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CONFLICT WITH ARMENIA COULD BE REIGNITED DURING AZERI ELECTION
Voice of America
June 13 2013
James Brooke
June 13, 2013
STEPANAKERT, NAGORNO-KARABAKH - Almost two decades ago, the big guns
fell silent in the war between Armenians and Azeris over a mountainous
corner of Azerbaijan called Nagorno-Karabakh.
Today, the 1994 ceasefire trench lines remain frozen in place. But
Azerbaijan holds presidential elections in October. Now, some fear this
frozen conflict could reignite over Nagorno-Karabakh, a self-proclaimed
republic that is not recognized by any foreign countries.
The half-ruined mountaintop town of Shushi illustrates this ethnic
divide. At the local music school, VOA chanced on a party - the songs,
dances, food and cognac were all Armenian. Indeed, ethnic Armenians
control Shushi, as they do all of Nagorno-Karabakh.
But nearby, two abandoned mosques, were reminders that this city -
and all of Nagorno-Karabakh - is claimed by Azerbaijan, a Muslim
majority nation.
On the mountain road to Shushi, a war memorial stands guard: an
Armenian battle tank painted with a white Christian cross.
Across Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenians are rebuilding as if construction
could solve the ownership dispute.
Ashot Ghoulian, chair of the National Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh,
said aid flows here from Armenians around the world.
"The Diaspora has a huge significance for the social economic
development of Karabakh," he said in the offices of the parliament of
the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. "What our compatriots
are sending from America, from European countries, from Russia, and
the former Soviet states - all of this allows us to complete very
serious economic projects."
Diaspora aid paved Karabakh's lifeline to the outside world - a curving
mountain road to neighboring Armenia. To further cut Karabakh's
isolation, a new airport has been completed for Stepanakert, the
region's capital.
But it remains unused: Azerbaijan threatens to shoot down planes
landing here. And Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has repeated vows to
retake Nagorno-Karabakh, by force if necessary.
His military budget of $4 billion is almost the size of Armenia's
gross national product. This worries Ashot Ghoulian.
He said: "What's happening with Azerbaijan, anti-Armenian hysteria,
the arms race, and Armenophobia - I think all of this is postponing
resolution of the Karabakh problem."
At the front lines, cross border sniper fire kills about one soldier
a month.
Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center, a Yerevan
think tank, warns that passionate election campaign rhetoric could
spark real fighting on the ground.
"There's little likelihood in the near future of any breakthrough
diplomatically or politically," Giragosian said in Yerevan,
Armenia's capital. "There is an increasing risk of war,
however. But interestingly, the danger is a war by accident, based
on miscalculation, where skirmishes could spiral out of control."
But Aleksandr Iskandaryan, the Director of the Caucasus Institute in
Yerevan, predicts Azerbaijan will not risk a full-fledged military
attack on Nagorno-Karabakh.
"These fortifications are very well built and well equipped," he said,
looking at a map of the ceasefire lines. "To go through with a front
tank attack, it's very serious. It will lose a lot of people. It's
quite serious."
Children in Nagorno-Karabakh's capital of Stepanakert grow up knowing
that war is never distant.
At Middle School No. 3, newly rebuilt with diaspora donation, there
is an honor roll of alumni killed two decades ago. It is a reminder
of the danger that this frozen conflict could suddenly burn hot -
and claim another generation of young men.
http://www.voanews.com/content/during-azeri-election-conflict-with-armenia-could-reignite/1680942.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Voice of America
June 13 2013
James Brooke
June 13, 2013
STEPANAKERT, NAGORNO-KARABAKH - Almost two decades ago, the big guns
fell silent in the war between Armenians and Azeris over a mountainous
corner of Azerbaijan called Nagorno-Karabakh.
Today, the 1994 ceasefire trench lines remain frozen in place. But
Azerbaijan holds presidential elections in October. Now, some fear this
frozen conflict could reignite over Nagorno-Karabakh, a self-proclaimed
republic that is not recognized by any foreign countries.
The half-ruined mountaintop town of Shushi illustrates this ethnic
divide. At the local music school, VOA chanced on a party - the songs,
dances, food and cognac were all Armenian. Indeed, ethnic Armenians
control Shushi, as they do all of Nagorno-Karabakh.
But nearby, two abandoned mosques, were reminders that this city -
and all of Nagorno-Karabakh - is claimed by Azerbaijan, a Muslim
majority nation.
On the mountain road to Shushi, a war memorial stands guard: an
Armenian battle tank painted with a white Christian cross.
Across Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenians are rebuilding as if construction
could solve the ownership dispute.
Ashot Ghoulian, chair of the National Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh,
said aid flows here from Armenians around the world.
"The Diaspora has a huge significance for the social economic
development of Karabakh," he said in the offices of the parliament of
the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. "What our compatriots
are sending from America, from European countries, from Russia, and
the former Soviet states - all of this allows us to complete very
serious economic projects."
Diaspora aid paved Karabakh's lifeline to the outside world - a curving
mountain road to neighboring Armenia. To further cut Karabakh's
isolation, a new airport has been completed for Stepanakert, the
region's capital.
But it remains unused: Azerbaijan threatens to shoot down planes
landing here. And Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has repeated vows to
retake Nagorno-Karabakh, by force if necessary.
His military budget of $4 billion is almost the size of Armenia's
gross national product. This worries Ashot Ghoulian.
He said: "What's happening with Azerbaijan, anti-Armenian hysteria,
the arms race, and Armenophobia - I think all of this is postponing
resolution of the Karabakh problem."
At the front lines, cross border sniper fire kills about one soldier
a month.
Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center, a Yerevan
think tank, warns that passionate election campaign rhetoric could
spark real fighting on the ground.
"There's little likelihood in the near future of any breakthrough
diplomatically or politically," Giragosian said in Yerevan,
Armenia's capital. "There is an increasing risk of war,
however. But interestingly, the danger is a war by accident, based
on miscalculation, where skirmishes could spiral out of control."
But Aleksandr Iskandaryan, the Director of the Caucasus Institute in
Yerevan, predicts Azerbaijan will not risk a full-fledged military
attack on Nagorno-Karabakh.
"These fortifications are very well built and well equipped," he said,
looking at a map of the ceasefire lines. "To go through with a front
tank attack, it's very serious. It will lose a lot of people. It's
quite serious."
Children in Nagorno-Karabakh's capital of Stepanakert grow up knowing
that war is never distant.
At Middle School No. 3, newly rebuilt with diaspora donation, there
is an honor roll of alumni killed two decades ago. It is a reminder
of the danger that this frozen conflict could suddenly burn hot -
and claim another generation of young men.
http://www.voanews.com/content/during-azeri-election-conflict-with-armenia-could-reignite/1680942.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress