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HOW EX-SOVIET SEPARATISTS INTERPRET SCOTLAND'S VOTE
EurasiaNet.org
Sept 19 2014
September 19, 2014 - 4:26pm, by Giorgi Lomsadze
Scotland's dabbling in secessionism has been closely watched in the
ex-Soviet Union, the Shangri-La of separatism. From Transnistria to
Karabakh to Crimea, all eyes have been on the UK recently, in hopes
that the Scottish example would change hearts and minds about claims
to independence.
In South Ossetia, approaching, on September 20, the 24th anniversary
of declaring itself independent from Georgia, many were inspired by
the "peaceful and civilized" conduct of the Brits. Abkhazia produced
a video, in which a group of people unfurl a giant Scottish flag to
the sound of Mel Gibson bellowing "Freedom!" in Braveheart.
Yet with Scotland's September-18 vote to stay with the United Kingdom
these public expressions of separatist-solidarity with Scotland have
suddenly fallen silent. Only Nagorno Karabakh, which itself has seen
a referendum proposed as part of the solution to its differences with
Baku, issued a statement, observing that "regardless of the result,"
the Scottish referendum had shown that letting people decide their
own fate is "the norm in a democratic society."
Countries like Azerbaijan and Georgia with separatism problems
also had watched the vote with concern and tried to underscore the
difference of their situations, marked by military conflict and
the disenfranchisement of populations forced to flee the breakaway
territories. Although neither government issued an official statement,
on social media, the vote for the UK was seen as an indirect
confirmation of local arguments for unity.
For Moscow, now busy expanding its portfolio of sponsored breakaway
territories, the Scottish vote earlier had been seen as an exoneration
of its support for separatism in its neighborhood. Russian Senator
Igor Morozov was positive that the outcome of the poll would herald
a new "world order," reported Vestnik Kavkaza news service.
"We know that there is a global struggle between two directions:
the principle of territorial integrity and nations' rights to
self-determination, so today's referendum in Scotland will become an
impulse to changing the world order altogether," he reasoned.
But that order did not change. Russia, which had betted on a yes-vote,
did not let the opportunity slip to offer some recommendations,
however. Its four observers claimed the vote "did not meet
international standards," The Guardian reported. For one, the site
for the vote-count was "too big."
In Ukraine, the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic cut to
the chase -- falsification explained the vote for the UK, Interfax
reported.
At this rate, despite Morozov's predictions, the battle of principles
-- self-determination (Russian-assisted or otherwise) against
territorial integrity -- looks set to stick around for some time
to come.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/70076
EurasiaNet.org
Sept 19 2014
September 19, 2014 - 4:26pm, by Giorgi Lomsadze
Scotland's dabbling in secessionism has been closely watched in the
ex-Soviet Union, the Shangri-La of separatism. From Transnistria to
Karabakh to Crimea, all eyes have been on the UK recently, in hopes
that the Scottish example would change hearts and minds about claims
to independence.
In South Ossetia, approaching, on September 20, the 24th anniversary
of declaring itself independent from Georgia, many were inspired by
the "peaceful and civilized" conduct of the Brits. Abkhazia produced
a video, in which a group of people unfurl a giant Scottish flag to
the sound of Mel Gibson bellowing "Freedom!" in Braveheart.
Yet with Scotland's September-18 vote to stay with the United Kingdom
these public expressions of separatist-solidarity with Scotland have
suddenly fallen silent. Only Nagorno Karabakh, which itself has seen
a referendum proposed as part of the solution to its differences with
Baku, issued a statement, observing that "regardless of the result,"
the Scottish referendum had shown that letting people decide their
own fate is "the norm in a democratic society."
Countries like Azerbaijan and Georgia with separatism problems
also had watched the vote with concern and tried to underscore the
difference of their situations, marked by military conflict and
the disenfranchisement of populations forced to flee the breakaway
territories. Although neither government issued an official statement,
on social media, the vote for the UK was seen as an indirect
confirmation of local arguments for unity.
For Moscow, now busy expanding its portfolio of sponsored breakaway
territories, the Scottish vote earlier had been seen as an exoneration
of its support for separatism in its neighborhood. Russian Senator
Igor Morozov was positive that the outcome of the poll would herald
a new "world order," reported Vestnik Kavkaza news service.
"We know that there is a global struggle between two directions:
the principle of territorial integrity and nations' rights to
self-determination, so today's referendum in Scotland will become an
impulse to changing the world order altogether," he reasoned.
But that order did not change. Russia, which had betted on a yes-vote,
did not let the opportunity slip to offer some recommendations,
however. Its four observers claimed the vote "did not meet
international standards," The Guardian reported. For one, the site
for the vote-count was "too big."
In Ukraine, the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic cut to
the chase -- falsification explained the vote for the UK, Interfax
reported.
At this rate, despite Morozov's predictions, the battle of principles
-- self-determination (Russian-assisted or otherwise) against
territorial integrity -- looks set to stick around for some time
to come.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/70076