BBC News, UK
Jan 25 2005
Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh
Situated in south-western Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh is a richly
fertile area of striking beauty scarred by its violent history.
The word Karabakh has Turkic and Persian roots and means “black
garden”. The word Nagorno is Russian and means mountainous.
OVERVIEW
The ongoing bitter rivalry for control between ethnic Armenians and
Azeris has roots dating back well over a century into competition
between Christian Armenian and Muslim Turkic and Persian influences.
AT A GLANCE
Territory is inside Azerbaijan, but population predominantly ethnic
Armenian
War followed 1991 declaration of independence; up to 30,000 were
killed, more than one million fled their homes
Ceasefire was signed in 1994, but peace talks are bogged down and
refugees remain stranded
History
Populated for hundreds of years by Armenian and Turkic farmers,
herdsmen and traders, Karabakh became part of the Russian empire in
the 19th century.
Armenia insists that it was part of an early Christian kingdom,
citing the presence of ancient churches as evidence. Azeri historians
argue that the churches were built by the Caucasian Albanians, a
Christian nation whom they regard as among the forebears of the Azeri
people.
Islam arrived in the region more than a millennium ago.
For long periods Christian Armenians and Turkic Azeris lived in peace
but they were both guilty of acts of brutality in the early 20th
century. These live on in the popular memory and fuel mutual
antagonism.
There have been many deaths to mourn
The end of World War I and the aftermath of the Bolshevik revolution
in Russia brought carving up of borders. As part of their
divide-and-rule policy in the area, the Soviets established the
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, of which the population was
predominantly ethnic Armenian, within Azerbaijan in the early 1920s.
Armenian discontent at this situation smouldered throughout the
Soviet period. Ethnic Armenian-Azeri frictions exploded into furious
violence in the late 1980s in the twilight years of the USSR.
As the violence escalated, the ethnic Azeri population fled Karabakh
and Armenia while ethnic Armenians fled the rest of Azerbaijan. With
the break-up of the Soviet Union, in late 1991, Karabakh declared
itself an independent republic. That de facto status remains
unrecognised elsewhere.
Although there was no formal declaration of war, there was
large-scale combat between Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces.
That fighting ultimately brought victory for the ethnic Armenians who
then pushed on to occupy Azeri territory outside Karabakh, creating a
buffer zone linking Karabakh and Armenia.
Ceasefire but no final settlement
A Russian-brokered ceasefire was signed in 1994 leaving Karabakh de
facto under ethnic Armenian control. The deal also left swathes of
Azeri territory around the enclave in Armenian hands. No final
settlement has ever been signed. Both sides have had soldiers killed
in sporadic breaches of the ceasefire. The closure of borders with
Turkey and Azerbaijan has caused landlocked Armenia severe economic
problems for nearly 15 years.
It is estimated that between 20,000 and 30,000 people lost their
lives during half a decade of conflict, and that more than one
million fled their homes. The Azeris have yet to return to areas of
Azerbaijan now under ethnic Armenian control and have little prospect
of returning to Karabakh itself. Similarly, the Armenians who fled
Azerbaijan during the conflict have not returned there.
The ethnic Armenians who now account for virtually the entire
population of Nagorno-Karabakh prefer to call it Artsakh, an ancient
name dating back around 1,500 years.
Guns now silent, future unresolved
The situation throughout over a decade since the ceasefire agreement
has been one of simmering stalemate. Azeris bitterly resent the loss
of the land which they regard as rightfully theirs. The Armenians
show no sign of willingness to compromise or give one square
centimetre of it back.
Russia, France and the USA co-chair the OSCE’s Minsk Group which has
been attempting to broker an end to the dispute for over a decade.
In 1997 the group tabled settlement proposals seen as a starting
point for negotiations by Azerbaijan and Armenia but not by the de
facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh itself. When the then Armenian
president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, tried to encourage Nagorno-Karabakh
to enter into talks he was forced to resign amid cries of betrayal.
Hopes of a peace deal were raised in 2001, after a series of meetings
between Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Heydar Aliyev, the
late president of Azerbaijan.
However, ultimately the talks came to nothing, and contacts between
the two countries’ presidents have never looked so promising again.
FACTS
Status: de jure part of the Republic of Azerbaijan, unilaterally
declared itself an independent republic in 1991
Capital: Stepanakert/Khenkendi
Area: 4,400 sq km
Main religion: Christianity
Languages spoken: Armenian, Russian
Currency in use: Dram
LEADERS
President: Arkadiy Gukasyan
First elected president of the unrecognised republic of
Nagorno-Karabakh in 1997, Mr Gukasyan won a second term in 2002.
He survived an assassination attempt in 2000. Samuel Babayan, whom he
had recently sacked as defence minister, was convicted of organizing
the attack and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Although Mr Gukasyan has expressed the desire for a peaceful solution
to the dispute over the republic’s status, he has pledged never to
compromise on Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence. He insists that the
unrecognised republic must have full representation at any future
negotiations on the way forward.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress