Karabakh

From Janapar

Լեռնային Ղարաբաղ
(Lernayin Gharabagh)
Mountainous Karabakh

Location Nagorno-Karabakh2.png
Common names	Karabakh, Artsakh, Nagorno-Karabakh
National Antherm	Azat u Ankakh Artsakh Free and Independent Artsakh
Official languages	Armenian
Main religion	Armenian Apostolic Christianity
Capital	Stepanakert
Government type	Republic
President	Arkady Ghoukasyan
Prime Minister	Anushavan Danielyan
Area	4,400
Area (mi²)	1,699
Population est.	138,000 (2007)
Currency	Dram
Time zone	GMT +5
Calling code	374 97______(Karabakh Telecome GSM)

Karabakh is a de facto independent republic located in the South Caucasus, between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Etymology

While Armenians often call the region Artsakh (Armenian: Արցախ; Russian: Арцах) among themselves, the internationally used name is Karabakh, or more specifically Mountainous Karabakh in various languages. Karabakh literally means "black garden" in a combination of Turkic and Persian origin.<ref name= "bbc2005">BBC News — Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh</ref><ref name ="SovArm2">Template:Hy icon Ouloubabyan, B. Ղարաբաղ (Karabagh) Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia, vol. vii, Yerevan, Armenian SSR, 1981 p. 26</ref>

The official name used by the local government is Լեռնային Ղարաբաղ, transliterated Lernayin Gharabagh

Artsakh was the 10th province of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia and a province of the Kingdom of Aghvank ("Caucasian Albania") which was approximately this region.

Divisions

The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has six divisions within it, which correspond with the five districts of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), and with the Shahumyan rayon of the Azerbaijan SSR. Following the declaration of NKR's independence, the Azerbaijani government passed a decision to abolish NKAO and create Azerbaijani rayons in its place. As a result, some of the NKR's divisions correspond with the Azerbaijani rayons, while others use different borders. A comparative table of the current divisions of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the corresponding rayons of Azerbaijan follows[1]:

The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic claims Shahumian, which was not part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. Representatives from Shahumian declared independence along with Nagorno-Karabakh, and the proclamation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic includes the Shahumian region within its borders.[2] Unlike the rest of Nagorno-Karabakh, Shahumian remains under Azerbaijani control.

Geography

The region has a total area of 4,400 square kilometers (1,699 sq mi) and is surrounded entirely by rayons of Azerbaijan; its nearest point to Armenia is across the Lachin corridor, roughly 4 kilometers across.[3] In 1989, it had a population of 192,000.<ref name=populaton>Miller, Donald E. and Lorna Touryan Miller. Armenia: Portraits of Survival and Hope. Berkley: University of California Press, 2003 p. 7 ISBN 0-5202-3492-8</ref> The population at that time was mainly Armenian (76%) and Azerbaijanis (23%), with Russian and Kurdish minorities.<ref name=populaton>Armenia: portraits of survival and hope - Page 7 by Donald E. Miller, Lorna Touryan Miller - 2003</ref> The capital is Stepanakert. Its other major city, today lying partially in ruins, is Shushi.

The current borders of Nagorno-Karabakh, established in Soviet times, resemble a kidney bean with the indentation on the east side. It has very tall mountain ridges along the northern edge and along the west, and the south is very mountainous. The part near the indentation of the kidney bean itself is a relatively flat valley, with the two edges of the bean, the provinces of Martakert and Martuni, having flat lands as well. Other flatter valleys exist around the Sarsang reservoir, Hadrut, and the south. Much of Nagorno-Karabakh is forested, especially the mountains.<ref>Searle-White, Joshua. The Psychology of Nationalism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001 p. 33 ISBN 0-3122-3369-8</ref>

The territory of modern Nagorno-Karabakh forms a portion of the historic region of Karabakh, which lies between the rivers Kura, Araxes, and the modern Armenia-Azerbaijan border. In the ancient and medieval times, this larger region consisted of the historic provinces of Artsakh and Utik, which at various times alternated between the kingdoms of Armenia and Caucasian Albania. Beginning with the 13th-14th centuries, the Artsakh-Utik area received the name Karabakh. The eastern portion of Karabakh (roughly corresponding to Utik) lies on a lower and flatter surface, and has traditionally been called Lower Karabakh, while the western, mountainous portion (roughly corresponding to Artsakh) has been referred to as Mountainous, Upper, or High Karabakh. Nagorno Karabakh in its modern borders is part of the larger region of Upper Karabakh.

