15. Sept. 2009

Democracy and human rights insure
a good protection against terrorism


How can you estimate the situation in North Caucasus? Can we say, that North Caucasus still stays a unstable region?

I think that the situation in Northern Caucasus is worse as it was two years ago. But the attacks in Ingushetia, and tension that Kadirov want to take over of the control of the whole region and the fact that there is so many violence and the fact that nobody can challenging Kadirov is a huge problem. And I think Moscow is not treating the North Caucasian region in right way. They can’t rely on Kadirov, even not for Chechnya, but especially not for the whole North Caucasus. Moscow has to change its politics. Because Kadirov is not working in a way which respects neither the Moscow interest nor the interest of people in Northern Caucasus.

The interesting aspect of it is, that the government of Azerbaijan positively learned from Georgian–Russian war, that there can’t be any military solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Some people in Azerbaijan were playing with idea that there could be a military solution. The Georgian-Russian war showed that this is not possible. Maybe it is one positive thing that this war had. So I am looking forward very much to hear what did happen in the last meeting of the Armenia and Azerbaijan president concerning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. What is difficult: There will only be a compromise as a solution and for this quo have to prepare people in both countries, but until now you do not see any preparedness for the compromise.

Who is interested to create such tension in the Northern Caucasus; is it interest of anybody?

I don’t say anybody has interests. Perhaps Kadirov and his team. Because he get a lot of money from Moscow and he can pay the people so they will be loyal to him. But everybody even Kadirov knows or should know that it is not good for the future of Chechnya. The positive element is that Kadirov seems to have been talking to Zakayev. But the fundamentalist part of the dissidents immediately excluded him from opposition movement. For Moscow this is also dangerous. The Russian authority and Russian legitimacy is undermined by violence which goes out of Kadirov way of governing the country. I don’t think it is in anybody's real interest. It should be in Moscow interest to start reconciliation process where different republics keep their self –determination within the Russia federation but they become liberty, freedom and they also can overcome the violence that IS dominated by Kadirov. But it is very difficult. I would like to go there with Dick Marty. It’s our duty to try to solve this situation. There have been done so many mistakes and we should try find a compromise! Not with the violent fundamentalist, who will have no future, but with all the others.

Do you think it is possible that the terrorist attack, which happens in North frequently, could come to South?

I think now it is a good time, that Turkey and Armenia come together and they want to create good neighborhood. In this condition when you have understanding of the good neighborhood relation and especially when Armenia and Azerbaijan can solve the Nagorno-Karabakh issue with the help of maybe Russia and Turkey then I think terrorist can’t spill over the South Caucasus. Of course Dagestan is full of terrorists and it could come from Dagestan to Azerbaijan. But I think it can’t be when Armenian and Azerbaijan can solve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with a mutual compromise and especially when both respect human rights and become more democratic. Democracy and human rights insure a good protection against terrorism. I do not think that it can come from North to South.

Do you believe that normalization of Turkey-Armenia relation will have any contribution of solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict? And how do you think that Armenia can forget the so called genocide issue if they will normalize their relation with Turkey?

Absolutely. Normalization of relation will assist solving peacefully Nagorno–Karabakh issue. This is a clear positive element. It cannot be in interest of Azeri people that Armenia and Turkey don’t have good relation. When they have good relation it can help find compromise in Nagorno-Karabakh. There was not a good chance that today we have. Now Turkey best positively and constructively involved normalization of relation. And after a long discussion Armenia and Turkey agreed to create international historical commission. I think it will give people to do their work and to get any result in this matter. It is so positive that Turkey after two years of negotiation accepted such an international commission. And you can see a similar progress on Turkish Kurdish relation. I am quite optimistic that Turkish government is positive track. The history-commission will also tackle the genocide issue in a way which serves the historical truth an helps the Armenians to reconcile and the Turks to face their historical responsibility.

Can you say that there is a progress or positive track in resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

Of course I see it. But most positive progress is that sides learned from Georgia that there is no military resolution of the conflict. Perhaps there is different opinion inside of Armenia. There are different interests. People of Nagorno-Karabakh people maybe more radical. But Armenia knows that they are too weak to win militarily. They are also forced to make A political compromise. From Åland example you can learn that politically compromise means that nobody gets nothing, everybody gets something, but nobody gets what he really wants most. Of course people did not accept it that time. That is why people have to be prepared. They have to take use of the example of Sweden and Finland. It is so interesting that Sweden and Finland accepted the compromise before knowing what the League of Nations was going to give them. The league of the nations solved the Aland case with the compromising that nobody was happy but everybody got something but nobody got what they wanted. This solution was not accepted by majority of the concerning people on that time but today everybody is happy with the solution.

How do you see the future of Nagorno-Karabakh?

This depends of course of the way the historical compromise will be designed. I cannot say this myself in advance. Sure is, that it will not be easy to digest the compromise for all people involved; reconciliation between the peoples to long offended to each other will be always difficult and hard, but there is no alternative to this process and we can support it with economic help which shows to the people that they have a future there if they are open to the reintegration and reconciliation process.


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