ARMENIA THIS WEEK
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
In this issue:
Armenia: Turkey's behavior on eve of Genocide anniversary "impudent"
Mediators call for end to war rhetoric, balanced compromise settlement
AAA Fact Sheet: Azerbaijani government rhetoric and policy on NK
ARMENIA CRITICIZES TURKEY'S "IMPUDENCE" ON EVE OF GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY
Armenia's Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian last week strongly criticized
the Turkish government's latest efforts against international
affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. With the approaching 90th
anniversary of the beginning of the Ottoman Turkey's genocidal campaign
against Armenians, Turkish leaders have gone on the promised "offensive"
on the Armenian "issue," calling for a "new study" of the events of the
early 20th century, lobbying other governments against Genocide
affirmation, while also accusing Armenians of killing over half a
million Turks. Oskanian argued that "Turkey not only impudently tries to
re-write its own history but also wants to incline other countries to do
it."
Armenia's Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, who like Oskanian is a
descendant of genocide survivors, stressed that there was no need for a
"new study" of genocide. "There is nothing to prove. The Genocide took
place... It is unacceptable to discuss this historical fact." Margarian
added that what Armenia and Turkey could discuss is establishment of
diplomatic relations and lifting of Turkey's blockade, both of which
Ankara has refused to do. Armenia's leading expert on Turkey, Professor
Ruben Safrastian said that the Turkish government fully realizes the
historical truth but was engaged in an "insolent" policy of historical
falsification. The International Association of Genocide Scholars sent a
letter to the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan urging him to review
the existing independent scholarly record on the Armenian Genocide and
end genocide denial.
Oskanian further noted that Turkey's refusal to apologize for the deaths
of over a million Armenians is a national security threat to Armenia.
"As long as this country with huge military potential and open pro-Azeri
position in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict does not
recognize the Armenian Genocide, we cannot trust it and feel comfortable
in terms of provision of our security," Oskanian said. He expressed
confidence that Turkey's current policy "will turn against Turkish
authorities," particularly in the context of Ankara's effort to join the
European Union. (Sources: Mediamax 4-13, 18; Regnum.ru 4-18; ANC 4-19)
MEDIATORS CALL FOR END TO WAR RHETORIC, "BALANCED COMPROMISE SETTLEMENT"
IN NK
Envoys from France, Russia and the United States last week urged an end
to continued war rhetoric and called for a renewed commitment to the
11-year ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh. In a joint statement, the
mediators also called on all sides to prepare the public for a "balanced
negotiated settlement." The statement came shortly before the envoys
co-chairing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) Minsk Group held separate meetings with the Foreign Ministers of
Armenia and Azerbaijan in London. There was no direct meeting between
the two ministers. The Group is now expected to have a follow-up meeting
with the ministers later this month in Frankfurt to try to agree on a
meeting between Presidents Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev during the
Council of Europe in Warsaw.
Spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry Hamlet Gasparian noted this
week that since the Azeri government was the only side engaged in war
rhetoric (for details see the Assembly fact sheet below), "it is obvious
that the statement applies to them." But, he added, the co-chairs needed
to take a "tougher stance" with Baku in order to prevent future
cease-fire violations. Last month, Nagorno Karabakh's Deputy Foreign
Minister Masis Mailian suggested a set of measures that would strengthen
the cease-fire, but Azerbaijani officials have shown no interest and
appear to favor further escalation. Gasparian stressed that the
co-chairs were aware that recent skirmishes were a result of Azeri
redeployments closer to the Line of Contact between Armenian and Azeri
forces. Gasparian added that "if the intended purpose of this statement
is to try to put an end to ceasefire violations, we don't believe that
will happen unless the violators are being held accountable."
While all senior Armenian leaders, including war veterans President
Kocharian and Defense Minister Serge Sargsian have repeatedly
acknowledged the need to compromise in order to achieve lasting peace,
the Azeri leaders have demanded unilateral Armenian concessions. While
Azerbaijan has not yet officially commented on the mediators' statement,
the former presidential advisor and Azerbaijan's most veteran diplomat
Vafa Gulizade branded the mediators "provocateurs" who wanted Baku to
compromise on its claim to Karabakh.