Climate

Source of this section: http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/geography.shtml

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic's climate is mild with some subtropical. The annual average temperature is 51 F (11 C). The hottest months are July and August, when the average temperatures are 72 F (22 C) and 71 F (21C) respectively. The warmest parts of Nagorno Karabakh are the lowlands of Varanda and Jraberd provinces.

During the winter, in the months of January and February, the temperature fluctuates between 32-30 F (-1-0 C). During these winter months a relatively cold belt embraces the Mrav Mountain Range, especially in its northern part, although no lengthy periods of cold or heat are usually observed. The coldest temperature in the lowlands drops down to 3 F (-16 C), -2 F (-19 C) on the foothills and - 4-9 F (-20 - 23 C) in the highlands. The highest temperature rises up to 104 F (40 C) in the lowlands and on the foothills, and 90-99 F (32-37 C) on the highlands.

Mountainous and valley winds dominate and severe thunderstorms are common in the spring and summer. Average annual precipitation fluctuates between 19 and 28 inches (48-71 cm) depending on the zone. The least precipitation occurs in the valleys - in the lowlands of Jraberd and Varanda provinces and constitutes 16-19 inches (41-48 cm). The highlands get a great deal of precipitation - 22-33 inches (56-84 cm), mostly in May and June. Torrential rains and hail are common in this period. It is foggy 100-125 days a year.

Demographics

Nearing the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1989, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast boasted a population of 145,593 Armenians (76.4%), 42,871 Azerbaijanis (22.4%),<ref>Human Rights Watch. "Seven Years of Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh". December 1994, p. xiii, ISBN 1-56432-142-8, citing: Natsional'nyi Sostav Naseleniya SSSR, po dannym Vsesoyuznyi Perepisi Naseleniya 1989 g., Moskva, "Finansy i Statistika"</ref> and several thousand Kurds, Russians, Greeks and Assyrians. Most of the Azerbaijani and Kurdish populations fled the region during the heaviest years of fighting in the war from 1992 to 1993.

In 2001, the NKR's population was 95% Armenian with the remaining total including Assyrians, Greeks, and Kurds.<ref name="NKRpop">Ethnic composition of the region as provided by the government </ref> In March 2007, the Republic announced that its population had grown to 138,000. The annual birth rate was recorded at 2200-2300 per year, an increase from nearly 1500 in 1999. Until 2000, the country's net migration was at a negative.<ref>Regnum News Agency. Nagorno Karabakh prime minister: We need to have at least 300,000 population. March 9, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2007.</ref>

Most of the Armenian population are Christians and belongs to the Armenian Apostolic Church however Orthodox Christian and Evangelical Christian denominations also exist; other religions also include Judaism.<ref name="NKRpop"/>

History

Early History

Template:Main The region of Nagorno-Karabakh falls within the lands occupied by peoples known to modern archaeologists as the Kura-Araxes culture, who lived between the two rivers bearing those names. Little is known of the ancient history of the region, primarily because of the scarcity of historical sources. At various times in antiquity that are difficult to establish with precision at this time, this area was part of Aghbania, or Caucasian Albania, and at others, of Kingdom of Armenia.

In the 7th and 8th centuries, the region was ruled by Caliphate-appointed governors. In accordance with ancient and medieval Armenian sources, the Albanian church was founded by Catholicos Grigor--the head the Armenian Church--in the 4th c. AD. It was later fully absorbed by the Armenian Church.<ref>http://www.vehi.net/istoriya/armenia/kagantv/aluank1.html Movses Kaghankatvatsi, "History of Albania," 1.9</ref><ref>Nagorno Karabagh: transition and the elite - Volume 18, Number 4 / December 1, 1999</ref> Modern Azeri scholars however maintain an alternate opinion claiming Jerusalemian and Syrian origin of the Albanian church<ref> F. Mamedova. Christianity in Albania </ref> In the 11th century, the Khachin principality was established in Artsakh. In the 15th century, the territory of Karabakh was part of the states of Kara Koyunlu and then Ak Koyunlu.

In the early 16th century, after the fall of the Ak-Koyunlu state, control of the region passed to the Safavid dynasty of Iran, that created a Ganja-Karabakh province (beglarbekdom, bəylərbəyliyi). Despite these conquests, the population of Upper Karabakh remained largely Armenian.<ref name="Cornell">Cornell, Svante E. The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. Uppsala: Department of East European Studies, April 1999.</ref> In the 14th century, a local Armenian leadership emerged, consisting of five noble dynasties led by princes, who held the titles of meliks and were referred to as Khamsa (five in Arabic). Out of those five melikdoms only meliks of Khachen were natives to Karabakh, the other 4 were founded by migrants from other parts of South Caucasus.<ref name="meliks">Template:Ru icon Raffi. Melikdoms of Khamsa</ref><ref name="Adigezal">Template:Ru icon Mirza Adigezal bey. Karabakh-name, p. 48</ref> Initially under the control of the Ganja Khanate of the Persian Empire, the Armenian meliks were granted wide degree of autonomy by the Safavid Empire over Upper Karabakh. The Armenian meliks maintained control over the region for four centuries, until the mid-18th century.<ref name="Cornell"/> In the early 18th century, Persia's Nadir shah took Karabakh out of control of Ganja khans in punishment for their support of Safavids, and placed it under his own control<ref>Template:Ru icon Abbas-gulu Aga Bakikhanov. Golestan-i Iram; according to a 18th c. local Turkic-Muslim writer Mirza Adigezal bey, Nadir shah placed Karabakh under his own control, while a 19th c. local Turkic Muslim writer Abbas-gulu Aga Bakikhanov states that the shah placed Karabakh under the control of the governor of Tabriz.</ref><ref name="Adigezal"/> At the same time, the Armenian meliks were granted supreme command over neighboring Armenian principalities and Muslim khans in Caucasus, in return for the meliks' victories over the invading Ottoman Turks in 1720s.<ref>Walker, Christopher J. Armenia: Survival of a Nation. London: Routledge, 1990 p. 40 ISBN 0-415-04684-X</ref> In the mid-18th century, as internal conflicts between the meliks led to their weakening,<ref name="Cornell"/> the Karabakh khanate was formed.<ref>azer.org - For the Resolution of the Karabakh Conflict</ref> Karabakh passed to Imperial Russia by the Kurekchay Treaty, signed between the Khan of Karabakh and the Russian Czar in 1805, and later further formalized by the Russo-Persian Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, before the rest of Transcaucasia was incorporated into the Empire in 1828 by the Treaty of Turkmenchay. In 1822, the Karabakh khanate was dissolved, and the area became part of the Elisabethpol Governorate within the Russian Empire. After subjection of Karabakh khanate to Russia, many Muslim families emigrated to Iran, while many Armenians were induced by the Russian government to emigrate from Iran to Karabakh.<ref>The penny cyclopædia of the Society for the diffusion of useful knowledge. 1833. «Georgia».</ref>

Soviet era

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Karabakh became part of the Transcaucasian Federation, but this soon dissolved into separate Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian states. Over the next two years (1918-1920), there were a series of short wars between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. In July 1918, the First Armenian Assembly of Nagorno Karabagh declared the region self-governing and created a National Council and government.<ref>http://www.nesl.edu/center/pubs/nagorno.pdf The Nagorno-Karabagh Crisis: A Blueprint for Resolution, New England Center for International Law & Policy</ref> Later, Ottoman troops entered Karabakh, meeting armed resistance by Armenians.

