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Sept 3 2014
Azerbaijan and Armenia: More ex-Soviet border tension
By Bhekuzulu Khumalo,
WASHINGTON, September 3, 2014 -- President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
met with residents of the Beylagan region last week and announced,
"The Azerbaijan public is aware that at the beginning of this month
Armenia tried to stage a provocation on the frontline. But the
Azerbaijan army gave a fitting rebuff to the enemy."
There have been enormous tensions on the frontline between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, and these erupted into open conflict at the beginning of
August; they have since died down. This led Aliyev to tweet in the
middle of August, "the situation of neither peace nor war cannot last
any longer." That is, the ceasefire signed between Armenia and
Azerbaijan in 1994 must come to some conclusion.
The two countries are contesting a significant territory known as
Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia has demanded the independence of this
region, calling it the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Armenia took control
of the territory of 146 000 people in 1994, but only after chasing
away the resident Azeris. Azerbaijan rightly insists that there can be
no real meaningful negotiations over the territory without the return
of these refugees to their homes.
The ex-Soviet states are riven by numerous territorial disputes,
largely ignored by the media unless Russia is involved, as in Georgia
and Ukraine. Territorial disputes are emotional because everybody
needs a home and because they usually create refugees. The
international community has found it difficult to solve the dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Russia's President Putin managed to
stop the recent flare up, but no real solution was at hand at the
Sochi meeting Putin chaired between Aliyev and Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan.
Armenia will not easily abandon its desire for the territory to be an
independent state with a predominantly Armenian population. Azerbaijan
will continue insisting that the Azeri refugees must be allowed to
return. There is a deadlock.
Each party should consider the other's proposals before real
negotiations can take place for a lasting peace deal. Armenia must
accept the return of the refugees, and Azerbaijan must allow the
territory some independence; negotiations presuppose compromise, and
that means accepting things each side would not normally accept. In
this case that means that the territory will be shared by people of
both sides.
On that basis, real negotiations can take place to protect the
interests of both states, and the peoples in the disputed territory.
Rigid social structures are for societies at war; the chain of command
and hierarchy must be clear to deal with threats from enemies. But for
a society to be at peace, rigid social structures have to done away
with. A negotiated peace for Nagorno-Karabakh must consider that.
To put to rest the fears of Armenians, who believe they will be
outnumbered by Azeris, the territory will need a government with a
limited role. For the different peoples to get along within the
territory, liberties must be increased, property rights strengthened,
and government involvement in the economy limited. If a government
gets involved, it will always favor somebody over somebody. Government
involvement means people will rightly claim unfairness Armenians are
favored over Azeris or the other way round.
The alternative is to waste time and risk war. Time -- lost time that
could have been used to build the region -- is part of the cost to
rebuild after a war. Armenia has been threatening to target Azeri
cities with missiles.
The territory must have a no-visa, no-tariff arrangement with both
Azerbaijan and Armenia. The money must be determined by the people,
not the government. A 200 year deal on the territory will allow both
Armenia and Azerbaijan to observe the benefits of freedom as he
territory changes over time.
Everybody knows the benefits of freedom; elites hate freedom because
they want to pretend they bring benefits to mankind. Both Aliyev and
Sargsyan understand freedom, that is why both states demanded freedom
from the USSR. Why not attempt this peace, what is there to lose,
otherwise the territory will remain disputed and unproductive.
The free market will neutralize rule by oligarchs; the territory will
prosper. Those who use governments are either greedy or envious, and
desire the land to have a culture of greed and envy. Having access to
government means you have money, how does a poor person influence
government except as a rebel? Markets are a better check on would-be
oligarchs and rebellion than war.
But who knows what grand schemes the trio of Washington, Paris, and
Moscow -- "the Minsk group" -- have in mind, or what they are
negotiating. The political systems in these countries are dominated by
the greed and cronyism, and with the crisis in Ukraine dominating
their attention, the Minsk group representatives are unlikely to focus
on accommodation between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Hopefully both Armenia and Azerbaijan desire the benefits of peace,
liberty and freedom. All leaders want to be seen as the peace seekers.
A tweet by Aliyev said, "today, stability in the region is provided
only thanks to the policy of the Azerbaijani state. Azerbaijan is a
stabilizing country." Will he pick up the phone and tell Sargsyan he
accepts Armenia's core demand for the territory, and will Armenia
accept return of the refugees, for the sake of peace?
http://www.commdiginews.com/world-news/azerbaijan-and-armenia-more-ex-soviet-border-tension-25038/
Sept 3 2014
Azerbaijan and Armenia: More ex-Soviet border tension
By Bhekuzulu Khumalo,
WASHINGTON, September 3, 2014 -- President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
met with residents of the Beylagan region last week and announced,
"The Azerbaijan public is aware that at the beginning of this month
Armenia tried to stage a provocation on the frontline. But the
Azerbaijan army gave a fitting rebuff to the enemy."
