NAGORNO-KARABAGH CONFLICT - SOME FACTS

Year 1996, Volume: 1 Issue: 4, 0 - 0, 01.03.1996

Selçuk Korkud

Abstract

Karabagh, as its name indicates in Turkish "Karabağ" means "black vine-yard" while Nagorno, added afterwards by the Russians and means "mountainous" or, better still, "upper"- can very easily become a touristic land, in fact just like the whole of Caucasus. It is a province of 4392 square kilometres situated roughly at the centre of Azerbaijan. Its first known inhabitants were the Iskits Scyths and the Albans, all kin to Azerbaijanis. The main Armenian migrations came rather late and with the help of Russians, towards the middle of the 19th century. Until very recently, before the Karabagh Azerbaijanis had to flee, the areaís population could be described as a mosaic or rather as a Karabagh rug or kilim, those colourful handmade masterpieces which symbolise so well what these talented people can do together if and when they can coexist in peace and prosperity. Unfortunately Karabagh is known today in the world not by its natural assets or the artistic talents of its inhabitants, but by a cruel armed conflict resulting in continuous suffering for all concerned. In spite of the efforts of the international community, mainly through the OSCE mechanism, this conflict remained unresolved with all its unavoidable implications for regional and international security. By now the cause of the conflict is known to all. While Azerbaijanis rightly consider Karabagh, which is situated within their country, as their own territory and its inhabitants as Azerbaijani citizens, the Karabagh Armenians, basing themselves on the autonomous status attributed by the Soviet Regime to the area, demanded independence and expressed desire for a union with the Armenian Republic, the western neighbour of Azerbaijan. After the collapse of the Soviet system these Armenian claims and the Azerbaijani reaction resulted in bloody clashes with much loss of life and brought also Azerbaijan and Armenia to a state of armed hostility.