After the defeat of Ottoman empire in the World War I, the British troops occupied Karabakh.<ref name="Cornell"/> The British command provisionally affirmed Khosrov bey Sultanov (appointed by the Azerbaijani government) as the governor-general of Karabakh and Zangezur, pending final decision by the Paris Peace Conference.<ref>Circular by colonel D. I. Shuttleworth of the British Command</ref> The decision was opposed by Karabakh Armenians. In February 1920, the Karabakh National Council preliminarily agreed to Azerbaijani jurisdiction, while Armenians elsewhere in Karabakh continued the guerrilla fighting, never accepting the agreement.<ref>http://www.nesl.edu/center/pubs/nagorno.pdf The Nagorno-Karabagh Crisis: A Blueprint for Resolution, New England Center for International Law & Policy</ref><ref name="Cornell"/> The agreement itself was soon annulled by the Ninth Karabagh Assembly, which declared union with Armenia in April.<ref>http://www.nesl.edu/center/pubs/nagorno.pdf The Nagorno-Karabagh Crisis: A Blueprint for Resolution, New England Center for International Law & Policy</ref><ref>Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia: A Legal Appraisal by Tim Potier. ISBN 90-411-1477-7</ref><ref name="Cornell"/>

In April of 1920, while the Azerbaijani army was locked in Karabakh fighting local Armenian forces, Azerbaijan was taken over by Bolsheviks.<ref name="Cornell"/> Subsequently, the disputed areas of Karabakh, Zangezur, and Nakhchivan came under the control of Armenia. During July and August, however, the Red Army occupied Karabakh, Zangezur, and part of Nakhchivan.Template:Fact On August 10, 1920, Armenia signed a preliminary agreement with the Bolsheviks, agreeing to a temporary Bolshevik occupation of these areas until final settlement would be reached.<ref>Walker. The Survival of a Nation. pp. 285-290</ref> In 1921, Armenia and Georgia were also taken over by the Bolsheviks who, in order to attract public support, promised they would allot Karabakh to Armenia, along with Nakhchivan and Zangezur (a strip separating Nakhchivan from Azerbaijan proper). However, Moscow also had far-reaching plans concerning Turkey -- hoping that it would, with a little help from Russia, develop along Communist lines. Needing to appease Turkey, Moscow agreed to a division under which Zangezur would be under the control of Armenia, while Karabakh and Nakhchivan would be under the control of Azerbaijan. According to Robert Service, had this not been the case Stalin would have left it under Armenian control.<ref>Service, Robert. Stalin: A Biography. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006 p. 204 ISBN 0-6740-2258-0</ref> As a result, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was established within the Azerbaijan SSR on July 7, 1923.

With the beginning of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the question of Nagorno-Karabakh re-emerged. Accusing the Soviet Azerbaijani government in conducting forced Azerification of the region, the majority Armenian population, with ideological and material support from Armenia, started a movement to transfer it to Armenia.

War and independence

On February 20, 1988, Armenian deputies to the National Council of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to unify that region with Armenia. On February 24, 1988, a direct confrontation between Azerbaijanis and Armenians near Askeran (in Nagorno-Karabakh, on the road between Stepanakert and Agdam) degenerated into a skirmish.Template:Fact Large numbers of refugees left Armenia and Azerbaijan as pogroms began against the minority populations of the respective countries.Template:Fact In the fall of 1989, intensified inter-ethnic conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh led Moscow to grant Azerbaijani authorities greater leeway in controlling that region.Template:Fact The Soviet policy backfired, however, when a joint session of the Armenian Supreme Soviet and the National Council, the legislative body of Nagorno-Karabakh, proclaimed the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.Template:Fact

In a December 1991 referendum, boycotted by local Azerbaijanis,Template:Fact Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh approved the creation of an independent state. A Soviet proposal for enhanced autonomy for Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan satisfied neither side, and a ground war subsequently erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated after both Armenia and Azerbaijan attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In the post-Soviet power vacuum, military action between Azerbaijan and Armenia was heavily influenced by the Russian military. Furthermore, Azeri military employed a very large number of mercenaries from Ukraine and from Russia. As many as one thousand Afghan mojahedeens participated in the fighting.<ref>The ‘Afghan Alumni’ Terrorism</ref> Also there were fighters from Chechnya fighting on the side of Azerbaijan.<ref> http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav051402.shtml</ref><ref> Chechen Fighters</ref>

By the end of 1993, the conflict had caused thousands of casualties and created hundreds of thousands of refugees on both sides. By May 1994 the Armenians were in control of 14% of the territory of Azerbaijan. At that stage the Government of Azerbaijan for the first time during the entire duration of the conflict recognised Nagorno-Karabakh as a third party of the war and started direct negotiations with the Karabakhi authorities.Template:Fact As a result, an unofficial cease-fire was reached on May 12, 1994, through Russian negotiation, and continues today.