A nationwide poll of 1,900 citizens, published last week by the Armenian
Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS), confirmed that a
vast majority of Armenians (over 84 percent) saw Karabakh's independence
or its incorporation within Armenia as the only plausible solution to
the conflict. At the same time close to one-half of the respondents said
they would agree to withdrawals from the security zone around Karabakh
as part of a settlement. Most respondents, however, were not optimistic
that settlement could be achieved any time soon. (Sources: Arminfo 3-12;
AAA Fact Sheet 3-21; ACNIS 4-12; Mediamax 4-15, 16, 18)
A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
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FACT SHEET: AZERBAIJANI GOVERNMENT'S WAR RHETORIC
Last updated: March 21, 2005
In the years since the outbreak of the Karabakh conflict in the 1980s,
Azerbaijani government officials and the mass media have consistently
threatened war and fostered anti-Armenian intolerance. Ignoring
international criticism, such public statements continue unabated and in
recent years have intensified. Egregious examples of this approach
follow:
* President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly told his nation that
Azerbaijan could launch a new war in Karabakh: Aliyev warned that unless
Armenians capitulate "we will all smash the heads of the Armenians."
(Turan via BBC Monitoring 10/27/00). "At any moment we must be able to
liberate our territories by military means. To achieve this we have
everything." Aliyev predicts that Azerbaijan will soon become an
economically strong state, while its military "superiority" will
increase further. "Under these circumstances we cannot react positively
to those calling us to compromise." (Source: Zerkalo 7/23/04) Azerbaijan
increased its military spending to more than $245 million in 2005, a 25%
increase from 2004 (AFP 11/9/04), while acquiring more tanks, artillery
and aircraft (The UN Directory of Conventional Arms).
* Aliyev says he is waging a "cold war" against Armenians and the
ongoing negotiations were only a way to achieve unilateral Armenian
concessions. As part of this "war", Azerbaijan would continue to boost
its military spending and tighten the ongoing economic blockade against
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Aliyev said that he would not engage in
any confidence-building measures and that he had "no desire" to tone
down his country's war-mongering and anti-Armenian propaganda. (Azertag
12/20/04) Aliyev has declared that all contacts with Armenians should be
limited to meetings between the two countries' Presidents and key
ministers, saying that all other contacts are "inappropriate." In
September 2004, Aliyev went as far as to force the cancellation of a key
NATO peacekeeping exercise, all to exclude contacts with Armenians.
(Armenia This Week 9/13/04)
* Aliyev and other officials have condemned Azeris engaged in
public diplomacy with Armenians, and government-linked groups have
attacked Azeri peace activists. (ANS via BBC Monitoring 11/3/01,
4/16/02; 525ci Gazet 5/11/02; Zerkalo via BBC Monitoring 4/30/03; IWPR
Caucasus Report 5/1/03) A leading domestic critic of the Azeri war
rhetoric, journalist Elmar Huseinov was assassinated in March 2005 in
circumstances suggesting government involvement. Huseinov and his
magazine were repeatedly and publicly harassed, accused of treason and
shut down, most recently for sending a correspondent to Karabakh.
(Armenia This Week 3/7/05)
* Both Aliyev and his Defense Minister Gen. Safar Abiyev say that
occasional violations of the 1994 cease-fire are "natural" since
Azerbaijan is still "at war." (Regnum.ru 3/21/05; Sarg via BBC
Monitoring 8/14/03) Abiyev makes claims on Armenia's territory: "Armenia
must always remember that what Azerbaijan accepted yesterday will not be
accepted today and tomorrow. Azerbaijan will not want to have a
separated state - meaning Nakhichevan, cut from the mainland Azerbaijan.
This issue will be raised tomorrow." (Ekho 5/16/03). Asked if the Azeri
army is ready "to go to Yerevan [Armenia's capital]," Abiyev answered:
"We can go even farther." (ANS via BBC Monitoring 3/22/02) Abiyev claims
that "The Armenian state was created on the occupied Azeri lands."
(ANS.az 12/7/01)
* The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Ramiz Melikov:
"In the next 25-30 years there will be no Armenian state in the South
Caucasus. This nation has been a nuisance for its neighbors and has no
right to live in this region. Present-day Armenia was built on
historical Azerbaijani lands. I believe that in 25 to 30 years these
territories will once again come under Azerbaijan's jurisdiction."
