MODERN-DAY AZERBAIJAN REPRESENTS A QUASI-MONARCHIC SULTANATE – ARTICLE
PanARMENIAN.Net
October 28, 2011 – 16:44 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net – The year of 2011 has been marked for the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR, or Artsakh as Armenians were calling
it for centuries) with the 20th anniversary of its independence from
the Soviet Union, Aram Avetisyan and Hovhannes Nikoghosyan write in
an article posted in Foreign Policy Journal.
“One of the toughest challenges for the NKR since restoring its
sovereignty remains convincing those against Artsakh’s freedom,
and first of all – neighboring Azerbaijan, that the world has
changed since 1991, and that decolonization processes take place
much smoother with the adequate reaction by former members of a
single political-administrative entity. Unfortunately, few capitals
of former Soviet republics refuse to accept the new realities, and
cherish a partial and selective retention of infamous Stalin’s deeds,”
says the article titled Nagorno-Karabakh Republic: The First 20 Years
of de-facto Independence.
“Relations between NKR and Azerbaijan remain complicated and hostile,
which impedes the whole region’s comprehensive development and
undermine stability and security of the South Caucasus. To promote a
proper and unbiased understanding of the situation and, therefore, the
search for a lasting peace and a predictable region, it is extremely
important to set the facts straight,” it says.
“During the last decade, Artsakh, being deprived of international
financial assistance except for the annual humanitarian assistance by
U.S. Congress, proved to be able to restore from ruins its economy
and infrastructure. Deepening of the democratic values remains the
essential task for the republic’s authorities, which were elected
through a voting monitored and assessed by international observers
as free, democratic and transparent.”
The article goes on to say that “Artsakh and Azerbaijan are
incompatibly different in their views and implementation of the
sovereignty. The modern-day Azerbaijan represents a quasi-monarchic
sultanate. The ruling Aliyev family suppresses any slight sign of
freedom or disobedience in their country. Global human rights and
economy watchdogs including Transparency International, Freedom House
and Forbes journal traditionally mention Azerbaijan among the world’s
most corrupted and non-free countries. Recently, discussions around
the ruling family’s properties have swept world media outlets.”
“Baku’s foreign policy is nothing better. Besotted by easy
petrodollars, Azerbaijan’s position on Karabakh remains far from
constructive. Azeris deviate from the previous agreements, undermine
international efforts to broker a peace deal. Instead of preparing
its people for compromises and peace, warmongering and anti-Armenian
takes the majority of the republic’s official communication. Clearly,
bellicose statements by Azeri top and high-level officials and
increasing military spendings jeopardize international efforts,
including American, with regards to the Azerbaijan-Artsakh
confrontation,” it emphasizes.
“Unlike Azerbaijan, the NKR remains committed to the peaceful
resolution of the conflict. The position of Artsakh coincides with that
of the international mediators in support for NKR’s resumed full-scale
participation in the negotiations process. Restoring the proper format
of negotiations and international recognition of the republic became
an imperative need for achieving progress in the peace talks. Any
positive settlement requires direct participation of the NKR.
And this is the least Azerbaijan must do for the sake of the South
Caucasus’ future,” the article concludes.