Current situation

Today, Nagorno-Karabakh is a de facto independent state, calling itself the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.<ref name="bbc2005"/> It is closely tied to the Republic of Armenia and uses the same currency, the dram. According to Human Rights Watch, "from the beginning of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia provided aid, weapons, and volunteers. Armenian involvement in Karabakh escalated after a December 1993 Azerbaijani offensive. The Republic of Armenia began sending conscripts and regular Army and Interior Ministry troops to fight in Karabakh."<ref>Human Rights Watch World Report 1995</ref> The politics of Armenia and the de-facto Karabakh republic are so intermingled that a former president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Robert Kocharian, became first the prime minister (1997) and then the president of Armenia (1998 to the present).

Still, successive Armenian governments have resisted internal pressure to unite the two, fearing reprisals from Azerbaijan and from the international community, which still considers Nagorno-Karabakh part of Azerbaijan.Template:Fact In his case study of Eurasia, Dov Lynch of the Institute for Security Studies of WEU believes that "Karabakh's independence allows the new Armenian state to avoid the international stigma of aggression, despite the fact that Armenian troops fought in the war between 1991-94 and continue to man the Line of Contact between Karabakh and Azerbaijan." Lynch also cites that the "strength of the Armenian armed forces, and Armenia's strategic alliance with Russia, are seen as key shields protecting the Karabakh state by the authorities in Stepanakert."<ref>Institute for Security Studies of WEU. Dov Lynch. Managing separatist states: A Eurasian case study.</ref>

At present, the mediation process is at a standstill, with the most recent discussions in Rambouillet, France, yielding no agreement.Template:Fact Azerbaijan's position has been that Armenian troops withdraw from all areas of Azerbaijan outside Nagorno-Karabakh, and that all displaced persons be allowed to return to their homes before the status of Karabakh can be discussed.Template:Fact Armenia does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as being legally part of Azerbaijan, arguing that because the region declared independence at the same time that Azerbaijan became an independent state, both of them are equally successor states of the Soviet Union.Template:Fact The Armenian government insists that the government of Nagorno-Karabakh be part of any discussions on the region's future, and rejects ceding occupied territory or allowing refugees to return prior to talks on the region's status.Template:Fact

Representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, France, Russia and the United States met in Paris and in Key West, Florida, in the Spring of 2001.<ref name="state2001">U.S. Department of State - Armenia and Azerbaijan: Key West Peace Talks</ref> The details of the talks have remained largely secret, but the parties are reported to have discussed non-hierarchical relationships between the central Azerbaijani government and the Karabakh Armenian authorities.Template:Fact Despite rumours that the parties were close to a solution, the Azerbaijani authorities — both during Heydar Aliyev's period of office, and after the accession of his son Ilham Aliyev in the October 2003 elections — have firmly denied that any agreement was reached in Paris or Key West.

Further talks between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents, Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian, were held in September 2004 in Astana, Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit. Reportedly, one of the suggestions put forward was the withdrawal of the occupying forces from the Azeri territories adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh, and holding referenda (plebiscites) in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan proper regarding the future status of the region. On February 10 and 11, 2006, Kocharian and Aliyev met in Rambouillet, France, to discuss the fundamental principles of a settlement to the conflict, including the withdrawal of troops, formation of international peace keeping troops, and the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.Template:Fact During the weeks and days before the talks in France, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen expressed cautious optimism that some form of an agreement was possible.Template:Fact French President Jacques Chirac met with both leaders separately and expressed hope that the talks would be fruitful.Template:Fact Contrary to the initial optimism, the Rambouillet talks did not produce any agreement, with key issues such as the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and whether Armenian troops would withdraw from Kalbajar still being contentious.

