Month: June 2005

Le Nagorny Karabakh elit son parlement
Agence France Presse
19 juin 2005 dimanche 4:30 AM GMT
STEPANAKERT (Azerbaïdjan) 19 juin 2005 — Les habitants de la
republique autoproclamee du Nagorny Karabakh, une enclave armenienne
en Azerbaïdjan, ont commence a voter dimanche pour elire leur quatrième
Parlement.
Le parlement de ce petit “pays” de 150.000 habitants en grande majorite
Armeniens, est elu pour cinq ans et compte 33 deputes. Onze sont elus
au scrutin proportionnel et 22 au scrutin majoritaire.
Cent cinq candidats se presentent au scrutin majoritaire et 80 a la
proportionnelle. Pour que le scrutin soit valide, la participation
doit atteindre au moins 25% des quelque 89.000 electeurs inscrits,
attendus dans 274 bureaux de vote.
Une centaine d’observateurs, representants d’organisations
non-gouvernementales, venus de Russie, d’Ukraine, des Etats-Unis
et d’Asie centrale, notamment, devaient suivre le deroulement des
elections.
Le “president” du Karabakh, Arkadi Goukassian, a declare a la veille
du scrutin qu’il garantirait “un vote honnete et transparent”.
“Toute tentative de violation des normes, quel qu’en soit l’auteur,
sera denoncee et ses initiateurs punis avec toute la severite de la
loi”, a-t-il declare a la television.
Il a explique que le scrutin devait repondre aux normes europeennes
pour eviter de porter tort a l’image du Nagorny Karabakh et, partant,
“au processus de règlement pacifique avec l’Azerbaïdjan”.
Selon les observateurs locaux, le Parti democrate Artsakh
(Karabakh), pro-gouvernemental et le parti “Patrie libre” devraient
franchir le seuil des 10% des suffrages et la coalition d’opposition
Dachnaktsoutioun – Mouvement 88 celui des 15%, necessaires pour faire
entrer ses candidats au parlement.
Les resultats preliminaires devraient etre connus dans la nuit de
lundi a mardi.
Le Nagorny Karabakh a proclame son independance en 1991 et l’a defendue
armes a la main avec le soutien de l’Armenie jusqu’a un cessez-le-feu
conclu en 1994. Les affrontements, qui avaient commence en 1988, ont
fait entre 25.000 et 30.000 morts selon les estimations et entraîne
l’exil de quelque 20.000 Azeris, deplacant en outre, selon Bakou,
jusqu’a un million de personnes.
Le Nagorny Karabakh etait partie integrante de l’Armenie jusqu’en
1923, date a laquelle ce territoire a ete rattache par Staline a
la Republique socialiste sovietique d’Azerbaïdjan avec le statut de
region autonome.
–Boundary_(ID_eu3dn4S2FibRSdxwPYC1IA)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Genocide armenien Manifestation turque a Berlin contre une resolution allemande
Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)
SDA – Service de base francais
19 juin 2005
Berlin (ats/afp) La communaute turque a manifeste dimanche a
Berlin contre la resolution votee par les deputes allemands sur les
massacres du peuple armenien commis sous l’empire ottoman entre 1915
et 1917. Elle a denonce la “falsification de l’Histoire”.
Cet appel, lance par la “Communaute turque en Allemagne”, principale
association representative des quelque 2,5 millions de Turcs du pays,
rassemblait 1500 personnes en debut d’après-midi, selon la police.
Les manifestants ont defile notamment sur la celèbre avenue
Kurfurstendamm. Ils ont proteste aussi contre “la stigmatisation du
peuple turc”, “une propagande historique a sens unique” et contre
l’adoption d'”une resolution sur le genocide armenien”, qui selon un
porte-parole “blesse” les sentiments des Turcs vivant en Allemagne.
La manifestation etait soutenue par l’association Milli Gorus
(Vision nationale), bien implantee parmi les Turcs vivant en Europe
et soupconnee de propager le fondamentalisme religieux, et aussi par
le journal turc a grand tirage “Hurriyet” diffuse en Allemagne.
