AZERBAIJANI PEOPLE’S PATIENCE ‘RUNNING OUT’
news.az
Dec 7 2011
Azerbaijan
A senior official has warned that the Azerbaijani people’s patience
over the Armenian occupation of Karabakh is running out.
The chief-of-staff at the Presidential Administration, Ramiz Mehdiyev,
made the remarks in a paper at an international conference in Baku
on Wednesday.
He also criticized the OSCE Minsk Group, the international body
mediating a solution to the Karabakh conflict, and said that many
Azerbaijanis were convinced that Armenia received tacit support.
“The efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing states cannot be
considered satisfactory. These states have for many years done nothing
to put an end to Armenian aggression and free Azerbaijan’s lands from
occupation,” Mehdiyev said.
“The Azerbaijani people are sure that the Armenian occupiers enjoy
protection behind the scenes. The Minsk Group states should bear in
mind that the patience of the Azerbaijani people is not unlimited
and is already running out.”
The chief-of-staff’s remarks echo comments made by President Ilham
Aliyev in a speech last month when he said that the Karabakh conflict
would not remain frozen for long. “Azerbaijan has a strong economy,
military potential, demographic superiority and the patience of the
people is running out,” the president said during a visit to the town
of Gakh.
Wednesday’s conference, entitled “Twentieth Year of Independence:
Successes Achieved and Challenges Faced on the Way to the Progressive,
Fair and Dynamic State Building”, is organized jointly by the Center
for Strategic Studies (SAM) and the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP).
In his conference paper, Ramiz Mehdiyev looked in general at
Azerbaijan’s progress over the past 20 years and said that the country
is on the threshold of a new stage in its development strategy.
News.Az prints in full the speech of Ramiz Mehdiyev.
Speech
“Distinguished conference participants, ladies and gentlemen,
“The importance of today’s event is that it coincides with the 20th
anniversary of Azerbaijan’s independence and is dedicated to an
analysis of the real outcome achieved over this period.
“Twenty years is a very small period of time in terms of the
establishment and development of a national state. Reforms and
fundamental, consistent changes have been implemented and great work
has been done to build economic ties on new foundations in Azerbaijan
since the country gained independence.
“Working on a new development strategy of Azerbaijan, today
we are setting out on innovative paths to ensure international
competitiveness. The concept ‘Azerbaijan 2020: looking towards the
future’, signed by President Ilham Aliyev, aims to eliminate these
challenges. We can say that we are almost on the threshold of a new
stage of development strategy.
“Of course, this is the outcome and logical continuation of our
achievements in the past 20 years. Worthy of note is that there were
many obstacles and setbacks on this path. Located at the intersection
of geopolitical interests, Azerbaijan has historically always been
engaged in a struggle to maintain its independence and determine its
own destiny, its own future. This was the case after the collapse of
the Soviet Union too. The Azerbaijani people set out on a difficult,
but honourable path. Against the backdrop of geopolitical struggle
between the super powers, the military aggression by neighbouring
Armenia, economic recession, inflation and political chaos called
the future of the Azerbaijani state into question in the early 1990s.
Under these circumstances, our people’s lives became intolerable
and they lost trust in the future in spite of broad economic and
intellectual potential and natural energy resources.
“National leader Heydar Aliyev’s return to power in 1993 marked a new
era in the contemporary history of Azerbaijan. Bringing all forces
and people of good reason together he rescued Azerbaijan from this
tough state of affairs and founded a new development strategy.
Sustainable development
“Azerbaijan’s economic power has increased numerous times over the last
20 years. It accounts for more than 80% of the economy of the South
Caucasus and is the largest economy in the region. Economic reforms
conducted in the country as well as privatization and liberalization
helped Azerbaijan to create market relations and to come through the
transition period with success.
“Macroeconomic indicators show a level of sustainable development
in the country’s economy and point to the solid foundations on which
future development has been built.
“Azerbaijan has always condemned elements of ‘wild capitalism’
and struggled against it. The human factor is the essence of the
development strategy of our state. The policy pursued in the country
to this end impacts all spheres of our life. It is also known that
the human factor is the major driving force of development in a
globalizing world.
“The call ‘to transform black gold into human capital’ identified by
President Ilham Aliyev as a priority shows how sensitive we are to
this problem.
“If the state creates conditions for people to enhance their knowledge
and skills in a safe environment by performing its own functions,
this, in turn, paves the way for the development of state and society.
We understand very well that state care for the development of the
human factor is a guarantee of a safer future.
“Everyone should care about the future of the planet we live on and the
healthy lifestyles of future generations regardless of geographical
location. The idea that the Earth is a universal treasure of each
one of us should become the main factor in our daily lives and
political work.
“The economic model of Azerbaijan is based on the search for unity
between the ‘private’ and ‘public’ and the reassessment of necessary
intervention by the state. The state regulates economic relations
and encourages economic growth through its own resources. The broad
financial opportunities of Azerbaijan allow support for various spheres
of economic activity and ensure the diversified economic development
of the national economy.