The latest talks were held at the Polish embassy in Bucharest, Romania.<ref>'Marathon' talks on Nagorno-Karabakh</ref> Again, American, Russian, and French diplomats attended the talks that lasted over 40 minutes.<ref>Kocharian-Aliyev Meeting Over in Bucharest</ref> Earlier, Armenian President Kocharian announced that he was ready to "continue dialogue with Azerbaijan for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and with Turkey on establishing relations without any preconditions."<ref>Yerevan Ready to Continue Dialogue with Baku for Karabakh Settlement</ref>

Unfortunately, according to Armenian foreign minisiter, Vartan Oskanian, no progress was made at this latest meeting. Both presidents failed to reach a consensus on the issues from the earlier Rambouillet conference. He noted that the Kocharian-Aliyev meeting was held in a normal atmosphere. "Nevertheless," he added, "the foreign ministers of the two countries are commissioned to continue talks over settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and try to find common points before the next meeting of the presidents."<ref>No Progress at Kocharian-Aliyev Meeting in Bucharest</ref>

The major disagreement between both sides at the Bucharest conference was the status of Karabakh. Azerbaijan's position was a promise to give Karabakh the "highest status of autonomy adopted in the world."<ref>Nagorno-Karabakh FM: Granting Autonomy To Nagorno-Karabakh Is Out Of Baku Competence</ref> Armenia favored a popular vote by the inhabitants of Karabakh to decide their future, a position that was also taken by the international mediators.<ref>U.S. Confirms Vote Option For Karabakh</ref> The response to the Armenian position from Baku was that of a threat to Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.Template:Fact On June 27, the Armenian foreign minister said both parties agreed to allow the residents of Karabakh to vote regarding the future status of the region.<ref>Armenian, Azeri Leaders ‘Agreed To Karabakh Referendum’</ref> The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially refuted that statement.<ref>Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry about latest statement of Armenia on Nagorno Karabakh</ref> According to Azeri opposition leader Isa Gambar, however, Azerbaijan did indeed agree to the referendum. Still, nothing official has confirmed this yet.<ref>Isa Gambar: "Baku Gave OK On Referendum In Nagorno-Karabakh"</ref>

In 2006, Russia published its 63-volume Great Encyclopedia which described Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent entity that belonged to Armenians historically, in its introduction to the region.<ref>http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=25815</ref> Azerbaijan has protested this passage in the Russian encyclopedia. It handed a protest letter to the Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan demanding that the encyclopedia be confiscated and amended.<ref>http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=25815</ref>

International status

The sovereign status of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is not recognized by any state, including Armenia. Three United Nations Security Council Resolutions (853, 874, and 884) and United Nations General Assembly resolutions 49/13 and 57/298 refer to Nagorno-Karabakh as a region of Azerbaijan. According to a report prepared by British parliamentarian and rapporteur David Atkinson, presented to Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), "the borders of Azerbaijan were internationally recognised at the time of the country being recognised as independent state in 1991," and "the territory of Azerbaijan included the Nagorno-Karabakh region."<ref name=10264-1>Mr David Atkinson, United Kingdom, European Democrat Group, (Rapporteur) The conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 29 November 2004</ref>

Resolution 1416, adopted by the PACE on 25 January 2005, states that: Template:Quotation

The Council of Europe called on the Nagorno-Karabakh de facto authorities to refrain from staging one-sided "local self-government elections" in Nagorno-Karabakh. "These so-called 'elections' cannot be legitimate," stressed Council of Europe Committee of Ministers' Chairman and Liechtenstein Foreign Minister Ernst Walch, Parliamentary Assembly President Lord Russell-Johnston and Secretary General Walter Schwimmer. They recalled that following the 1991–1994 armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a substantial part of the region's population was forced to flee their homes and are still living as displaced persons in those countries or as refugees abroad.<ref>At the Vatican, PACE President highlights Council of Europe’s unique role in intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, Council of Europe, 2 April, 2007 </ref> This position was reiterated by Walter Schwimmer, Secretary General of the Council of Europe on 4 August 2004 with regard to the next elections, staged in the province.<ref>Council of Europe Secretary General on local self-government elections in Nagorno-Karabakh, on Concil of Europe website, dated 8 August 2004 </ref>

The European Union declared that "The European Union confirms its support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and recalls that it does not recognise the independence of Nagorno Karabakh. The European Union cannot consider legitimate the 'presidential elections' that were scheduled to take place on 11 August 2002 in Nagorno Karabakh".<ref>[http://europa.eu/bulletin/en/200207/p106005.htm Bulletin EU 7/8-2002: Common foreign and security policy (5/39)], European Commission on 27 March 2003</ref>