La chambre des deputes allemands, le Bundestag, a adopte jeudi une
resolution en memoire des “massacres” du peuple armenien commis sous
l’empire ottoman entre 1915 et 1917.
Dans ce texte, l’ensemble des groupes parlementaires demande notamment
au gouvernement allemand de “s’engager pour faire respecter la liberte
d’opinion en Turquie, en particulier en ce qui concerne les massacres
des Armeniens”.
Ankara s’en prend a Schroder
A Ankara, le Premier ministre turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, s’en est
ouvertement pris vendredi au chancelier allemand Gerhard Schroder. Il
lui a reproche de n’avoir pas use de son influence afin de bloquer
l’adoption du texte.
La Turquie a reconnu l’Armenie a son independance en 1991, mais sans
etablir de relations diplomatiques en raison du profond differend sur
les massacres consideres comme un genocide par de nombreux pays. En
Suisse, le Conseil national a reconnu le genocide armenien en 2003,
suscitant les protestations d’Ankara.
Les massacres et deportations d’Armeniens perpetres sous l’Empire
ottoman, de 1915 a 1917, ont fait 1,5 million de morts, selon
les Armeniens, entre 250 000 et 500 000, selon Ankara qui rejette
categoriquement la thèse du genocide.
–Boundary_(ID_d3WvpVFUR64IjuzZwtPAiA)–

Developpement Le Nagorny Karabakh elit son parlement – Bakou proteste
Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)
SDA – Service de base francais
19 juin 2005
Stepanakert (ats/afp) Les habitants de la republique autoproclamee du
Nagorny Karabakh, une enclave armenienne en Azerbaïdjan, ont vote
dimanche pour elire leur quatrième Parlement. Bakou a denonce une
tentative de “legaliser l’occupation” armenienne.
Le scrutin s’est deroule dans le calme. Aucun incident significatif
n’a ete rapporte a la fermeture des bureaux de vote, a 20H00 locales
(17H00 suisses).
Le parlement de ce petit “pays” de 150 000 habitants, en grande
majorite armeniens, est elu pour cinq ans et compte 33 deputes. Pour
que le scrutin soit valide, la participation devait atteindre au
moins 25 % des quelque 89 000 electeurs inscrits. Ce seuil a ete
rapidement franchi, alors que des files d’attente se formaient devant
les bureaux de vote.
Vote illegal
L’Azerbaïdjan, qui revendique toujours le Nagorny Karabakh, a
toutefois declare que tout vote dans ce territoire serait illegal
tant que les centaines de milliers d’Azerbaïdjanais chasses du
Karabakh et de regions voisines n’auraient pas ete autorises a y
revenir.
“L’Armenie se presse de legaliser l’occupation (…) Des elections et
des referendums dans les territoires occupes ne pourront y etre menes
qu’après la restitution du territoire a l’Azerbaïdjan”, a declare la
commission electorale azerbaïdjanaise dans un communique diffuse
samedi.
Une centaine d’observateurs, representants d’organisations
non-gouvernementales, venus de Russie, d’Ukraine, des Etats-Unis et
d’Asie centrale, notamment, devaient suivre le deroulement des
elections. Certains ont rapporte des violations mineures.
Independance en 1991
Le “president” du Karabakh, Arkadi Goukassian, a declare a la veille
du scrutin qu’il garantirait “un vote honnete et transparent”. Il a
explique que le scrutin devait repondre aux normes europeennes pour
eviter de porter tort a l’image du Nagorny Karabakh et, partant, “au
processus de règlement pacifique avec l’Azerbaïdjan”.
Les resultats preliminaires devraient etre connus dans la nuit de
lundi a mardi. Le Nagorny Karabakh a proclame son independance en
1991 et l’a defendue par les armes avec le soutien de l’Armenie
jusqu’a un cessez-le-feu conclu en 1994.
Les affrontements, qui avaient commence en 1988, ont fait entre 25
000 et 30 000 morts selon les estimations et entraîne l’exil de
quelque 20 000 Azeris, deplacant en outre, selon Bakou, jusqu’a un
million de personnes.
