NAKHIJEVAN: TURKISH-AZERBAIJANI DISCREPANCIES
Karen Veranyan
Noravank" Foundation
25 June 2009
The recent developments in the South Caucasus round the number
of key issues sidelined not less important problems of the region,
among which the developments round the Nakhijevan Autonomous Republic
(NA) and the involvement of the external powers, and firstly Turkey,
can be mentioned.
The facts evidence that especially during the last decade Turkey
managed to ensure the considerable political and economic presence
in the NA and this should really worry Baku. The low profile of the
central Azerbaijani authorities in the issue of the activation of
the Turkish factor in the region is, perhaps, determined by the logic
of non-infringement of the brotherhood relations with Turkey and to
exclude the speculations on the Turkish-Azerbaijani discrepancies. The
fraction between Azerbaijan and Turkey on Nakhijevan, which, in its
essence, is of fundamental importance, can be classified according
to several main directions.
Demographic problems Nakhijevan, which have no land frontier with
the Republic of Azerbaijan, has appeared in a deplorable social
and economic state, due to which a vast stratum of local population
prefers to emigrate. In accordance with the unofficial figures the
population of the autonomy sank considerably because of the poor
economic conditions, endemic unemployment. According to the population
census in 1999, there were about 37020thousand people living in the
autonomy and at present that number does not exceed 150 thousand.
That problem becomes even more disturbing for the central authorities
of Azerbaijan when another topical problem comes forward – the tendency
of transformation of the demographic setting of Nakhiijevan. At the
recent period the inflow of the population, most of which are Kurds,
of the eastern regions of Turkey to the Nakhijevan Autonomy can be
observed. The new settlers from the eastern parts of Turkey integrate
to the social conditions and life of the autonomy with comparative
ease. Even more, most of them managed to buy estate there at rather
short period (and this has become rather natural thing). This
problem bothers Azerbaijani experts, who connect the tendency of
gradual transformation of the NA with the special policy of Turkey,
in the consequence of which in the near future Nakhijevan will face
the threat of Kurdishizing.
Focusing their attention mainly on the process of the Kurdishizing
of the autonomy, there are no words in the press about people of
Nakhijevan who has immigrated to Turkey and settled as a rule in Igdir
and Istanbul. The point is that Turkish party carries out serious
work with the immigrated Azerbaijanis, trying to use their presence in
the line of the activation of the Turkish factor in the autonomy. The
official Ankara, on the one hand promotes to the comparatively easy
integration o f the Azerbaijani settlers to the local social and
community life and on the other hand it promotes in any way to the
communication with their relatives who stayed in the autonomy.
Clannish struggle The absence of the land frontier with the NA has
considerably weakened, especially for the recent decade, the control of
the central authorities of Azerbaijan over the internal and external
processes in the autonomy. But not only: today it is not spoken about
the discrepancies between the authorities of the NA and the central
authorities. In the autonomy, which appeared in the enclave, all the
conditions are created for the establishment of the authoritative
and despotic order, which can be seen there today. As the people of
the autonomy mention at every turn basic human rights and freedoms
are violated but due to the pressure of the local authorities they
have no opportunity to speak about it. It is not infrequent that
the opponents of the local authorities, who openly expressed their
indignation over the established despotic order, the atmosphere of
the unfairness and the impunity, were arrested on the charges of the
espionage for Armenia.
Due to the ebbing of the influence of the central authorities on the
elite of the NA the clannish discrepancies between the centre and
the region were aggravated. It is know that the central authorities
of Azerbaijan represented by the Alievs family origin from Nakhijevan
and th ey have rather serious contradictions with the ruling clan of
the autonomy.
To preserve the control and the influence over the NA Azerbaijani
authorities tried to activate oppositional wing of the local
authorities, but they failed to achieve serious success. The "enclave"
psychology or the so called complex of the isolated co-existence also
put obstacles in the way of the rectification of the relations with
the centre.
The discrepancies between the local authorities of Nakhijevan and
the central authorities of Azerbaijan are a good reason for the
Turkish party to expand its involvement in the internal issues of
the autonomy. In recent years the official Ankara has considerably
activated the collaboration with the authorities of the autonomy
and in this connection the central authorities of Azerbaijan have
expressed their indignation repeatedly. But on the other hand the
official Ankara accepts warmly the representatives of the opposition
and average citizens. One should forget that the opponents of the
ruling elite in Nakhijevan very often are obliged to express their
concern about the desolated condition in the autonomy through the
interference and the support of the Turkish party.
Economic factor The unfavourable social and economic situation
provides to the collaboration between the Nakhijevan Autonomy and
Turkey. The absence of the land frontier considerably complicates the
communication and the turnover of the commodities20between the centre
and the region. They are mainly carried out through the territory
of Iran. The economic partnership with the neighbouring Turkey is
more profitable from technical and financial points of view. That
partnership brought to the economic dependence of Nakhijevan’s economy
on that country. The most part of the electric energy is supplied to
Nakhijevan from Turkey and the small quantity from Iran.
The factor of the neighbouring Iran is one of the important
preconditions for the deepening of the economic, as well as political
relations between the autonomy and Turkey. The problem is that Iranian
party, taking into consideration the factor of the Azerbaijanis in
Iran is wary of any activation of the Azerbaijanis in Nakhijevan and
the gaining of the political and economic weight of the Nakhijevan
Autonomy in the region.
Thus, it is logical that the Iranian party is not interested at all
in the economic development of the autonomy. Thus, the absence of
the land frontier with Azerbaijan, not very friendly relations with
Iran and the absence of any relations with another adjacent country –
Armenia, have turned the collaboration with Turkey into profitable
alternative. Turkey continues to play key role in the economic
development of the Nakhijevan Autonomy. The Turkish capital holds a
firm place in such spheres of the autonomy’s economy as transport,
services, building and tourism.
Conclusion The problem of Nakhijevan is the most contradictory part
in the brotherhood relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey. The
Nakhijevan Autonomy is still in the "information vacuum" and this
allows Turkish party acting freely in this direction.
In the recent period the rumours about the further fate of the
Nakhijevan Autonomy were activated owning to the rectification of the
relations between Armenia and Turkey. The authorities of Azerbaijan
clearly realize that the opening of the border between Armenia and
Turkey would strengthen the barrier between the Republic of Azerbaijan
and the Nakhijevan Autonomy and would provide to even more weakening of
the control and involvement of the central authorities in the internal
development of the autonomy and this would bring to the extension of
the influence of Turkey in the internal and external problems.