(Zerkalo 8/4/04) Melikov goes on: "When our hope [for the Armenian
capitulation] drops below five percent... we will launch a war." He
further urged the mass media to be ready for the use of force. (Zerkalo
3/17/05, 525ci Gazet 3/17/05) Following the brutal murder of an Armenian
student of NATO English language courses in Hungary, Melikov qualified
the confessed murderer Ramil Safarov as a "talented and disciplined
officer." Melikov added that, "as an Azeri, I understand and support
Safarov's actions." Melikov did not exclude similar attacks on Armenians
in the future. (Regnum 2/25/04)
* Azerbaijan's Ambassador to the Council of Europe Agshin
Mekhtiyev warned of more attacks on individual Armenians, adding that he
"would not advise Armenians to sleep easy in their beds." (Zerkalo
2/24/04) Parliament member and former Heydar Aliyev bodyguard Siyavush
Novruzov told Terry Davis, envoy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe, that "similar incidents" could occur in PACE as well,
unless the Karabakh conflict is settled in Baku's favor. (Ekho 2/27/04)
Azerbaijan's Human Rights Ombudsman Elmira Suleimanova said that Safarov
should serve as "an example for Azerbaijani youth." (Zerkalo 2/28/04)
* The Azerbaijani Ministry of National Security (MNS) has publicly
and, according to media reports, clandestinely sponsored rhetoric and
activities directed against Karabakh peace efforts. In 2004, this
successor to the Soviet-era KGB held a public competition for the "best"
films and books targeting Armenians, with Minister Namik Abbasov giving
financial awards of up to $2,000 to the winners. (Azertag.com 3/26/04)
* Heydar Aliyev's National Security Advisor Vafa Gulizade demanded
that "Armenians should be driven out of Azerbaijan forever." Unless
Azerbaijan fights and drives all Armenians out, Gulizade believes that
"Armenians would [eventually] buy up real estate in Baku... They will
try to take Azerbaijan into their hands in this way." (Azadlyq via BBC
Monitoring 10/10/01) "The entire Armenian population of Nagornyy
Karabakh should be moved from there...This problem will not be resolved
as long as Armenians are in Nagornyy Karabakh." (Yeni Azerbaycan via BBC
Monitoring 11/14/01) "If they want autonomy on our land, let us have
autonomy in Zangazur and Goyca [southern and eastern Armenia] which will
enable Azerbaijan to reach Turkey by land." (ANS via BBC Monitoring
4/6/02)
* The Azerbaijani Parliament member from ruling Yeni Azerbaycan
Party Asia Manafova: "Our people must repay the debt it owes to [the
late President] Heydar Aliyev and free Karabakh from Armenian occupiers.
To achieve this goal we are ready to... undertake acts of suicide
bombing." Manafova called on other Parliament members to also become
suicide bombers. (Regnum.ru 12/15/03) The pro-government Azerbaijan News
Service (ANS) has been the most active Azeri TV channel opposing any
contacts with Armenians and arguing for war, suggesting, among other
things, to recruit suicide bombers from among thousands of orphaned and
homeless children in Azerbaijan. (ANS via BBC Monitoring 10/13/02).
* As part of the anti-Armenian campaign, Rovshan Mustafayev of the
Azeri government-controlled National Academy of Sciences argues that all
ethnic Armenians should be treated "not as a nation, but as an
organization," which is aggressive and dangerous, yet weak. (525ci Gazet
4/1/03). In November 2004, Azeri officials confirmed that it was their
policy not to allow ethnic Armenians, no matter their citizenship or
political background, into Azerbaijan, since "these people's security
could not be guaranteed' and since all Armenians were seen as posing
security risks. The statement came after Baku airport officials barred
the entrance for a Bulgarian sports journalist of Armenian origin, who
arrived to cover the Bulgaria-Azerbaijan soccer match. (Azad Azerbaycan
TV via BBC Monitoring 11/18/04).
* At its core, the Azeri disinformation campaign includes
falsification of the nature and history of the Karabakh conflict. The
campaign also spreads into areas of global concern, such as baseless
accusations of support for Islamic terrorism, weapons proliferation and
drug trafficking, and into more "exotic" claims that Armenians are
behind everything from crop failures to unexplained natural phenomena.
Azeri officials' claims that Armenia is a weak and a 'dying' country are
contradicted by concurrent claims that the world Armenian 'cabal' is
behind all international criticism of Azeri corruption and human rights
abuses. (Armenia This Week 12/20/04)
As one of the leading mediators in the Karabakh peace process and
Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as a nation with deep
bilateral ties with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, the United States needs
to be much more active in securing an end to such irresponsible and
bellicose high-level Azerbaijani statements. Clearly these officials
envision another military offensive against NKR and Armenia, ethnic
cleansing and in the case of Col. Melikov, Armenia's demise via genocide
against its population. Public silence in the face of such threats
emboldens the would-be aggressors, undermines the peace process and
delays indefinitely US objectives of regional peace and security.