‘Welfare’ state
“On the other hand, social-oriented intervention of the Azerbaijani
state is a striking example of expedient steps to create a ‘welfare
state’. It has been the main priority of the socioeconomic policy
pursued over the last 20 years to improve the living conditions of
people, to create jobs, to reduce poverty and to provide the necessary
living conditions for everyone.
“This issue will be touched upon in the speeches to follow. Therefore,
I am not going to cite statistics. But I should note that the
development strategy founded back in 1993 has become a source of
pride for us with its real outcomes.
“Another important, distinguishing, feature of this period is that
economic and political reforms have been carried out in parallel. The
stability established since 1993 boosted economic activities, helped
to form market economy institutions and encouraged foreigners to
invest in various spheres of the economy, particularly the oil sector.
Sustainable economic growth and development paved a way for successful
political reforms, people’s active involvement in politics and
Azerbaijan’s integration into European institutions.
“Equality and freedom are possible only in societies with solid
economic foundations and strong political will. These two factors
allow democratic institutions in Azerbaijan to have a well-entrenched
position and democratic framework to perform the function of the
main regulator of political activities. Azerbaijan became an active
member of the democratic European family back in 2001 when it joined
the Council of Europe.
Foreign policy
“At the same time, a multi-faceted foreign policy course which
incorporated features of regional geopolitical environment opened broad
opportunities for Azerbaijan on the international arena and created new
prospects of cooperation with states in the region. The new priorities
required a reassessment of the resources that Azerbaijan already
possessed so that it could benefit from them in the most efficient
way. This allowed Azerbaijan, which had old statehood traditions,
to become a strong regional actor and provided the opportunity to
integrate into European institutions and the international community
with success and to develop cooperation with partners, both distant
and close by, based on equal rights.
“In the meantime, the policies we pursue place new responsibility
and obligations on us in terms of safeguarding global security and
peace and resolving global security issues. Azerbaijan’s election as
a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council on 24 October is
the logical outcome of the wise and far-sighted political activity
of the head of state.
Karabakh
“But the main challenge we face is military aggression by Armenia. I
wonder how a state which is a member of the international community
can violate the territorial integrity of another sovereign state by
use of force and keep these lands under occupation for 19 years. This
contradicts the principles and objectives of the UN Charter and the
prohibition of all forms of the use of force.
“In spite of this illegal situation, we witness stagnation on the part
of the international community. The efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairing states cannot be considered satisfactory. These states
have for many years done nothing to put an end to Armenian aggression
and free Azerbaijan’s lands from occupation. Azerbaijani people are
sure that the Armenian occupiers enjoy protection behind the scenes.
The Minsk Group states should bear in mind that the patience of the
Azerbaijani people is not unlimited and is already running out.
“However, it becomes clear from the recent history of the 20th century
that the international community has never recognized a ‘puppet’
state formed as a result of aggression and has struggled against it.
Otherwise, any world order, international security and mechanism to
maintain peace are out of the question here. The current situation
in Nagorno-Karabakh remains the major threat to the future creation
of the fair society, peace and security that the peoples want. The
international community needs to step up efforts, to be guided by
the rule of law and to force Armenia to fulfill its international
obligations.
“The people living in Nagorno-Karabakh are citizens of Azerbaijan.
Known for its progressive position in the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan
recognizes the rights of minorities with specific features, at the
same time maintaining national unity around single, universal values
and ideas. Every individual in Azerbaijan can freely determine their
ethnic identity and develop their specific features. The nation is
a community of all citizens,regardless of their language, religion
and ethnicity within the borders of a single state. The Armenians
who were born in Nagorno-Karabakh and live there can act freely in
line with Azerbaijan’s commitments to the Council of Europe and UN
and under the legislation of Azerbaijan and enjoy the rights provided
by the Constitution of Azerbaijan.
“But aggression and cooperation are incompatible. Armenia’s aggressive
policies and its self-isolation from regional projects have caused a
tough economic situation in the country. Armenian people are leaving
the country in droves to escape destitution. The economic strategy
implemented in Azerbaijan since 1994 is continuing with success to
this day. The ‘Contract of the Century’ facilitated Azerbaijan’s
integration into the world economy and emphasized its geopolitical
importance. This is a result of far-sighted and pragmatic policies.
“The discovery of new gas fields has boosted the export potential of
Azerbaijan and made it one of the leading gas producers of the world.
Today Azerbaijan has already become a main energy partner of Europe.
At the same time, energy projects implemented in the region, including
oil and gas pipelines and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, have made a
particular contribution to regional cooperation. As a leading state
in the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan has become the main driving force of
regional cooperation. In turn, this is a striking example of effective
statehood, strong economy and national unity in Azerbaijan.
“In conclusion, I wish the conference success. Thank you for your
attention.”