NOTE: la depeche a ete entièrement remaniee
–Boundary_(ID_C3f6y75/e6cyaV2ExKCMCQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Voters go to polls in disputed Nagorno Karabakh enclave
Agence France Presse — English
June 19, 2005 Sunday 3:49 PM GMT
STEPANAKERT, Azerbaijan June 19 — Voters cast their ballots Sunday
in parliamentary polls in the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno
Karabakh, a mostly ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, amid
strong opposition from Azeri authorities.
Seven parties and 185 candidates were vying for places in Nagorno
Karabakh’s fourth parliament, with two thirds of the parliament’s 33
seats to be elected directly and one third under a proportional system.
No major violations had been reported by the time polling stations
closed at 8:00 pm (1500 GMT) with preliminary results expected
Monday morning.
Voting was brisk, with lines forming outside polling stations and
officials reporting turnout at 60.5 percent by 5:00 pm, exceeding
the 25 percent minimum needed for the vote to be declared legitimate.
The central market in Stepanakert, the enclave’s main city, was
unusually empty as traders deserted their stalls to vote.
“Everyone’s gone to vote,” said one trader, gleeful at her temporary
monopoly.
Nagorno Karabakh’s authorities have said the vote is a chance to
prove to the world the territory’s independence.
“I voted for stability, independence and prosperity,” Nagorno
Karabakh’s leader, Arkady Gukasyan, said after casting his ballot.
It was essential, Gukasyan said earlier, that the vote meet European
standards in order to avoid harming Nagorno Karabakh’s image and
“the process of peaceful settlement with Azerbaijan”.
But Azerbaijan, which claims the territory, said any vote in the
region would remain illegal until hundreds of thousands of Azeris
banished from Nagorno Karabakh and seven surrounding regions were
allowed to return.
“Armenia is zealous to legalize the occupation… elections and
referendums on the occupied territories must be conducted only after
the territory’s restoration to Azerbaijan,” Azerbaijan’s election
commission said in a written statement on Saturday.
Nagorno Karabakh is widely seen as propped up by Armenia, which fought
a war with Azerbaijan over the territory in 1993 and 1994 that left
an estimated 25,000 people dead and forced a million people from
their homes, three quarters of them Azeri.
On Friday, Turkey, long at odds with Armenia and a staunch supporter
of Azerbaijan, joined its ally in criticizing the poll.
“Turkey believes that such unilateral initiatives… will not help
efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem
and considers those elections as illegitimate,” foreign ministry
spokesman Namik Tan said in a statement.
No foreign governments have sent observer missions, reflecting the
territory’s unresolved status.
But as voting got under way Sunday, monitors from non-governmental
organizations reported a number of minor violations.
Supporters of Araig Horutyunyan, a candidate closely linked to Nagorno
Karabakh’s leader, “were actively proselytizing” near polling stations,
said Antranig Kasabaryan, local representative of the Tufenkyan
foundation, a New York-based aid group.
Earlier, Gukasyan had rounded on opposition parties, accusing them of
“insinuations” and “libel” after they accused senior Karabakh officials
of abusing their positions in order to win support.
“False rumors were circulated that the authorities sanctioned pressure
on the electorate, threatened people… this didn’t and couldn’t
happen,” Gukasyan said.
The unrecognized Nagorno Karabakh Republic has a population of
145,000. It is spread over eight regions of Azerbaijan including
Karabakh itself and comprises 14 percent of Azerbaijan’s overall
territory.
The parliament is elected for a five-year term.

Turkey fears EU turmoil will affect membership talks
Agence France Presse — English
June 19, 2005 Sunday 12:00 PM GMT
ANKARA June 19 — The rejection of the EU constitution and the bloc’s
budgetary deadlock last week could have a negative impact on Turkey’s
accession negotiations, the country’s foreign minister Abdullah Gul
said Sunday.
“We could not say at this time that everything that has happened
will not affect enlargement and Turkey, we must wait until the dust
settles,” said Gul in an interview with the newspaper Radikal.
However it may take some time for the dust to settle with Josep Borell,
president of the European parliament, not optimistic about a resolution
during Britain’s six-month turn at the rotating EU presidency which
starts July 1.
“The discussions in Brussels and the positions that were taken in
the last phase of negotiations don’t give much hope that we can find
a solution under the British presidency,” Borell said Sunday in an
interview with the Italian newspaper Repubblica.
“We have just welcomed 10 new countries and created legitimate
expectations with others. We can’t be content just to survive. There
must be certainty about financial resources available until 2013 to
allow each country to do their accounts and program their development,”
Borell said.
Turkey, a largely Muslim country of 71 million people, is due to
start accession negotiations on October 3.
Gul said Turkey “would not be provoked” by those who don’t want Turkey
to join the EU, referring to a motion passed by the German parliament
condemning the “massacres” of Armenians by Turks between 1915 and 1917,
which Turkey denies.
Questioned about a possible suspension of the process of EU enlargement
Gul said: “I don’t think that such a situation can occur, but if that
is the case, I would say straight away that we won’t be crying. We will
continue along our path and consolidate our economy and democracy”.
The EU budgetary deadlock provoked a positive reaction in the Germany
press Sunday with one newspaper even thanking British Prime Minister
Tony Blair for his call for budgetary reform.
“The failure of the Brussels summit ended at the right place: we can
now finally think about renewing the ‘financial constitution’ of the
European Union,” said the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
“What legitimate economic justification remains for providing some
60 billion euros in subsidies to European agriculture year after year
(…)” it said.
“Why must Germany, whose per capita revenue is now only slightly higher
than the average for the (EU) 25 and already less than the average
for the former 15, deliver to Brussels a half percent of its GDP,”
the newspaper asked.
Die Welt am Sonntag said: “Thank you, Tony Blair, for making a petty
debate (on the British rebate) a meaningful debate”.

Nagorno Karabakh holds parliamentary polls
Agence France Presse — English
June 19, 2005 Sunday 6:50 AM GMT
STEPANAKERT, Azerbaijan June 19 — Parliamentary polls opened Sunday in
the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno Karabakh, a mostly Armenian
enclave within Azerbaijan, in the face of strong opposition from
Azeri authorities.
Seven parties and 185 candidates are vying for places in Nagorno
Karabakh’s fourth parliament, with two thirds of the parliament’s 33
seats to be elected directly and one third under a proportional system.
Nagorno Karabakh’s authorities have said the vote is a chance to
prove to the world the territory’s independence.
On the eve of polling Nagorno Karabakh’s leader, Arkady Gukasyan,
promised “an honest and transparent vote.”
It was essential, Gukasyan said, that the vote come up to European
standards in order to avoid harming Nagorno Karabakh’s image and
“the process of peaceful settlement with Azerbaijan.”
“All attempts at violations, whoever the author, will be denounced and
initiators punished with the full severity of the law,” Gukasyan said.
However no foreign governments have sent observer missions, reflecting
the territory’s unresolved status, although some 100 non-governmental
monitors are attending, including from Iran, Russia, Ukraine and the
United States as well as the Central Asian former Soviet republics
and Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia republic.
Nagorno Karabakh is widely seen as propped up by Armenia, which
fought a war with Azerbaijan over the territory in 1993 and 1994,
leaving an estimated 25,000 people dead.
Azerbaijan’s authorities have denounced the vote as illegitimate and
Turkey, long at odds with Armenia and a stauch supporter of Azerbaijan,
also criticised the poll on Friday.
In his pre-election comments, Gukasyan rounded on opposition parties,
accusing them of “insinuations” and “libel” during campaigning,
a reference to charges that senior Karabakh officials had abused
their positions in order to win support.
“False rumors were circulated that the authorities sanctioned pressure
on the electorate, threatened people… this didn’t and couldn’t
happen,” Gukasyan said.
Ahead of the current poll, Armenia said it was ready to give up
seven other regions of Azerbaijan it occupied during the fighting,
once Nagorno Karabakh’s status has been settled.
Preliminary poll results are expected late Monday or early Tuesday.
For the results to be declared valid at least 25 percent of the 89,000
people eligible to vote must turn out.
The parliament is elected for a five-year term.

Pro-government party in Karabakh urges unity
At Artsakh, Stepanakert
14 Jun 05
One of the leaders of a pro-government party has called for unity
as Karabakh begun voting in parliamentary elections. In an interview
with a Karabakh newspaper, Ashot Gulyan said: “As we are at war with
Azerbaijan, we have no alternative but be together and fight together
both in happiness and sadness. Any other way would be destructive.”
He said that after the 19 of June elections Karabakh will “move
up in terms of politics… because of the fact that democracy has
taken solid roots here”. The following is an excerpt from Svetlana
Khachatryan report by Nagornyy Karabakh newspaper Azat Artsakh on 14
June headlined “We will win, because the bases of democracy are solid”
Interview with the co-chair of the Democratic Party of Artsakh
[Nagornyy Karabakh], Ashot Gulyan.
[Correspondent] Mr Gulyan, the election campaign is nearing its end,
what do you think of the current stage of the campaign?
[Gulyan] I think, people will give their comprehensive assessment on
the day of the elections: 19 June.
As to my attitude to the current stage of the election campaign in
terms of both the logic of law and the due conduct of the campaign,
it is positive. Equal conditions have been created for all the blocs
fighting for parliamentary seats and the principles of democracy
were widely applied. I think it is very important to ensure that our
elections are free, fair and transparent.
[Passage omitted: on the election campaign and calls for responsibility
in the formation a new parliament]
Party history
The NKR authorities and the Democratic Party Artsakh (DPA) have
concrete programs in all the spheres. The predecessor of the DPA,
the Democratic Union of Artsakh [DUA], became a parliamentary
fraction in 2000. It drafted the programmes which are now being
implemented. Our economic and political programmes look to the future
and ensure solutions. Unfortunately, we have not received alternative
programmes from any of the other parties. At the same time, we are
far from saying that the DPA had made no mistakes during its five
years of work. We might have made some mistakes, but we are working
on eliminating them gradually as envisaged in our programmes. We
would have preferred for the criticism to be more targeted and factual.
[Correspondent] In the criticism voiced, we often hear the opinion
that the former DUA, which was founded by the authorities and renamed
the DPA, has not changed. Do you agree with this view?
[Gulyan] I am sure that people have not forgotten the situation of
1999, when the state was under threat of division into two poles,
the ramifications of which could have been damaging for the NKR.
Also the military dictatorship that rose at the time should not be
forgotten. The direct result of it was the assassination attempt
on 22 March 2000. There was a need for a force that could take
the responsibility for the state into its hands. [Passage omitted:
recaps history]
A revolutionary movement is one thing and quite another is to take
responsibility for the fate of people. It is in that situation
that the Democratic Union of Artsakh was founded. We did not call
ourselves a party, we stayed away from populist actions and empty
promises. We became partisans of a public movement. If we are to
look at the successes of the DUA , it is first of all the freeing
the people’s minds form fear. It is thanks to its role that we have
democracy today. From 2000 onwards all the elections in the NKR were
qualitatively better than the previous ones. I don’t think all that
has been forgotten. Why don’t we compare the level of social welfare
of the people with the one we had five years ago?
Why was the DUA renamed. That is another issue which some used
for manipulation. It was as a result of our parliamentary activity
that the law on parties was adopted. The renaming of the DUA became
imperative. Even the name is very much in place here.
[Passage omitted: reiterates the point]
Plea for “common” language
The DPA was not formed by the authorities. It is not fair to describe
as pro-government a party that was formed at such a difficult time
and that managed to take the state out of the crisis. The authorities
could not find a way out of that alone. And since all other political
parties did not back the government, the DUA supported it. It is a
positive example of mutual cooperation and trust between the government
and a serious socio-political organization.
[Passage omitted: more of the same]
Independent of the results of the elections we will continue to work
in the same fashion and try and find a common language with all the
political forces. That is a new imperative. As we are at war with
Azerbaijan, we have no alternative but be together and fight together
both in happiness and sadness. Any other way would be destructive.
Democracy in Karabakh has “solid” roots
[Correspondent] The 2005 election differs in terms of a comparatively
large number of candidates. Do you think this is normal?
