ATKINSON’S REPORT BECOMES FORMULA
Azg/arm
27 Jan 05
The report of David Atkinson, British parliamentarian, on Nagorno
Karabakh issue was heard and adopted at the PACE session, on January
25. The Armenian side suggested three corrections. Only one of them
was adopted. In fact, the report prepared by Terry Davis, former
reporter on Nagorno Karabakh issue and current Secretary General of
European Parliament, became a formula that hasno legal force, but it
is very important from the viewpoints of politics and propaganda.
According to Regnum agency, all the formulae that are not favorable
for the Armenians remained unchanged in the report. In particular, the
Nagorno Karabakh authorities were characterized as “separatist forces,
the Armenian forces still keep the major part of Azerbaijan in
occupation,” or “the separatist forces still control the region of
Nagorno Karabakh”. Armenia is obviously condemned in annexing a
territory of another country that caused “ethic exile.”
BBC reminds that Atkinson is the life chairman of the World-Wide
Concordance of the Christians organization, while the baroness
Caroline Cox, member of the House of Lords, is its head. Baroness
Caroline Cox is known for rendering help to the Armenians.
Let’s see, what kind of mistakes were made in the report. We have the
impression that the members of the Armenian delegation at PACE
hasnâ=80=99t read this document or didn’t understand that or they are
not aware of elementary information about Karabakh.
The third point of “Explanatory Notes of the Reporter” says the
following: “The conflict includes the territory of the former NKAR, as
well the eight neighboring regions of Azerbaijan partly or fully”. If
our parliamentariansknew that seven and not eight regions are under
the control of Karabakh forces, they would show in their speeches that
Davis and Atkinson are not only pro-Azeri but also unaware of the
situation.
The formula is entitled “The Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh Region
Dealt by the OSCE Minsk Group”. It’s worth mentioning that the Minsk
Congress was to be held in the spring of 1992, but it wasn’t. The
working Minsk group was shaped, instead. So, Davis and Atkinson showed
that they are totally unaware of the Nagorno Karabakh negotiation
process. We don’t even speak of our delegation.
The authors of the report suggest thanking Minsk group co-chairs and
the personal representative of the OSCE chairman “for their efforts
made in achieving ceasefire on May 12, 1994.” This sentence is another
proof of their ignorance, as in 1994 neither Minsk group
co-chairmanship was formed, nor the position of the personal
representative of the OSCE Chairman. The ceasefire was achieved by the
mediation of Russia.
Those who read the report of Davis and Atkinson and are aware of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict’s chronology can find dozens of small and
big violations of facts. As for the mental, lingual, diplomatic and
lobbyist abilities of the Armenian delegation at PACE, daily Azg will
touch them on in a separate article.
By Tatoul Hakobian