"Europe set to become more active in the process of settling conflicts in the South Caucasus"
Baku, 8 February 2010
LINKS Executive Director discussed the role of Russia, Turkey and Europe in the settling of conflicts in the South Caucasus in an interview with the Azerbaijani web portal news.az.
read the interview in full on
The European Partnership for the Peaceful Settlement of the Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has just been established.
European NGOs create new mechanism to assist in the peace building process.
Brussels, February 5, 2010
Five European non-governmental organisations have recently established "The European Partnership for the Peaceful settlement of the Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh". The new Partnership will work with local civil society and political actors, as well as with the international community to enact initiatives which will cumulatively contribute to a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The five organisations forming the new partnership are Conciliation Resources, Crisis Management Initiative, International Alert, Kvinna till Kvinna and LINKS. The activities planned will help build confidence between the sides in the conflict, encourage debate both within and between the different societies, combat enemy imagery and offer space for interaction in a positive environment.
A spokesperson for LINKS in London said "We are delighted to be part of this Europe-wide peace-building initiative which is an expression of the readiness of European civil society to engage with our partners in the South Caucasus in an effort to contribute to lasting peace in the region. LINKS has an ambitious programme of work within the framework of this Initiative which we hope to start implementing shortly".█
"There is still time to make the Armenian-Turkish protocols work, but this time is not limitless"
Yerevan, 23 January 2010
LINKS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DENNIS SAMMUT COMMENTED ON THE CURRENT STATE OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS IN AN INTERVIEW WITH ARMINFO NEWS AGENCY.
"The agreements that were signed between Turkey and Armenia in Switzerland on 10 October 2009 address very clear and specific issues. They have been described as historic, as indeed they were. They showed that the leadership of the two countries had courage to make a break with the past, and vision to look forward to the future.
A number of issues, including the Karabakh conflict, the whole genocide debate and other serious problems that have accumulated between the two countries over many years create a very bad atmosphere in which to move forward, and there is no denying this. However as a counter balance to this Turkey and Armenia have received unprecedented support from a very united international community in pursuing their actions. That is why I believe that there is still time to make these agreements work, but this time is not limitless. If the momentum is lost it will be difficult to regain it quickly, and instead of a historic opportunity we will be talking about a historic missed opportunity.
One may ask “who is to blame” for the delays. I think once Armenia and Turkey signed the 10 October protocols they should have moved much more resolutely to ratify them and bring them into force. People need to see changes on the ground – in reality and not on paper.
There are those in both Armenia and in Turkey who oppose these agreements. They have been very vocal in criticising them and they have every right to do that if that is what they believe. However some have gone further and have made wild statements that are very disturbing and which have not gone unnoticed.
That is why the way forward in both Turkey and in Armenia is more mature cross party discussions, at least between those political forces that genuinely want a solution to outstanding problems, in order to build a wide support base for the process. This should than be followed by a speedy ratification process. Also, if Armenia and Turkey are serious about wanting these protocols ratified they need to put every effort to make it easier for the other side to overcome internal obstacles and not the other way round." █
"THE NEXT HUNDRED DAYS ARE CRUCIAL FOR THE MINSK PROCESS"
Baku, 22 January 2010
LINKS Executive Director Dennis Sammut said in an exclusive interview with 1news.az that the next hundred days are going to be crucial for the Minsk Process and its efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict. He warned that if the negotiations within the framework of the Minsk Process collapse it will take years for the momentum in the negotiations to be regained.
read the full interview in english
read the interview in russian as carried by 1news.az on
THE KAZAKHSTAN CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE OSCE IN 2010: a journey through uncharted waters
. .. In the first in a series of joint LINKS/INEGMA briefing papers focusing on the Kazakhstan Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010 the implications for both the European security organisation, as well as for the Central Asian republic are discussed. The paper says that both Kazakhstan and the OSCE can emerge from this experience stronger, more credible and better prepared to face the future. Much will depend on the ability of the Kazakh leadership to show flexibility and sensitivity to events near and far. It will also depend on the goodwill of neighbours and friends, and their willingness to help Kazakhstan fulfil its biggest foreign policy challenge in its young history.
Read the full briefing paper at
or visit the INEGMA web site www.inegma.com █
LINKS Executive Director tells Trend News Agency that whatever arguments existed before to isolate Karabakh, now was the time to engage
London, 16 December 2009
In an interview with TREND News Agency of Azerbaijan LINKS Executive Director, Dennis Sammut spoke about the need to engage with the self declared unrecognised entities in the South Caucasus, including Karabakh.
"The issue of how to deal with unrecognised, self declared states is one that is still under discussion in the international community. The policy of isolation is always very difficult to put into practise and in any case has been proven to be ineffective. There are many arguments in favour of engaging. This discussion is going on not only with regards to Karabakh, but also with regards to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and other similar situations".
