A Threat That Doesn't Threat
Daniel Ruiz Viejobueno is a talented, young Liberal Arts student from Luxembourg at the University of Essex. He is also involved in politics and human rights work. We are proud to present this article of him.
"Some conflicts demand urgent attention. Others are hidden away, apparently quiet but unresolved and the world risks waking up to them only when it is too late, when the threat of violence is again imminent. The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to this category. More unstable than Cyprus, far less noticed than Israel and Palestine, it still lurks as a potential danger to the world in the hills of the Caucasus", says Thomas de Waal in his book Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War. The dispute in the landlocked mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh between Azerbaijan, in which it lies, and its ethnic Armenian majority, backed by neighbouring Armenia, has been going on for decades. As de Waal points out, it is extremely important to raise awareness for this continued threat to European security. So let's have a look at it.
Courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org
In 1988, the Soviet Union was no longer able to keep uprising tensions, which date back to World War I, down. Disputing over the question whose territory it rightfully was, Azerbaijani troops and Armenian separatists started a bloody war leaving the de facto independent Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in the hands of Azerbaijan although the majority of the population was and still is Armenian. After countless massacres, deportations and battles between the armies of all three parties, a coalition of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia was able to gain control over the region formerly ruled by Azerbaijan in 1994.
Up to now, negotiations facilitated by the OSCE have failed to produce a permanent peace agreement, partly because not all parties acknowledge their objectivity. Unfortunately, Nagorno-Karabakh remains one of Europe’s post-Soviet frozen conflicts. The area experienced countless population transfers. Because of the persecution of many ethnic minorities as a side effect of the conflict, especially Armenians had to resettle again and again.
In 1999, when being interviewed by the Azerbaijan International Magazine, the Norwegian Ambassador Olav Berstad affirmed, that "a conflict like Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be solved unless both sides are interested in resolving it. Of course, there is always a tendency to blame the other side. In the search for a just solution, it is crucial to explore creative ways to move beyond the conflict. In that respect, the OSCE and, specifically, the Minsk Group (its 12-member committee that has been commissioned to help resolve the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict) can facilitate the process by proposing solutions. Eventually, however, the difficult political and practical decisions must be made by those who are parties to the conflict. What we and others can offer are our good offices, not ready-made solutions."
One of many talks on the issue between the Presidents of Arzerbaijan, Russia and Armenia
Courtesy of en.kremlin.ru
On 26 February 2016, Pedro Agramunt, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated in an interview with Azeri-Press Agency, that "there are still conflicts in Europe with values like democracy and human rights. Though we are calling them 'frozen' conflicts, they are not frozen. We are mostly speaking about the Ukraine conflict, the Crimean annexation, but there are also conflicts between Georgia and South Ossetia and Abkhazia, conflicts between the Moldova and Transnistria region, conflicts in the Balkans, as well as the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 adjacent districts for more than 20 years. This conflict is completely frozen and there is no progress in the settlement process despite the involvement of international organizations. I think that all these issues, including the occupation of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region and other adjacent regions should be solved."
The stated views and comments of internationally renowned politicians and diplomats on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, have proven that the stakes are incredibly high: democratic values like peace and human rights are at risk and the European Union can no longer ignore this outrageous situation – it needs to act. I personally embrace the fact that NGOs like the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust provide help in conflicted regions, that the general public is not aware of. Hopefully, this will have an impact on our political institutions and make them invest in activities aiming at peace. At the very end of the interview, Pedro Agramunt affirmed: "I will do all I can to bring the delegations of the two countries together. I will try to encourage the efforts of the two countries’ officials and governments to find a solution to the conflict." Hopefully, he will.
