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SCOTTISH REFERENDUM: VOTE IN SCOTLAND OVER INDEPENDENCE TO SET NEW PRECEDENT FOR SELF-DETERMINATION
Karabakh | 17.09.14 | 11:02
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
The September 18 referendum on independence in Scotland is being
watched closely far beyond the country as its very fact and outcome
may have a significant influence on many regional affairs in a world
dotted with movements for self-determination.
Nagorno-Karabakh is just one of the world areas where people have
long advocated the right to self-determination, seeking a formal
recognition of their status as an independent country. After holding a
referendum of its own back in 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh had to fight for
more than two years to win its de-facto sovereignty from Azerbaijani
in the battlefield. But more than two decades after establishing its
life as an independent entity the country has to assert its rights
as such on the international arena.
For some the Scottish referendum on independence will become another
milestone for peoples around the world, including for the people
of Nagorno-Karabakh, to assert their right to self-determination
internationally. Others, however, cite the peculiarities of the vote
in Scotland and argue that it cannot be regarded as an event that
could have a significant impact on conflicts over self-determination
rights in the rest of the world.
The outcome of the referendum in Scotland is hardly predictable
as opinion polls show the number of supporters and opponents of
independence almost split in halves. But either way the United Kingdom
will win - if Scotland votes to remain part of the Kingdom, it will
mean that Great Britain will preserve its territorial integrity by
the will of the Scots, if Scotland votes for secession, then the
UK will get the image of the world's most democratic country where
everything is decided by the will of the people.
But many observers say that the referendum in Scotland in any case
could become the detonator of some global processes. In November,
Catalonia, a province in Spain, is going to hold a referendum on
independence against the wishes of the central government in Madrid.
Experts estimate that there are more than 10 regions in Europe
where people may also wish to decide their future status through
referendums. Scotland may become a precedent of a peaceful secession
of a country, and it will also have its influence on the Karabakh
conflict settlement.
Karabakh's 1991 referendum was not recognized by Baku and the
international community. Now mediators brokering a solution to the
protracted conflict suggest holding a new referendum as part of the
settlement deal. However, in Karabakh and Armenia they believe the
results of the already held plebiscite should be recognized instead.
They say unlike in Scotland there was and still is consensus in
Karabakh regarding its self-determination.
The referendum in Scotland will be watched closely also from Russia,
which has a dispute with Ukraine over Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula
that held an unrecognized referendum in March to join Russia. Thus,
the precedent in Scotland may give the Russian authorities a powerful
argument in favor of the international recognition of the results of
the referendum, and not only in Crimea.
There is also a similar dispute in eastern Ukraine on parts of which
pro-Russian separatists have proclaimed so-called people's republics
or Novorossia (New Russia). The referendums that were held in Ukraine's
Donetsk and Luhansk regions has not yet been recognized even by Russia,
but if deemed appropriate, they may be remembered as the paramount
will of the people.
In this sense, the referendum in Scotland will become a historic
precedent - it is one of the few peaceful processes of secessionism.
And although there is also a history of Scottish separatism, the
central government in London would not resort to pressure methods,
which may turn it into a role model. After the peaceful referendum in
Scotland, Madrid will lose the moral right to use force in Catalonia
or not to accept the outcome of the referendum.
A peaceful referendum will allow the UK and Scotland, in the case
of the latter's secession, to maintain normal communication and
avoid confrontation. In many other cases, referendums would end in
conflicts, severing of ties and in the case with Karabakh in full
ethnic segregation. Azerbaijan refuses to issue entry visas even to
people with Armenian surnames.
Scotland is often called a penultimate splinter of the British Empire
(Northern Ireland is still deemed as the ultimate one). However,
international analysts also talk about the construction of an empire
of a new type by Britain today - a system empire with common energy
and financial systems where the entities are not separate countries,
but corporations. In this sense, territorial integrity has only a
secondary meaning.
Russia, meanwhile, adheres to the old imperial philosophy - gathering
lands. It is important for Moscow to have as many areas as possible
as territory controlled by it and it is contrary to the philosophy
of the new world order. The new philosophy will once lead to the very
notion of territorial integrity becoming conventional. And it is then,
perhaps, that territorial disputes will be finally resolved.
http://armenianow.com/karabakh/56883/armenia_scotland_independence_referendum_karabakh
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Karabakh | 17.09.14 | 11:02
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
The September 18 referendum on independence in Scotland is being
watched closely far beyond the country as its very fact and outcome
may have a significant influence on many regional affairs in a world
dotted with movements for self-determination.