[Gulyan] Certainly, the fact that not only political parties, but also
a great number of individuals expressed interest in becoming a member
of the legislative branch of power proves the presence of democracy
in its broadest form. [Passage omitted: talks about observers]
We have to show to the world that we are a state which observes
the internationally-recognized democratic principles. I believe,
that after the 19 June elections, Karabakh will move up in terms of
politics. And not because of the saviours of the country from the
opposition, but because of the fact that democracy has taken solid
roots here. And this will be our common victory.

Agence France Presse
19 juin 2005 dimanche 7:41 AM GMT
La crise europeenne pourrait avoir un impact sur la Turquie (Gul)
ANKARA 19 juin 2005
La crise constitutionnelle et budgetaire qui secoue l’Union
europeenne pourrait avoir un effet defavorable sur les prochaines
negociations d’adhesion de la Turquie a l’Union, a estime samedi le
chef de la diplomatie turque Abdullah Gul dans un entretien au
journal Radikal.
“Nous ne pouvons pas dire dès a present que tout ce qui se passe (au
sein de l’UE) n’affectera pas l’elargissement et la Turquie. Nous
devons attendre que la poussière se dissipe”, a-t-il dit.
Mais, a precise le ministre, “la Turquie ne se laissera pas provoquer
par des milieux” qui, selon lui, souhaitent pousser la Turquie a
claquer la porte de l’Union.
Il a notamment cite une resolution adoptee jeudi par la chambre des
deputes allemands, le Bundestag, en memoire des “massacres” commis
par les Turcs ottomans entre 1915 et 1917 contre le peuple armenien.
La Turquie nie categoriquement la thèse d’un genocide avancee par
l’Armenie.
L’UE, avec laquelle la Turquie, pays musulman de 71 millions
d’habitants, doit entamer des negociations d’adhesion le 3 octobre, a
pour sa part recommande a ce pays de faire face a son passe.
M. Gul, pour lequel l’amorce de ces negociations demeure
irreversible, a indique que son gouvernement continuerait dans la
voie des reformes. “Nous ne voulons pas perdre de temps”, a-t-il dit
au sujet des difficiles discussions avec le club europeen qui
devrait, selon les meilleures estimations, durer 10 ans voire, 15
ans.
Interroge sur l’eventualite d’une suspension du processus
d’elargissement de l’UE, M. Gul a dit: “Je ne pense pas qu’une telle
situation puisse apparaître, mais si c’etait le cas, je vous dirais
tout de suite que nous ne pleurerons pas. Nous continuerons dans
notre chemin en consolidant notre economie et notre democratie”.
–Boundary_(ID_bYhLGWULj8X3fHNEdic/ww)–

Azerbaijan’s oil fortunes equal separatist Karabakh’s woes
by Simon Ostrovsky
Agence France Presse — English
June 19, 2005 Sunday 1:29 AM GMT
MARTAKERT, Azerbaijan June 19 — Tens of miles of abandoned, bombed-out
buildings separate the hometown of Rafael Petrosian from the nearest
city within the rebel region of Nagorno Karabakh, which goes to the
polls Sunday to elect a new parliament.
Petrosian is a school principal in Martakert, a small town on the
outer fringes of unrecognized Nagorno Karabakh Republic, population
145,000, which former Soviet Azerbaijan claims.
The closest neighboring town Tartar is just seven kilometers (four
miles) away, but it is across a series of barbed wire fences, trenches
and minefields in enemy territory controlled by the central authorities
in Baku.
“It’s dangerous over there,” Petrosian said, gesturing in the direction
of the ceasefire line. “They’re not human on the other side,” he said
of the Azeris with whom Armenians fought a bloody war a decade ago.
An ethnic-Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh won its
de-facto independence from the country when Baku signed a cease-fire
to a six year long war in 1994 and emotions on either side of the
ceasefire line still run high.
Karabakh’s status remains unsettled, but surprisingly little has been
said about resolving the simmering conflict in the campaign leading
up to the elections.
Azerbaijan however has become increasingly assertive on the
international arena as it prepares to go online with a US-backed
multi-billion-dollar oil pipeline later this year.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which will pump oil from the
Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, was built with Washington’s backing
to help wean the West off of oil from the volatile Middle East.