The US Department of State's annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006, released on March 6, 2007 stated that "Armenia continues to occupy the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories. During the year incidents along the militarized line of contact separating the sides again resulted in numerous casualties on both sides".<ref>Armenia: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006 Released by the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor 6 March, 2007</ref>

The declaration of establishment NKR's states that "The Nagorno Karabakh Republic enjoys the authorities given to Republics by the USSR Constitution and legislation and reserves the right to decide independently the issue of its state-legal status based on political consultations and negotiations with the leadership of Union and Republics."<ref>http://www.nkr.am/eng/deklaraciya209.html, Declaration on Proclamation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic</ref>

According to an analysis by New England School of Law's Center for International Law & Policy, as well as Public International Law and Policy Group, Template:Quotation

A background paper prepared by the Directorate General of Political Affairs of the Council of Europe for the seminar "Youth and Conflict Resolution" (Strasbourg, 31 March - 2 April 2003), on the other hand, states: Template:Quotation

The OSCE Minsk Group has allowed the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (referring to it as the "leadership of Nagorny Karabakh"), as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan, to participate in the peace process as "parties to the conflict," and the Azerbaijani community of the region--as an "interested party". The Chairman of the CSCE Minsk Conference mentioned that "the terms 'party to the conflict' and 'leadership of Nagorny Karabakh' do not imply recognition of any diplomatic or political status under domestic or international law".<ref>Letter Dated 1 October 1993 from the permanent representative to the Untied Nations addressed to the president of the Security Council(PDF) </ref><ref>Recommendation 1251 (1994)1 on the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe</ref> The Azerbaijani community is led by Nizami Bakhmanov, the head of the executive power of Shusha region.

Human rights

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict has resulted in the displacement of 528,000 (this figure does not include new born children of these IDPs) Azerbaijanis from Armenian occupied territories including Nagorno Karabakh, and 220,000 Azeris, 18,000 Kurds and 3,500 Russians fled from Armenia to Azerbaijan from 1988 to 1989.<ref>De Waal, Black Garden, p. 285</ref> The Azerbaijani government has estimated that 63 percent of internally displaced persons (IDPs) lived below the poverty line as compared to 49% of the total population. About 154,000 lived in the capital, Baku. According to the International Organization for Migration, 40,000 IDPs lived in camps, 60,000 in underground dugout shelters, and 20,000 in railway cars. Forty-thousand IDPs lived in EU-funded settlements and UNHCR provided housing for another 40,000. Another 5,000 IDPs lived in abandoned or rapidly deteriorating schools. Others lived in trains, on roadsides in half-constructed buildings, or in public buildings such as tourist and health facilities. Tens of thousands lived in seven tent camps where poor water supply and sanitation caused gastro-intestinal infections, tuberculosis, and malaria.Template:Fact

The Azerbaijani government has been unwilling to integrate the IDP's into the rest of the population as this could be interpreted as acceptance of the permanent loss of Nagorno-Karabakh.Template:Facts The government required IDPs to register their place of residence in an attempt to better target the limited and largely inadequate national and international assistance due to the Armenian advocated and US imposed restrictions on humanitarian aid to Azerbaijan. Many IDPs were from rural areas and found it difficult to integrate into the urban labor market. Many international humanitarian agencies reduced or ceased assistance for IDPs citing increasing oil revenues of the country forgetting to condemn the Armenian imposed suffering.<ref name="wrs2005">World Refugee Survey: Azerbaijan report 2005</ref> The infant mortality among displaced Azerbaijani children is 3-4 times higher than in the rest of the population. The rate of stillbirth was 88.2 per 1,000 births among the internally displaced people. The majority of the displaced have lived in difficult conditions for more than 13 years.<ref name="gidp">Global IDP Project: Proifle of Internal Displacement: Azerbaijan. May 2003 (as a PDF file)</ref>

