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Lexicon of Terrorism   As is well known, toward
the end of the 20th century a new expression, "the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict," entered the lexicon of world politics as a result
of aggression by Armenian separatists. Today the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is acknowledged as the
second-longest running world conflict, after that of Israel and
Palestine.The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, in fact, was the beginning of a new stage in Armenia's open territorial claims and aggressive actions against Azerbaijan, which had been perpetrated for many years. The bitter experience of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict reflects the indecisiveness of mediators, their unprincipled stand and their attempts to strike a balance between the aggressor and the side subjected to aggression. This not only panders to the aggressor, but also poses a threat to the security and stability of the entire Caucasus region. Azerbaijanis are a peace-loving people. Representatives of all peoples, regardless of their nationality, race, language or religion, have always lived in an open, kind and friendly way in Azerbaijan. Our history is rich with examples of enormous tolerance. The Azerbaijani people have shown great patience in regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and they have devoted tremendous efforts to establish a stable and just peace in the region. Today, there is no war in Azerbaijan, nor is there a permanent peace. We live in a state of "neither war, nor peace," which means that our territories are still occupied and our refugees are still under enormous pressure and suffer tremendously, especially elderly people, women and children. This situation deeply saddens us. Since September 11th, when terrible acts of terrorism were committed against the United States, a new political consciousness has emerged that provides a new perspective for viewing world events. This creates, as well as necessitates, additional possibilities for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We hope that international organizations that have been commissioned to restore peace and security in the world will support us and will use their full potential to solve this troubled spot in the Caucasus. We trust they will resolve this conflict on the basis of mutual compromise and within universally accepted norms of international law. We challenge Azerbaijanis to call upon the entire world community and all peace-loving people to support Azerbaijan's fair cause and to make continuous efforts to resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict peacefully within the framework of international laws and the principles of justice. President
Heydar Aliyev addressing the World Forum of Azerbaijanis in Baku
on November 9, 2001. Back to Index
AI 9.4 (Winter 2001) |
