British expert: Unresolved territorial conflict hinders progress in establishing democratic values in Azerbaijan

Western journalist Afua Hirsch's article negating the democratic development of Azerbaijan does not give an objective assessment of the situation in the country, ignoring the one important factor - an unresolved territorial conflict, British Transatlantic Institute Director Ziba Norman said.

"The publication of such critical articles requires providing detailed content to give the reader an opportunity to objectively assess the situation," Norman told Trend. She commented on the nature of the anti-Azerbaijani article recently posted on the British publication "The Guardian".

Hirsch's article entitled "Why Azerbaijan is still a member of the Council of Europe?" very sharply and critically describes the situation of democracy and human rights in the country.

Norman said the fact of the presence of an unresolved conflict retarding the development of democratic values should not be underestimated.

There will be a justifiable fear that the significance of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be discounted by any group desiring to destabilize the region until the conflict is not resolved. These legitimate concerns will impede progress towards a completely open society, Norman said.

"The author really should have provided a full context, the details of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and note the progress of Azerbaijan, both in economic and social spheres will inevitably be difficult in the absence of the final decision [on the conflict]," Norman said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.

A piece from the article: "And in the same country, a journalist was sentenced to 2 and a half years in jail for terrorism after he wrote about a 1992 massacre. He has been further charged with tax evasion charges, and the possession of heroin after a prison search found 0.22 grams of the substance. That he could have actually committed the drug offence has been described as "highly improbable".

"The article probably refers to the massacre of 1992, but the reader, who does not know about the massacres in the Azerbaijani Khojali region, is not able to evaluate the facts without sufficient context and, of course, not be able to appreciate the complexity of the situation in Azerbaijan, part of whose territory is under occupation," Norman said. "Yet the conflict is frozen, it can break out with renewed vigor at any time."

Armenian military forces committed genocide acts in the town of Khojali, Azerbaijan, with the population of 7,000 people on Feb. 26 1992. There were 3,000 people in the town at the time of Armenian military forces' attack. Most part of the population had to leave town during four months blockade. 613 people were killed, 1,000 peaceful people of different age became disabled during Khojali genocide. 106 women, 63 children, 70 old men were killed. 8 families were completely annihilated, 130 children lost one parents, while 25 both of them. 1,275 peace residents were taken hostages, while the fate of 150 of them is still unknown.

Norman urges not to forget that the territory which is now under the occupation is recognized by the international community as the Azerbaijani.

"Instead of condemning, it would be much more useful if Azerbaijan was given full international support to address the Nagorno-Karabakh issue," she said.


/Trend/