There have been enormous tensions on the frontline between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, and these erupted into open conflict at the beginning of
August; they have since died down. This led Aliyev to tweet in the
middle of August, "the situation of neither peace nor war cannot last
any longer." That is, the ceasefire signed between Armenia and
Azerbaijan in 1994 must come to some conclusion.
The two countries are contesting a significant territory known as
Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia has demanded the independence of this
region, calling it the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Armenia took control
of the territory of 146 000 people in 1994, but only after chasing
away the resident Azeris. Azerbaijan rightly insists that there can be
no real meaningful negotiations over the territory without the return
of these refugees to their homes.
The ex-Soviet states are riven by numerous territorial disputes,
largely ignored by the media unless Russia is involved, as in Georgia
and Ukraine. Territorial disputes are emotional because everybody
needs a home and because they usually create refugees. The
international community has found it difficult to solve the dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Russia's President Putin managed to
stop the recent flare up, but no real solution was at hand at the
Sochi meeting Putin chaired between Aliyev and Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan.
Armenia will not easily abandon its desire for the territory to be an
independent state with a predominantly Armenian population. Azerbaijan
will continue insisting that the Azeri refugees must be allowed to
return. There is a deadlock.
Each party should consider the other's proposals before real
negotiations can take place for a lasting peace deal. Armenia must
accept the return of the refugees, and Azerbaijan must allow the
territory some independence; negotiations presuppose compromise, and
that means accepting things each side would not normally accept. In
this case that means that the territory will be shared by people of
both sides.
On that basis, real negotiations can take place to protect the
interests of both states, and the peoples in the disputed territory.
Rigid social structures are for societies at war; the chain of command
and hierarchy must be clear to deal with threats from enemies. But for
a society to be at peace, rigid social structures have to done away
with. A negotiated peace for Nagorno-Karabakh must consider that.
To put to rest the fears of Armenians, who believe they will be
outnumbered by Azeris, the territory will need a government with a
limited role. For the different peoples to get along within the
territory, liberties must be increased, property rights strengthened,
and government involvement in the economy limited. If a government
gets involved, it will always favor somebody over somebody. Government
involvement means people will rightly claim unfairness Armenians are
favored over Azeris or the other way round.
The alternative is to waste time and risk war. Time -- lost time that
could have been used to build the region -- is part of the cost to
rebuild after a war. Armenia has been threatening to target Azeri
cities with missiles.
The territory must have a no-visa, no-tariff arrangement with both
Azerbaijan and Armenia. The money must be determined by the people,
not the government. A 200 year deal on the territory will allow both
Armenia and Azerbaijan to observe the benefits of freedom as he
territory changes over time.
Everybody knows the benefits of freedom; elites hate freedom because
they want to pretend they bring benefits to mankind. Both Aliyev and
Sargsyan understand freedom, that is why both states demanded freedom
from the USSR. Why not attempt this peace, what is there to lose,
otherwise the territory will remain disputed and unproductive.
The free market will neutralize rule by oligarchs; the territory will
prosper. Those who use governments are either greedy or envious, and
desire the land to have a culture of greed and envy. Having access to
government means you have money, how does a poor person influence
government except as a rebel? Markets are a better check on would-be
oligarchs and rebellion than war.
But who knows what grand schemes the trio of Washington, Paris, and
Moscow -- "the Minsk group" -- have in mind, or what they are
negotiating. The political systems in these countries are dominated by
the greed and cronyism, and with the crisis in Ukraine dominating
their attention, the Minsk group representatives are unlikely to focus
on accommodation between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Hopefully both Armenia and Azerbaijan desire the benefits of peace,
liberty and freedom. All leaders want to be seen as the peace seekers.
A tweet by Aliyev said, "today, stability in the region is provided
only thanks to the policy of the Azerbaijani state. Azerbaijan is a
stabilizing country." Will he pick up the phone and tell Sargsyan he
accepts Armenia's core demand for the territory, and will Armenia
accept return of the refugees, for the sake of peace?
http://www.commdiginews.com/world-news/azerbaijan-and-armenia-more-ex-soviet-border-tension-25038/