Nagorno-Karabakh is just one of the world areas where people have
long advocated the right to self-determination, seeking a formal
recognition of their status as an independent country. After holding a
referendum of its own back in 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh had to fight for
more than two years to win its de-facto sovereignty from Azerbaijani
in the battlefield. But more than two decades after establishing its
life as an independent entity the country has to assert its rights
as such on the international arena.
For some the Scottish referendum on independence will become another
milestone for peoples around the world, including for the people
of Nagorno-Karabakh, to assert their right to self-determination
internationally. Others, however, cite the peculiarities of the vote
in Scotland and argue that it cannot be regarded as an event that
could have a significant impact on conflicts over self-determination
rights in the rest of the world.
The outcome of the referendum in Scotland is hardly predictable
as opinion polls show the number of supporters and opponents of
independence almost split in halves. But either way the United Kingdom
will win - if Scotland votes to remain part of the Kingdom, it will
mean that Great Britain will preserve its territorial integrity by
the will of the Scots, if Scotland votes for secession, then the
UK will get the image of the world's most democratic country where
everything is decided by the will of the people.
But many observers say that the referendum in Scotland in any case
could become the detonator of some global processes. In November,
Catalonia, a province in Spain, is going to hold a referendum on
independence against the wishes of the central government in Madrid.
Experts estimate that there are more than 10 regions in Europe
where people may also wish to decide their future status through
referendums. Scotland may become a precedent of a peaceful secession
of a country, and it will also have its influence on the Karabakh
conflict settlement.
Karabakh's 1991 referendum was not recognized by Baku and the
international community. Now mediators brokering a solution to the
protracted conflict suggest holding a new referendum as part of the
settlement deal. However, in Karabakh and Armenia they believe the
results of the already held plebiscite should be recognized instead.
They say unlike in Scotland there was and still is consensus in
Karabakh regarding its self-determination.
The referendum in Scotland will be watched closely also from Russia,
which has a dispute with Ukraine over Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula
that held an unrecognized referendum in March to join Russia. Thus,
the precedent in Scotland may give the Russian authorities a powerful
argument in favor of the international recognition of the results of
the referendum, and not only in Crimea.
There is also a similar dispute in eastern Ukraine on parts of which
pro-Russian separatists have proclaimed so-called people's republics
or Novorossia (New Russia). The referendums that were held in Ukraine's
Donetsk and Luhansk regions has not yet been recognized even by Russia,
but if deemed appropriate, they may be remembered as the paramount
will of the people.
In this sense, the referendum in Scotland will become a historic
precedent - it is one of the few peaceful processes of secessionism.
And although there is also a history of Scottish separatism, the
central government in London would not resort to pressure methods,
which may turn it into a role model. After the peaceful referendum in
Scotland, Madrid will lose the moral right to use force in Catalonia
or not to accept the outcome of the referendum.
A peaceful referendum will allow the UK and Scotland, in the case
of the latter's secession, to maintain normal communication and
avoid confrontation. In many other cases, referendums would end in
conflicts, severing of ties and in the case with Karabakh in full
ethnic segregation. Azerbaijan refuses to issue entry visas even to
people with Armenian surnames.
Scotland is often called a penultimate splinter of the British Empire
(Northern Ireland is still deemed as the ultimate one). However,
international analysts also talk about the construction of an empire
of a new type by Britain today - a system empire with common energy
and financial systems where the entities are not separate countries,
but corporations. In this sense, territorial integrity has only a
secondary meaning.
Russia, meanwhile, adheres to the old imperial philosophy - gathering
lands. It is important for Moscow to have as many areas as possible
as territory controlled by it and it is contrary to the philosophy
of the new world order. The new philosophy will once lead to the very
notion of territorial integrity becoming conventional. And it is then,
perhaps, that territorial disputes will be finally resolved.
http://armenianow.com/karabakh/56883/armenia_scotland_independence_referendum_karabakh
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress