatic statements of a general character. ĢI
strongly condemn the recent cases of violence. This conflict will not
be resolved by forceģ, said Mr. Gilmore to journalists after a meeting
with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and urged the parties
to renounce the use of force or threat of force. As we can see, the
actions committed by Azerbaijan got... a generalized and "unified"
assessment. It is noteworthy that in response to the question of
whether it is not the time to indicate the specific committers of the
ceasefire violations, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office advised "not to
blame for the past mistakes and, looking to the future, to achieve
peace and stability." To be frank, the advice is a little bit strange.
First, such a position contradicts the very idea of ??the mediators'
proposed mechanism for investigating the incidents and simply
discredits it. Second, for establishing lasting peace and stability it
is necessary to prevent a recurrence of the bloody incidents that Mr.
Gilmore somehow delicately calls "mistakes". And to prevent a
recurrence, one should, first of all, objectively investigate each
incident, to identify the specific culprit and to take corresponding
measures against him. Otherwise, the prospect of stable peace will be
vague, which is confirmed by the long-standing practice of the
conflict settlement. It is evident that the advice "not to blame"
fully meets the interests of Azerbaijan, which does not want to stop
the sniper war and sabotages, allowing it to continue creating, with
impunity, a situation teetering on the brink of war.
One should pay tribute to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office - it did not
limit with "condemning the violence" and suggested an algorithm for
solving the security issue: to remove the snipers from the line of
contact and to agree on the mechanism of investigating the incidents
at the forefront. Are these familiar proposals? To let us a pun, "old
familiar". Indeed, there is no novelty in them, and the package of
proposals is not the first one, as if the baton passes from one head
of the OSCE to another. Note that in December 2011, when Ireland was
going to assume the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2012, the same Eamon
Gilmore also spoke about the need to create the notorious
investigation mechanism. Since then, six months have passed and the
mechanism has not been formed yet, despite the fact that the incidents
initiated by Azerbaijan do not stop.
The reason for the OSCE slowness is known and even commonplace in a
sense, but it isn't removed so far ` it is the tough position of
Azerbaijan. Moreover, it should be noted that the policy of official
Baku, which had never been flexible, was extremely radicalized after
the election of Azerbaijan a non-permanent member of the UN Security
Council. It seems that the Baku authorities regarded it as a kind of
carte blanche giving them freedom of actions. Meanwhile, these actions
of Azerbaijan are a direct blow to the humanitarian law and an open
challenge to the international community. At the first glance, they
are contrary to sound logic, because the main objectives of the UN are
just peace and security. However, it is time for the international
community in general and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office in particular to
get used to the illogical actions of the Azerbaijani leadership. But,
are they so deprived of logic?
Indeed, at first glance it is difficult to find any logic in the
actions of Baku, when it declares for an exclusively peaceful solution
to the issue, but, in fact, rejects the proposals of the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs to withdraw the snipers and to strengthen the
ceasefire. Or, at a meeting of the Presidents of Russia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan in Sochi signed an agreement on the establishment of a
mechanism for investigating the violations of the cease-fire, but when
discussing the OSCE Unified Budget rejects the proposal to allocate
additional funds provided for the creation of such a mechanism. Today,
Azerbaijan is continuing its "illogical" policy, which has
well-defined goals - through permanent armed provocations and military
blackmail of the international community, to change the existing
status quo in their favor.
There is no doubt that despite the calls of the international
mediators for peace, Azerbaijan will continue its dangerous game. It
will do it until the OSCE seriously deals with the creation of an
investigation mechanism and with the implementation of a corresponding
plan on putting it into operation. With the participation of all the
three parties to the Karabakh conflict and in accordance with the
spirit and letter of the OSCE Budapest Summit.
Leonid MARTIROSSIAN
Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=723:-oh-familiar-faces-familiar-calls&catid=3:all&Itemid=4
Thursday, 14 June 2012 12:26
On June 11-12, in the framework of a regional visit, OSCE Chairman,
Foreign Minister of Ireland Eamon Gilmore visited Yerevan. Since he
arrived in the capital of Armenia almost a week after the tragic
incidents at the contact-line between the armed forces of the parties
to the Karabakh conflict, which was the result of Azerbaijan's
military provocations, surely, the sharp escalation of tension was one
of the basic issues of the OSCE Chairman's Yerevan meetings.
