Suchergebnisse

The conflict known throughout the world as the "Nagorno-Karabakh" conflict arose during the disintegration of the U.S.S.R. The situation that had taken shape in the Soviet Union at that time was conducive to the emergence of this conflict, while the confrontation over Nagorno-Karabakh, encouraged by the country's authorities led by Mikhail Gorbachev, served as a catalyst of centrifugal processes, triggering off numerous ethnic and territorial conflicts in the post-Soviet space and transforming the evolutionary process of the U.S.S.R.'s disintegration into a revolutionary breakup. The active phase of the conflict started in February 1988, when the separatist forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAR) of the Azerbaijan Republic, instigated by the Republic of Armenia, began to organize rallies, strikes and other civil disobedience actions, seeking a secession of the region from the Azerbaijan Republic and its incorporation into the Republic of Armenia. Ethnic cleansing of Azeris started in that Union republic of the U.S.S.R. and in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, with the creation of monoethnic Armenian areas. As a result of the first stage of the conflict, the parliament of the Republic of Armenia took a decision to incorporate the NKAR into the Republic of Armenia, whereas the Azerbaijan Republic abolished the NKAR and extended its uniform administrative-territorial division to that territory. The conflict moved into the phase of armed hostilities in late 1991 and early 1992, when the U.S.S.R. had ceased to exist and the last legal and organizational (except international legal) barriers to the forcible annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh by the Republic of Armenia had been removed. By mid-1994, Armenia's armed forces, supported by illegal Armenian armed formations of Nagorno-Karabakh, occupied areas of Azerbaijan bordering on the Republic of Armenia, the territory of the former NKAR proper and other areas adjacent to it, totaling about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory. All Azeris were expelled from these lands, tens of thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands wounded. A so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" (NKR) with its own government bodies and attributes was established in the occupied territories. However, not a single state in the world and not a single international organization have recognized such a state as the "NKR." On 19 June, 2005, yet another round of elections-this time parliamentary elections-was held in the self-proclaimed "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic." But can these elections, just as the "NKR" itself, be regarded as legitimate?

Any international conflict can be resolved only when the world community makes an objective political and legal assessment of that conflict. A thorough study of the root causes of the confrontation and a comprehensive analysis of the current situation is absolutely essential for: (1) the adoption of a fair decision by the parties (with the participation of mediators); (2) legally correct and effective use of generally recognized rules of international law; and (3) the establishment of a stable and lasting peace guaranteed by the international community as represented by authoritative international organizations such as the United Nations, OSCE, European Union, Council of Europe, NATO and others. Their immediate duty is to maintain and restore peace and stability both on a global scale and in various parts of the world, and to apply sanctions against the aggressor state. On 25 January, 2005, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted its Resolution 1416 (2005), "The Conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh Region Dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference" 1 (rapporteur David Atkinson). In this document, the Assembly acknowledges the occupation of a significant part of Azerbaijan's territory by Armenian troops and reiterates that "the occupation of foreign territory by a member state constitutes a grave violation of that state's obligations as a member of the Council of Europe." Consequently, this resolution can be hopefully regarded as the first, albeit belated, step in this direction. Such documents containing a political and legal assessment of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should also be adopted by other international organizations, primarily the OSCE, which provides the framework for the ongoing Minsk negotiation process. The lack of an objective assessment does not encourage the parties to the conflict to show goodwill for the purpose of resolving it and serves (as is the case today) to prolong the confrontation and to create illusions among certain forces that in this way it is possible to overstep the rules of international law, to occupy a sovereign state's internationally recognized territory and, once these acts have been committed, to draw the desired dividends from the negotiation process. It should be remembered that Azerbaijan and Armenia signed the Helsinki Final Act, so recognizing, in accordance with their constitutions, the supremacy of the provisions of this Act in both internal and external legal relationships and the principles of inviolability of borders and territorial integrity of states.

Babaian, David: Parliamentary elections in Nagorno-Karabakh: legal and political aspects. - S. 97-104 Aliev, Namig: Nagorno-Karabakh: separatism and electoral legitimacy. - S. 104-110