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KARABAGH ISSUE ON WORLD AGENDA
By Edmond Y. Azadian
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2012/11/08/karabagh-issue-on-world-agenda/
Opinion | November 8, 2012 12:14 pm
While the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan continue
meeting and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
representatives continue visiting the region, the Karabagh conflict
is still far from being resolved.
It is fairly obvious that the parties involved in the negotiations
have a vested interest in keeping the issue unresolved, so that it
may be used as bargaining power in order to wield pressure on Armenia
and Azerbaijan.
People in Karabagh have held a referendum to declare independence,
which no country has recognized yet. Armenia is in a precarious
situation and should Yerevan recognize Karabagh's independence, it
will risk war with Azerbaijan. Since Armenia has not yet recognized
Karabagh's independence, it cannot ask nor expect other countries to
recognize it.
Cynicism is rampant in international politics. Russia waged a war
against Georgia and recognized the independence of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia, ignoring Western calls for the principles of territorial
integrity. Similarly, Europe and the United States forcibly partitioned
the former Yugoslavia to grant independence to Kosovo.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, many minorities have broken
away from the main countries to attain independence. For example,
East Timor was emancipated from Indonesian rule, and more recently
Southern Sudan became a new country. The issue of territorial integrity
was not raised in any of those cases, certainly not loudly enough to
stop the process.
When the issue comes to Karabagh, however, territorial integrity
becomes a sacrosanct principle and statesmen who are not embarrassed
to apply double standards, go to great lengths to explain that
Karabagh is a "different" case and that each case has political
parameters different from the others. But, in essence, these
arguments are falsehoods created to mask the duplicity of cynical
parties. Even Russia upholds the principle of the "square" wheel
(equating the principle of territorial integrity with the right to
self-determination).
Thus, since Armenia cannot recognize Karabagh's independence and Russia
does not wish to offend Azerbaijan, the issue remains at a stalemate.
Western countries are eager to preserve Azerbaijan's territorial
integrity, albeit on false promises; additionally it is the Western
powers' declared policy to break up Iran and to attach its northern
region to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Time is against Armenia as Azerbaijan is being armed at a rapid pace
and the partition of Iran looms on the horizon.
The Armenian Diaspora, with its limited resources, can make a
difference and the case in point of Australia proves it. Indeed,
heartening news came from Australia's premiere province, New South
Wales, whose Parliament has just adopted a resolution recognizing
the right of self-determination for the people of Karabagh. New South
Wales is the largest province with a population of 7,273,000 out of
Australia's 21 million - one third of the country.
This move may not result in recognition by Australia's federal
government, but it is a significant first step. More than 40 states
in the US have individually recognized the Armenian Genocide, which
has not amounted yet to the recognition by the federal government.
It is believed that Uruguay may follow suit; it was one of the first
countries to have recognized the Armenian Genocide.
Armenians settled in Australia beginning in the 19th century. The
60,000-strong Armenian community is mostly in Sidney (New South Wales)
and Melbourne.
The recent tour of Armenia's Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian
in Central and South American countries may yield some political
dividends, especially in generating some movement on the Karabagh
issue.
It is an interesting coincidence that while the New South Wales
parliament was voting to uphold Karabagh's right to self-determination,
the Baku government announced that it was recognizing Southern
Sudan's independence, thus placing on the back burner the principle
of territorial integrity which constituted the center- piece of that
country's foreign policy.
Baku, citing this principle, had even refused to recognize Kosovo's
independence despite some prodding from Washington.
Victory in Australia may reflect only minor progress, but any pos-
itive move by diaspora forces will complement and serve as an exten-
sion of Armenia's foreign policy.
Credit is due to the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Australia
for pushing through the resolution in the New South Wales Parliament,
as other Armenian political parties are either virtually nonexistent
or are ineffective there.
Some people have given up hope that political activism would pay off,
but Australia seems to disprove that pessimism. Also, the victory
achieved in the French Parliament, through the cooperation of combined
political forces, is another example that there is light at the end
of the tunnel, although President Francois Hollande has to keep his
pledge assuring the passage of the resolution criminalizing the denial
of the Armenian Genocide in France.
ANCA remains the major force in the US, lobbying to influence
legislation as the Armenian Assembly is bogged down in lawsuits with
Gerard Cafesjian. They both seem to be determined to destroy all
hopes of completing the Genocide Museum in Washington by the year
2015. This is a historic watershed when Armenians may be engaged in
self-flagellation, while the Turks celebrate our failure.
Meanwhile, although we have scored a minor victory in Australia,
its significance and impact is greater, as it places the Karabagh
issue on the world political agenda.