Some Azeri officials have hinted that the money generated by the
pipeline, as much as 160 billion dollars over the next 30 years, could
finance a war machine geared at taking back the contested territories.
It is an emerging reality that has been glossed over during the
campaign leading up to voting in Karabakh.
Canvassing has instead focused on pleading with candidates to refrain
from mutual recriminations and mudslinging in an effort to make the
election look as democratic as possible.
The idea is that a smooth campaign will prove to the outside world
that Karabakh is capable of administering itself and international
recognition of its independence will follow.
“Our attitude to the elections must demonstrate to the world that
the democratic reforms in the country are irreversible to spur
international recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic,” its
‘President’ Arakady Gukasian announced on Friday.
Some 25,000 people died and one million were displaced in the last
war which left the ethnic Armenian forces in control of Karabakh and
seven other regions internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
But a Karabakh ‘foreign ministry’ official downplayed the risk of
Azerbaijan building up its armed forces for a new conflict saying a
Europe-wide arms control treaty, the CFE, would stop it beefing up
its military.
“Besides, the oil companies themselves are interested in stability,”
deputy foreign minister Masis Mailian told AFP.
But one of the leaders of a prominent opposition bloc, likely to
finish second after the ruling party in the parliamentary race,
said developments in Azerbaijan “concerned” him.
“We too must find alternative funds to maintain the balance,”
said Zhirar Shahijanian, a top leader in the nationalist-socialist
Dashnaktsutyun party and an Iranian-born ethnic Armenian.
He said it was in the West’s own interests to find a resolution to the
conflict because parts of the BTC pipeline lie a mere 25 kilometers (15
miles) away from territories controlled by the Karabakh authorities.
“We’re not saying we are going to blow it up, but if we are put
under extreme pressure this is one of the options open to us,”
Shahijanian said.
To Petrosian, the school director in Martakert, the reasons behind
why no country has recognized Karabakh’s independence comes down
to geopolitics.
“If our blood is cheaper than their oil, then let God be their judge,”
Petrosian said, addressing his thoughts to the international community.

Turnout exceeds 73 percent in Karabakh parliamentary election
By Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
June 19, 2005 Sunday 3:08 PM Eastern Time
YEREVAN, June 19 — The turnout was high in the Sunday parliamentary
election in the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. 73.6
percent of voters visited the polling stations to elect the republican
legislature, a source in the Karabakh Central Electoral Commission
told Itar-Tass.
The count of votes is underway, and preliminary results will be
announced within hours.
Observers from several countries, including Armenia, Russia,
Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, France, the Czech Republic and the United States,
are generally satisfied with the elections, the source said. He added
that the international observers did not register serious violations
in the ballot.
This is the fourth parliamentary election in Nagorno-Karabakh after
it proclaimed independence in 1991. Not a single country of the world
has recognized the republic yet.
The ballot was held at 274 polling stations throughout the republic
of Nagorno-Karabakh and at a polling station in Yerevan, which was
opened to provide for the election rights of Karabakh citizens staying
in Armenia.
The republic has 89,500 voters, but 2,000 voters less took part
in the ballot in majoritarian single-mandate districts as Karabakh
conscripts have the right to take part in the elections only on the
proportionate system.
There are 33 deputies in the Karabakh parliament. Twenty-two of them
are elected in majoritarian single-mandate districts, and eleven are
elected on proportionate party lists. There were 106 candidates in this
election. Several parties and blocs took part in the Sunday election,
but observers believe that the ruling Democratic Party of Karabakh,
the opposition bloc of the nationalist Dashnaktsutyun Party and the
political organization Movement 88 have the highest chances to win.
The Karabakh authorities attribute large significance to the
elections. “The elections are of paramount international importance
for Nagorno-Karabakh,” Karabakh President Arkady Gukasyan said on
Saturday. “We must show the world our attitude to the elections,
which mirrors the irreversibility of democratic transformations
and can promote the international recognition of the Republic of
Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has pronounced the elections illegal.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress