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CRIMEAN CRISIS CREATES POLITICAL MAZE FOR ARMENIANS
EDITORIAL | MARCH 24, 2014 11:26 AM
________________________________
By Edmond Y. Azadian
The facts are already well known about the crisis in Crimea, whose
population just voted in a referendum with 96.6 percent approval to
join the Russian Federation.
For world leaders, the situation is rather simple, political facts
being perceived in black and white. For the West -- and especially
the US -- it was a violation of international law. For Moscow and
for the Russian residents of Crimea, it was a legitimate expression
of people's right to self-determination.
But for the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian residents of the
former Soviet territories, a political maze of sympathies and interests
is being engendered by these new developments.
Armenians have been living in Ukraine since the Middle Ages and their
ranks have been replenished with recent emigration from the homeland.
Many oligarchs and business leaders have emerged in the
Ukrainian-Armenian community, generously supporting many projects
in Armenia.
By necessity, Ukrainian-Armenians will support the new government
in Kiev, while the Union of Armenians in Russia has come up with a
declaration sympathizing with Moscow's strong-arm tactics in Ukraine
and Crimea.
Russian Armenians have been equally supportive of the Armenian Republic
in larger measures than is even known in the diaspora.
The government in Armenia has been treading more cautiously about the
developments in the region. Although a strategic partner to Moscow,
Yerevan has been reluctant to refuse recognizing the new government
in Kiev and has not yet rushed to embrace the result of the vote
in Crimea.
Armenians have been living in Crimea since the eighth century AD and
have enjoyed a prosperous cultural life in the peninsula, which has
suffered two major wars between tsarist Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
There were almost half a million Tatars in Crimea, left over from
the Mongol invasions of Genghis Khan who were later decimated when in
1941 Stalin deported 200,000 of them to Central Asia, accusing them of
collaborating with the Nazis. That move changed the ethnic balance in
Crimea, whose 2-million population is 53 percent Russian. The Tatars
now constitute only 12 percent of the population, although the new
constitution allows them 20-percent participation in government
institutions.
By contrast, Armenians in Crimea constitute only .5 percent of the
total population, but traditionally, they have been a vocal minority.
The Crimean Armenian community National Council adopted a resolution
calling on Armenians to participate in the referendum and voting
in favor of the peninsula joining Russia. The Council's chairman,
Vagharshak Melkonian, indicated that the new Crimean constitution
will guarantee the Crimean Tatars 20 percent quota in the governing
bodies of the peninsula and has continued to state that, "We Armenians,
Bulgarians, Greeks and Germans have united under one association and
we demand that they be guided by the same principles also with respect
to us, if the said principle is applied for the Crimean Tatars."
As we can see, the Crimean crisis reflects in a different and sometimes
contradictory way on Armenians, who are scattered in different parts
of the former Soviet Union. This is a microcosm of the nature of the
Armenian people, who because of a variety of assaults as well as a
full-scale genocide, have become scattered across the world.
The major question for us remains how this referendum will impact on
the destiny of the people of Karabagh.
Like the other unrecognized republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia,
the Foreign Ministry of Karabagh has released a communique which
"considers the referendum held on March 16 in the Autonomous Republic
of Crimea as yet another manifestation of the realization of the
right of people to self-determination ... as it is enshrined in
the UN Charter and a number of fundamental international documents,
is a key principle of international law."
Since the inviolability of the borders in the former Soviet bloc was
broken in Kosovo and -- with a counter measure -- continues today in
Crimea, political observers are waiting to see what actions Moscow
may resort to next in Trans-Dniester and Karabagh.
At this point, the destiny of Karabagh hinges on two main factors:
* Thus far, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) co-chairmanship has been consistent in maintaining the principle
of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity versus Karabagh people's right
to self-determination, making a solution impossible.
Therefore, if the Crimean crisis undermines the consensus within OSCE,
Moscow may resort to unilateral action.
* Crimean Tatars have received assurances from Turkey's Foreign
Minister Ahmed Davutoglu that their rights will be guaranteed. The
Tatars have vocally opposed to Crimea joining Russia. They have also
appealed to Ilham Aliyev for support. Should Azerbaijan engage in
any policy contravening Moscow's interests in the peninsula, Putin
may use his options in Karabagh.
Thus far, the political upheaval has not extended its ramifications
to the peripheral issues which affect Armenia and Karabagh; however,
it has already created a political maze which can move in any
unpredictable direction.
- See more at:
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2014/03/24/crimean-crisis-creates-political-maze-for-armenians/#sthash.o9g8QUQr.dpuf
EDITORIAL | MARCH 24, 2014 11:26 AM
________________________________
By Edmond Y. Azadian
The facts are already well known about the crisis in Crimea, whose
population just voted in a referendum with 96.6 percent approval to
join the Russian Federation.
For world leaders, the situation is rather simple, political facts
being perceived in black and white. For the West -- and especially
the US -- it was a violation of international law. For Moscow and
for the Russian residents of Crimea, it was a legitimate expression
of people's right to self-determination.
But for the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian residents of the
former Soviet territories, a political maze of sympathies and interests
is being engendered by these new developments.
Armenians have been living in Ukraine since the Middle Ages and their
ranks have been replenished with recent emigration from the homeland.
Many oligarchs and business leaders have emerged in the
Ukrainian-Armenian community, generously supporting many projects
in Armenia.
By necessity, Ukrainian-Armenians will support the new government
in Kiev, while the Union of Armenians in Russia has come up with a
declaration sympathizing with Moscow's strong-arm tactics in Ukraine
and Crimea.
Russian Armenians have been equally supportive of the Armenian Republic
in larger measures than is even known in the diaspora.
The government in Armenia has been treading more cautiously about the
developments in the region. Although a strategic partner to Moscow,
Yerevan has been reluctant to refuse recognizing the new government
in Kiev and has not yet rushed to embrace the result of the vote
in Crimea.
Armenians have been living in Crimea since the eighth century AD and
have enjoyed a prosperous cultural life in the peninsula, which has
suffered two major wars between tsarist Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
There were almost half a million Tatars in Crimea, left over from
the Mongol invasions of Genghis Khan who were later decimated when in
1941 Stalin deported 200,000 of them to Central Asia, accusing them of
collaborating with the Nazis. That move changed the ethnic balance in
Crimea, whose 2-million population is 53 percent Russian. The Tatars
now constitute only 12 percent of the population, although the new
constitution allows them 20-percent participation in government
institutions.
By contrast, Armenians in Crimea constitute only .5 percent of the
total population, but traditionally, they have been a vocal minority.
The Crimean Armenian community National Council adopted a resolution
calling on Armenians to participate in the referendum and voting
in favor of the peninsula joining Russia. The Council's chairman,
Vagharshak Melkonian, indicated that the new Crimean constitution
will guarantee the Crimean Tatars 20 percent quota in the governing
bodies of the peninsula and has continued to state that, "We Armenians,
Bulgarians, Greeks and Germans have united under one association and
we demand that they be guided by the same principles also with respect
to us, if the said principle is applied for the Crimean Tatars."
As we can see, the Crimean crisis reflects in a different and sometimes
contradictory way on Armenians, who are scattered in different parts
of the former Soviet Union. This is a microcosm of the nature of the
Armenian people, who because of a variety of assaults as well as a
full-scale genocide, have become scattered across the world.
The major question for us remains how this referendum will impact on
the destiny of the people of Karabagh.
Like the other unrecognized republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia,
the Foreign Ministry of Karabagh has released a communique which
"considers the referendum held on March 16 in the Autonomous Republic
of Crimea as yet another manifestation of the realization of the
right of people to self-determination ... as it is enshrined in
the UN Charter and a number of fundamental international documents,
is a key principle of international law."
Since the inviolability of the borders in the former Soviet bloc was
broken in Kosovo and -- with a counter measure -- continues today in
Crimea, political observers are waiting to see what actions Moscow
may resort to next in Trans-Dniester and Karabagh.
At this point, the destiny of Karabagh hinges on two main factors:
* Thus far, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) co-chairmanship has been consistent in maintaining the principle
of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity versus Karabagh people's right
to self-determination, making a solution impossible.
Therefore, if the Crimean crisis undermines the consensus within OSCE,
Moscow may resort to unilateral action.
* Crimean Tatars have received assurances from Turkey's Foreign
Minister Ahmed Davutoglu that their rights will be guaranteed. The
Tatars have vocally opposed to Crimea joining Russia. They have also
appealed to Ilham Aliyev for support. Should Azerbaijan engage in
any policy contravening Moscow's interests in the peninsula, Putin
may use his options in Karabagh.
Thus far, the political upheaval has not extended its ramifications
to the peripheral issues which affect Armenia and Karabagh; however,
it has already created a political maze which can move in any
unpredictable direction.
- See more at:
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2014/03/24/crimean-crisis-creates-political-maze-for-armenians/#sthash.o9g8QUQr.dpuf