By Edmond Y. Azadian
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2012/11/08/karabagh-issue-on-world-agenda/
Opinion | November 8, 2012 12:14 pm
While the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan continue
meeting and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
representatives continue visiting the region, the Karabagh conflict
is still far from being resolved.
It is fairly obvious that the parties involved in the negotiations
have a vested interest in keeping the issue unresolved, so that it
may be used as bargaining power in order to wield pressure on Armenia
and Azerbaijan.
People in Karabagh have held a referendum to declare independence,
which no country has recognized yet. Armenia is in a precarious
situation and should Yerevan recognize Karabagh's independence, it
will risk war with Azerbaijan. Since Armenia has not yet recognized
Karabagh's independence, it cannot ask nor expect other countries to
recognize it.
Cynicism is rampant in international politics. Russia waged a war
against Georgia and recognized the independence of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia, ignoring Western calls for the principles of territorial
integrity. Similarly, Europe and the United States forcibly partitioned
the former Yugoslavia to grant independence to Kosovo.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, many minorities have broken
away from the main countries to attain independence. For example,
East Timor was emancipated from Indonesian rule, and more recently
Southern Sudan became a new country. The issue of territorial integrity
was not raised in any of those cases, certainly not loudly enough to
stop the process.
When the issue comes to Karabagh, however, territorial integrity
becomes a sacrosanct principle and statesmen who are not embarrassed
to apply double standards, go to great lengths to explain that
Karabagh is a "different" case and that each case has political
parameters different from the others. But, in essence, these
arguments are falsehoods created to mask the duplicity of cynical
parties. Even Russia upholds the principle of the "square" wheel
(equating the principle of territorial integrity with the right to
self-determination).
Thus, since Armenia cannot recognize Karabagh's independence and Russia
does not wish to offend Azerbaijan, the issue remains at a stalemate.
Western countries are eager to preserve Azerbaijan's territorial
integrity, albeit on false promises; additionally it is the Western
powers' declared policy to break up Iran and to attach its northern
region to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Time is against Armenia as Azerbaijan is being armed at a rapid pace
and the partition of Iran looms on the horizon.
The Armenian Diaspora, with its limited resources, can make a
difference and the case in point of Australia proves it. Indeed,
heartening news came from Australia's premiere province, New South
Wales, whose Parliament has just adopted a resolution recognizing
the right of self-determination for the people of Karabagh. New South
Wales is the largest province with a population of 7,273,000 out of
Australia's 21 million - one third of the country.
This move may not result in recognition by Australia's federal
government, but it is a significant first step. More than 40 states
in the US have individually recognized the Armenian Genocide, which
has not amounted yet to the recognition by the federal government.
It is believed that Uruguay may follow suit; it was one of the first
countries to have recognized the Armenian Genocide.
Armenians settled in Australia beginning in the 19th century. The
60,000-strong Armenian community is mostly in Sidney (New South Wales)
and Melbourne.
The recent tour of Armenia's Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian
in Central and South American countries may yield some political
dividends, especially in generating some movement on the Karabagh
issue.
It is an interesting coincidence that while the New South Wales
parliament was voting to uphold Karabagh's right to self-determination,
the Baku government announced that it was recognizing Southern
Sudan's independence, thus placing on the back burner the principle
of territorial integrity which constituted the center- piece of that
country's foreign policy.
Baku, citing this principle, had even refused to recognize Kosovo's
independence despite some prodding from Washington.
Victory in Australia may reflect only minor progress, but any pos-
itive move by diaspora forces will complement and serve as an exten-
sion of Armenia's foreign policy.
Credit is due to the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Australia
for pushing through the resolution in the New South Wales Parliament,
as other Armenian political parties are either virtually nonexistent
or are ineffective there.
Some people have given up hope that political activism would pay off,
but Australia seems to disprove that pessimism. Also, the victory
achieved in the French Parliament, through the cooperation of combined
political forces, is another example that there is light at the end
of the tunnel, although President Francois Hollande has to keep his
pledge assuring the passage of the resolution criminalizing the denial
of the Armenian Genocide in France.
ANCA remains the major force in the US, lobbying to influence
legislation as the Armenian Assembly is bogged down in lawsuits with
Gerard Cafesjian. They both seem to be determined to destroy all
hopes of completing the Genocide Museum in Washington by the year
2015. This is a historic watershed when Armenians may be engaged in
self-flagellation, while the Turks celebrate our failure.
Meanwhile, although we have scored a minor victory in Australia,
its significance and impact is greater, as it places the Karabagh
issue on the world political agenda.