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SCOTLAND IS NOT KARABAKH, OR ANOTHER MYTH OF ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 23 2014
23 September 2014, 17:51 (GMT+05:00)
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva
The world has once again witnessed a LEGAL secession referendum - the
Scottish referendum on secession from the UK. And although Scotland
eventually refused to leave part from the United Kingdom, the very
fact of holding a referendum triggered many unrecognized separatist
regions to try to use it as a reminder of themselves and claim their
own mythical rights.
Armenian experts and political analysts, as well as officials of
this country are not an exception. They attempted to thrust upon the
world a myth of their own - that the Nagorno-Karabakh is a region that
"legally" seceded from Azerbaijan through a referendum.
Western media journalists and even some Russian media, who are not
informed about the international law, have immediately picked up on
another lie of the Armenian side. But, let's dot the i's and cross
the t's.
The analogies, drawn in this matter by the Armenian experts, are
the outcomes arising from the hopeless situation of the separatist
authority in Azerbaijan's occupied region, which has not been
recognized by any country.
In fact, the Scottish referendum is a classic self-determination,
which has all the legal bases, and comparing it with the realities
of Nagorno-Karabakh is wrong and offensive towards Scotland itself.
They key point here is that the referendum was agreed upon with the
British government. In other words, the referendum was held with the
consent of the central government and that is why it is absolutely
legitimate in terms of international law.
The question of holding a "referendum" in Nagorno-Karabakh, which the
Armenian authorities are tirelessly talking about, has a slightly
different story. And, for some reason, Armenia doesn't wish to say
it as it is.
Firstly, the Azerbaijani government has never given a formal or
informal consent to holding a referendum for secession of any region
from the country. It is noteworthy that the Azerbaijani constitution
doesn't envisage the possibility of secession of any part of the
country's territory through voting. Therefore, the 'referendum'
held in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991 was illegitimate.
The second important factor is that the international community
recognized neither the first "referendum" of 1991, nor the second
"referendum" held in 2006 to adopt the constitution of the breakaway
Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Additionally, the significant difference between the situations
in Scotland and Nagorno-Karabakh is that the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict has nothing to do with the principle of "self-determination
of peoples", as the 'Karabakh people' simply do not exist, while
Scots are a separate nation.
Third - the "referendum" was held not by the population of
Nagorno-Karabakh, but only by Armenians living in this territory
of Azerbaijan after expelling a million of representatives of the
titular nation - Azerbaijanis.
So there is no point to talk about the "self-determination" of
Nagorno-Karabakh. The substitution of the notion of "self-determination
of peoples" for the "occupation of foreign territories" is
inappropriate and offensive towards the international law.
The international community regards the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
as a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Therefore,
the representatives of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region do not
participate in the negotiations on the settlement of the conflict.
The principle of territorial integrity is a priority in interstate
conflicts. No one questions Azerbaijan's territorial integrity which
is supported by the international community and recognized by the
governments of all countries.
http://www.azernews.az/analysis/71097.html
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 23 2014
23 September 2014, 17:51 (GMT+05:00)
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva
The world has once again witnessed a LEGAL secession referendum - the
Scottish referendum on secession from the UK. And although Scotland
eventually refused to leave part from the United Kingdom, the very
fact of holding a referendum triggered many unrecognized separatist
regions to try to use it as a reminder of themselves and claim their
own mythical rights.
Armenian experts and political analysts, as well as officials of
this country are not an exception. They attempted to thrust upon the
world a myth of their own - that the Nagorno-Karabakh is a region that
"legally" seceded from Azerbaijan through a referendum.
Western media journalists and even some Russian media, who are not
informed about the international law, have immediately picked up on
another lie of the Armenian side. But, let's dot the i's and cross
the t's.
The analogies, drawn in this matter by the Armenian experts, are
the outcomes arising from the hopeless situation of the separatist
authority in Azerbaijan's occupied region, which has not been
recognized by any country.
In fact, the Scottish referendum is a classic self-determination,
which has all the legal bases, and comparing it with the realities
of Nagorno-Karabakh is wrong and offensive towards Scotland itself.
They key point here is that the referendum was agreed upon with the
British government. In other words, the referendum was held with the
consent of the central government and that is why it is absolutely
legitimate in terms of international law.
The question of holding a "referendum" in Nagorno-Karabakh, which the
Armenian authorities are tirelessly talking about, has a slightly
different story. And, for some reason, Armenia doesn't wish to say
it as it is.
Firstly, the Azerbaijani government has never given a formal or
informal consent to holding a referendum for secession of any region
from the country. It is noteworthy that the Azerbaijani constitution
doesn't envisage the possibility of secession of any part of the
country's territory through voting. Therefore, the 'referendum'
held in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991 was illegitimate.
The second important factor is that the international community
recognized neither the first "referendum" of 1991, nor the second
"referendum" held in 2006 to adopt the constitution of the breakaway
Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Additionally, the significant difference between the situations
in Scotland and Nagorno-Karabakh is that the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict has nothing to do with the principle of "self-determination
of peoples", as the 'Karabakh people' simply do not exist, while
Scots are a separate nation.
Third - the "referendum" was held not by the population of
Nagorno-Karabakh, but only by Armenians living in this territory
of Azerbaijan after expelling a million of representatives of the
titular nation - Azerbaijanis.
So there is no point to talk about the "self-determination" of
Nagorno-Karabakh. The substitution of the notion of "self-determination
of peoples" for the "occupation of foreign territories" is
inappropriate and offensive towards the international law.
The international community regards the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
as a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Therefore,
the representatives of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region do not
participate in the negotiations on the settlement of the conflict.
The principle of territorial integrity is a priority in interstate
conflicts. No one questions Azerbaijan's territorial integrity which
is supported by the international community and recognized by the
governments of all countries.
http://www.azernews.az/analysis/71097.html