We can say that against the background of the extremely aggravated
situation, the issue of resolving the conflict itself receded, giving
way to the strengthening of the ceasefire. So, it is natural that we
expected for objective assessments and actions by Mr. Gilmore.
What was the reaction of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to the latest
developments? It was quite predictable, that is seasoned in the spirit
of traditional diplomatic statements of a general character. ĢI
strongly condemn the recent cases of violence. This conflict will not
be resolved by forceģ, said Mr. Gilmore to journalists after a meeting
with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and urged the parties
to renounce the use of force or threat of force. As we can see, the
actions committed by Azerbaijan got... a generalized and "unified"
assessment. It is noteworthy that in response to the question of
whether it is not the time to indicate the specific committers of the
ceasefire violations, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office advised "not to
blame for the past mistakes and, looking to the future, to achieve
peace and stability." To be frank, the advice is a little bit strange.
First, such a position contradicts the very idea of ??the mediators'
proposed mechanism for investigating the incidents and simply
discredits it. Second, for establishing lasting peace and stability it
is necessary to prevent a recurrence of the bloody incidents that Mr.
Gilmore somehow delicately calls "mistakes". And to prevent a
recurrence, one should, first of all, objectively investigate each
incident, to identify the specific culprit and to take corresponding
measures against him. Otherwise, the prospect of stable peace will be
vague, which is confirmed by the long-standing practice of the
conflict settlement. It is evident that the advice "not to blame"
fully meets the interests of Azerbaijan, which does not want to stop
the sniper war and sabotages, allowing it to continue creating, with
impunity, a situation teetering on the brink of war.
One should pay tribute to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office - it did not
limit with "condemning the violence" and suggested an algorithm for
solving the security issue: to remove the snipers from the line of
contact and to agree on the mechanism of investigating the incidents
at the forefront. Are these familiar proposals? To let us a pun, "old
familiar". Indeed, there is no novelty in them, and the package of
proposals is not the first one, as if the baton passes from one head
of the OSCE to another. Note that in December 2011, when Ireland was
going to assume the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2012, the same Eamon
Gilmore also spoke about the need to create the notorious
investigation mechanism. Since then, six months have passed and the
mechanism has not been formed yet, despite the fact that the incidents
initiated by Azerbaijan do not stop.
The reason for the OSCE slowness is known and even commonplace in a
sense, but it isn't removed so far ` it is the tough position of
Azerbaijan. Moreover, it should be noted that the policy of official
Baku, which had never been flexible, was extremely radicalized after
the election of Azerbaijan a non-permanent member of the UN Security
Council. It seems that the Baku authorities regarded it as a kind of
carte blanche giving them freedom of actions. Meanwhile, these actions
of Azerbaijan are a direct blow to the humanitarian law and an open
challenge to the international community. At the first glance, they
are contrary to sound logic, because the main objectives of the UN are
just peace and security. However, it is time for the international
community in general and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office in particular to
get used to the illogical actions of the Azerbaijani leadership. But,
are they so deprived of logic?
Indeed, at first glance it is difficult to find any logic in the
actions of Baku, when it declares for an exclusively peaceful solution
to the issue, but, in fact, rejects the proposals of the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs to withdraw the snipers and to strengthen the
ceasefire. Or, at a meeting of the Presidents of Russia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan in Sochi signed an agreement on the establishment of a
mechanism for investigating the violations of the cease-fire, but when
discussing the OSCE Unified Budget rejects the proposal to allocate
additional funds provided for the creation of such a mechanism. Today,
Azerbaijan is continuing its "illogical" policy, which has
well-defined goals - through permanent armed provocations and military
blackmail of the international community, to change the existing
status quo in their favor.
There is no doubt that despite the calls of the international
mediators for peace, Azerbaijan will continue its dangerous game. It
will do it until the OSCE seriously deals with the creation of an
investigation mechanism and with the implementation of a corresponding
plan on putting it into operation. With the participation of all the
three parties to the Karabakh conflict and in accordance with the
spirit and letter of the OSCE Budapest Summit.
Leonid MARTIROSSIAN
Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper