THE ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN CONFLICT (1988 to present)
The conflict is rooted in expansionism and a policy
of aggression aimed at expanding the territory of Armenia by force at the
expense of the territory of another sovereign state.
Separatists in the local council of the Mountainous
(Nagorno) Karabakh Autonomous Region (MKAR) of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist
Republic adopted a unilateral decision to secede from Azerbaijan in February
1988. (According to the population census of 1989, the population of the MKAR
was 186,100, of which 138,600 were Armenians (73.5%) and 47,500 Azerbaijanis
(25,3%). In December 1989 the Parliament of Armenia decided to annex
Mountainous Karabakh, an integral part of neighboring Azerbaijan, in a move
grossly violating international laws and norms of conduct. By doing so, Armenia
has clearly followed an example set by Nazi Germany in annexing
German-populated areas of the neighboring countries on the eve of the World War
II.
Armenia started to establish unconstitutional
structures in the Mountainous Karabakh (MK) region of Azerbaijan. The military
formations as well as a huge amount of weapons and ammunition were shipped on
the territory of Azerbaijan. A military bridgehead was set up to conduct an
armed aggression against Azerbaijan.
Full-scale hostilities in the zone of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict escalated at the end of 1991-early 1992. Ethnic
cleansing, conducted by the Armenian armed forces on the territory of the
Mountainous Karabakh region, reached its climax during the massacre of Khojaly,
an Azerbaijani town in the region, in February l992. More than 800 peaceful
residents, including women and children, were slaughtered in what Human Rights
Watch called «the largest massacre of the conflict.» The Armenian aggression
spread far beyond the administrative boundaries of the region to the rest of
Azerbaijan. Between May 1992 and May 1994, six districts of Azerbaijan outside
MKAR were occupied.
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Thus, as a result of aggression against the
Republic of Azerbaijan, more than 17.000 km2 (approximately 20% of the
territory) were occupied, more than 18.000 persons were killed, over 50.000
left wounded or maimed, and almost 900 settlements, 100 thousand dwellings,
more than 600 schools, and 250 medical institutions were looted or ruined. The
number of internally displaced persons (IDP) from the occupied Azerbaijani
lands and refugees from Armenia reached about 1 million people. In a country of
8 million people, this represents the highest per capita number of IDP in the
world.
With 20% of its territory seized, Azerbaijan is
facing a humanitarian disaster. Limited humanitarian aid coming to Azerbaijan
falls short of the basic needs of the people affected by the conflict.
Aghdere and Aghdam districts of Azerbaijan were
seized by Armenian armed forces following the adoption of UN Security Council
Resolution 822 (1993) of 30 April 1993,which condemned occupation of the
Kelbajar district; the Fizuli district was seized after the adoption of
Security Council Resolution 853 (1993) of 29 July 1993, condemning the seizure
of the Aghdam district; and the Djebrail and Kubatly districts were seized
after the adoption of Security Council Resolution 874 (1993) of 14 October
1993. In its resolution 884(1993) of 11 November 1993, the Security Council
condemned the occupation of the Zangelan district and the town of Horadiz,
attacks on civilians, and bombardments of the territory of Azerbaijan.
In its resolutions, the UNSC underscored respect for
the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders of
Azerbaijan, and the inadmissibility of using force to annex territories. It
also demanded the immediate cessation of armed hostilities and hostile acts,
and the immediate, full and unconditional withdrawal of all occupying forces
from the occupied areas of Azerbaijan. Despite the unequivocal demands of the
Security Council, the Republic of Armenia still occupies Azerbaijani territory
and increases its military presence there.
Illegal supplies of the Russian arms and equipment
to Armenia from 1994 to 1996 greatly facilitated the Armenian aggression. A
military cooperation agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic
of Armenia, signed on August 29, 1997, finalized the military alliance between
the two states. By signing the agreement, the Russian Federation compromised
its position as a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Process, which mediates the
conflict.
Azerbaijan considers that this agreement aggravates
the situation in the region, and undermines efforts to reach a peaceful
settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and to strengthen security in the
region.
Despite the above, the cease-fire regime, negotiated
on May 12, 1994, has been generally observed. Efforts aimed at releasing POWs
and hostages are continuing under the aegis ICRC. From 1993 to 1998, 357
persons were released. However, there are reports about Azerbaijanis still
detained in Armenia and on the occupied territories.
The negotiation process - International mediation on
settlement of the conflict started in February 1992, within the framework of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk process.
The Minsk group was established to negotiate political settlement of the
conflict.
After occupation of the Azerbaijani territories, the
UN Security Council adopted Resolutions 822, 853, 874, 884 that demand
immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the
territory of Azerbaijan and return of refugees and internally displaced persons
to their homes.
In accordance with decisions of the OSCE Budapest
Summit (1994) the institute of Co-Chairs, of the Minsk conference was
established «to conduct speedy negotiations for the conclusion of a political
agreement on the cessation of the armed conflict («Political Agreement»), the
implementation of which would have eliminated major consequences of the
conflict for all parties and permit the convening of the Minsk Conference.»
Thereby, the Budapest Summit adopted a legal
two-stage framework of the conflict settlement process:
1) First stage - elimination of consequences of the
armed conflict by implementation of the agreement, i.e., full liberation of all
occupied territories and ensuring return or IDP's to their homes:
2) Second stage - elaboration and adoption of a
comprehensive peace settlement at the Minsk conference.
The Budapest Summit also adopted a decision to
establish an OSCE peacekeeping operation after the conclusion of the political
agreement.
Later three main principles of the settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict were formulated in the Statement of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office at Lisbon Summit, 1996.
They are the following:
- Territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan;
- Legal status of Mountainous Karabakh defined in an agreement based on
self-determination, which confers on Mountainous Karabakh the highest degree of
self-rule within Azerbaijan;
- Guaranteed security for Mountainous Karabakh and its whole population,
including mutual obligations to ensure compliance by all the Parties with the
provisions of the settlement.
These principles were supported by all 53 OSCE
state-participants except Armenia. Since November 1996, Armenia has
unilaterally ceased direct consultations between the two countries and only
recently consultations were restored.
After the Lisbon Summit and establishment of an
institute of the triple Co-Chairmanship (Russia-France-USA), only one round of
negotiations has taken place, in April 1997.
Further, the process of settlement was developing as
follows:
June-September, 1997, the Co-Chairs elaborated and submitted a new document for
consideration of the Parties, envisaging a two-staged conflict settlement
according to the following scheme:
First stage
- Liberation of 6 occupied districts, outside MKAR (except Lachin district),
- Return of civilians and restoration of communication links.
Second stage
- Reaching solution on Lachin and Shusha districts and adoption of the main
principles of the status of the Mountainous Karabakh region.
October 1, 1997, Azerbaijan officially informed Co-Chairs on
its consent to the document at the basis for the upcoming negotiations.
October 1997, in Strasbourg the Presidents of Azerbaijan and
Armenia made a joint statement on readiness to resume negotiations on the basis
of Co-Chairmen's proposals.
December 1997, in Copenhagen, a report of the
Co-Chairs, emphasizing the need to continue efforts on settlement of the
conflict on the basis of Lisbon principles and proposals of Co-Chairs, was
distributed at the OSCE Ministerial Council's meeting.
May 13-17, 1998, during a visit of the Co-Chair's to the region,
Armenia, under new president Robert Kocharyan officially recalled the early
consent of former President of Armenia (L. Ter-Petrosyan) to stage-by-stage
proposals.
November 9, 1998, the Co-Chairs introduced new proposal
based on a Russian-designed concept of «common state». Azerbaijan from the very
beginning refused to accept this proposal, and on November 19 officially
informed the mediators of the unacceptability of this proposals. Azerbaijan
confirmed its readiness to resume negotiations within the OSCE Minsk Group on
the basis of the Co-Chairs' proposals of September 19, 1997.
November 20, 1998, the delegation of the Azeri community of MK
officially rejected proposals of November 9, and on November 25, Armenia and
the Armenian community of MK stated the agreement with these proposals.
December 2-3, 1998, during the OSCE ministerial meeting in Oslo,
the Chairman-in-Office appealed to the parties to the conflict to resume
negotiations immediately in the framework of the Minsk Group and to Co-Chairs to
continue their efforts.
Currently the Co-Chairs are pursuing their objective
to present a compromise settlement plan to the conflict based on the principles
of international law.
Источник: Сайт Карабах со ссылкой на «Karabakh» [info book] XXI YNE Baku 1999 (in English) pp. 62-81