280,000 persons—virtually all ethnic Armenians who fled Azerbaijan during the 1988–1993 war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh—were living in refugee-like circumstances in Armenia.Template:Facts Some left the country, principally to Russia. Their children born in Armenia acquire citizenship automatically. Their numbers are thus subject to constant decline due to departure, and de-registration required for naturalization. Of these, about 250,000 fled Azerbaijan-proper (areas outside Nagorno-Karabakh); approximately 30,000 came from Nagorno-Karabakh, which is in Azerbaijan but controlled by Armenians. All were registered with the government as refugees at year’s end.<ref name= "wrs2001">US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. World Refugee Survey; Armenia Country Report. 2001.</ref>

Constitutional referendum

On November 3, 2006 Arkady Gukasyan signed a decree<ref>Regnum.ru</ref> to carry out a referendum on draft on Nagorno-Karabakh constitution, which was held on December 10 of the same year.<ref name="RFE">RadioFreeEurope</ref> According to official preliminary results from December 10, as many as 98.6 percent of voters approved the constitution.<ref name="RFE"/> The 142nd article of the document describes the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic as "a sovereign, democratic legal and social state"; however, the European Union, OSCE and GUAM rejected the referendum.<ref>ISN.ETHZ.ch</ref> The EU announced it was "aware that a 'constitutional referendum' has taken place," but reiterated that only a negotiated settlement between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians can bring a lasting solution.<ref>International Herald Tribune</ref> In a statement, the OSCE chairman in office Karel De Gucht called the vote potentially harmful to the ongoing conflict settlement process, which, he said, has shown "visible progress" and is at a "promising juncture".<ref name="RFE"/> The outcome was also criticised by Turkey.<ref>Kavkaz.memo.ru</ref>

See also

• Artsakh
• Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army
• Landmine situation in Nagorno Karabakh

References

Footnotes

^[4]

External links

• Official site of the Nagorno-Karabakh government
• Official site of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• NKR Office in Washington, DC
• "Azat Artsakh" Daily Newspaper in Nagorno-Karabakh
• Wikipedia - Source of this GNU Free license article
• Article on the Dec. 10 Referendum from Russia Profile
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/3658938.stm Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh] from the BBC
• Conciliation Resources - Accord issue: The limits of leadership - Elites and societies in the Nagorny Karabakh peace process also key texts & agreements and chronology (in English & Russian)
• COE — "The conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference" Report by rapporteur David Atkinson presented to Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
• USIP — Sovereignty after Empire Self-Determination Movements in the Former Soviet Union. Case Studies: Nagorno-Karabakh. by Galina Starovoitova, Publication of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
• USIP — Nagorno-Karabakh Searching for a Solution: Key points, by Patricia Carley, Publication of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
• Interview with Thomas De Waal
• Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Nagorno-Karabakh: Timeline Of The Long Road To Peace
• All UN Security Council resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh, courtesy U.S. State department
• Resolution #1416 from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Karabakh in other languages

• Arabic: قرة باغ
• Azeri: Dağlıq Qarabağ
• bs: Nagorni Karabah
• Bulgarian: Нагорни Карабах
• ca:Alt Karabagh
• cs: Náhorní Karabach
• German: Bergkarabach
• et:Mägi-Karabahh
• Spanish: Alto Karabaj
• eo:Montara Karabaĥo
• Farsi: قره‌باغ
• fo: Nagorno-Karabakk
• French: Haut-Karabagh
• gl: Nagorno-Karabakh
• Korean: 나고르노카라바흐
• Armenian: Լեռնային Ղարաբաղ
• hg?: Gorski Karabah
• io: Nagorno-Karabakh
• id:Nagorno-Karabakh
• Italian: Nagorno-Karabakh
• Hebrew: נגורנו קרבאך
• Georgian: მთიანი ყარაბაღი
• lt:Kalnų Karabachas
• hu:Hegyi-Karabah
• Dutch: Nagorno-Karabach
• Japanese: ナゴルノ・カラバフ
• Norwegian: Nagorno-Karabakh
• Polish: Górski Karabach
• Portuguse: Nagorno-Karabakh
• Romanian: Nagorno-Karabah
• Russian: Нагорный Карабах
• sk: Náhorný Karabach
• sl: Gorski Karabah
• Serbian: Нагорно-Карабах
• Finnish: Vuoristo-Karabah
• sv: Nagorno-Karabach
• Turkish: Dağlık Karabağ
• zh: 納戈爾諾-卡拉巴赫