LINKS Director said that he believes "that it is possible to change situations by talking to people and not by refusing to talk to them. The people who now live in Karabakh and those who govern them need to become part of the solution of the Karabakh conflict rather than part of the problem. So whatever arguments existed for isolating Karabakh in the past, now it is time to engage".
Asked about the recent decision of the US Congress to give financial assistance to Karabakh Dennis Sammut said: "The US has given, largely humanitarian assistance, to people in Karabakh for some time. This does not mean that the US has, or will in the future, recognise Karabakh independence. I do not think that this is necessarily a wrong approach. The problem is that US humanitarian aid to Karabakh has been politicised in the United States and the US Congress has allowed itself to be open to criticism that it is being manipulated by lobbyists. That is why it is important that in future, and until the Karabakh problem is resolved, such assistance should be extended in a rationalised manner to all unrecognised entities with clear guidelines for its use and a transparent way of delivery".
A spokesperson for LINKS in London said that it is unfortunate that selective editing of Mr Sammut's interview by TREND News Agency may have distorted some of its meaning to TREND readers. He however added that LINKS will continue to contribute towards the debate on how to engage with the unrecognised entities and was grateful to TREND for providing space for this discussion. To read the report on TREND News agency click
........................and comments on Turkey-Armenia Relations.
In the same interview with TREND News agency LINKS Executive Director said that if Armenia and Turkey loose the momentum in their efforts to normalise relations another opportunity may not appear for a long time to come.
Mr Sammut said " I am convinced that the political leaderships in both Armenia and in Turkey are determined to push through the ratification of the protocols agreed by the two countries in October. However both governments are aware of the concerns that exist in both societies about this issue and need to tread carefully. There is a fine balance between moving forward cautiously and moving too slowly in a way that you loose the momentum.The two countries have a window of several weeks left to finalise the ratification process. They need to use. If they loose it, it may not come back for many years.
We have seen some brinkmanship in this process too. Last minute crisis or attempts to pull a fast one to the detriment of the other side. There is no space for this in the current circumstances, and those who indulge in these tactics will be damned by history".
to read the report on TREND News Agency click
http://en.trend.az/news/politics/foreign/1601976.html
Media coverage of LINKS report on Karabakh, the Athens Roundtable meeting and interviews with Executive Director
Media outlets in the South Caucasus have given extensive coverage to the report Karabakh: the quest for peace, published by LINKS on 1 December and to the Round Table discussion organised on the margins of the OSCE meeting in Athens. Reports also included interviews with the Executive Director of the organisation. You can read the interviews in full at
http://news.az/articles/3727
http://www.today.az/news/politics/57929.html
ARMINFO
OSCE MINISTERS ISSUE DECLARATION ON THE NEED TO RECONFIRM, REVIEW AND RE-INVIGORATE SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION FROM VANCOUVER TO VLADIVOSTOK
Athens, 2 December 2009.
The 17th Ministerial Council of the OSCE concluded its work in Athens today with the adoption of a number of documents outlining a way forward in the intensive and at times acrimonious debate about the future of European security. The Council adopted a document that calls for a reconfirmation, review and re-invigoration of security and co-operation from Vancouver to Vladivostok, as well as a document that outlines ways for furthering the so called "Corfu Process".
Behind the cautious diplomatic language of the documents adopted are ongo
ing differences of opinion between the US and its NATO and EU partners, and Russia. Russia can be satisfied that it has succeeded what it set out to do, namely to make the OSCE revisit the issues of European security that have been considered less of a priority since the end of the cold war. On the other hand the western countries are happy that this will be done in the framework of the Helsinki Final Act and subsequent agreements, which means that Russia will not be allowed to re-write the rule-book.
Ahead are months, probably years, of negotiations. Kazakhstan, which takes over the Chairmanship of the OSCE on 1 January is pushing for a summit of the leaders of the 56 OSCE states in the summer. There has not been an OSCE summit for more than a decade. Some consider a summit in June 2010 as being premature, since it is unlikely that much progress would be registered by that point. However the Russians are supporting the summit seeing it as the only way to keep their demands high on the agenda. █
LAVROV CRITICISES OSCE, SAYS EFFORTS AND COMMITTMENT REQUIRED
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov poured cold water on the work of the OSCE when he addressed the Athens meeting on Tuesday, saying that the discussions to date "have revealed a general dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in the Euro-Atlantic region, a dissatisfaction that can no longer be masked by convenient and time-tested formulas glorifying the OSCE’s 'achievements'. Needless to say, efforts and commitment will be required to translate this new awareness into concrete action. For us, the journey is only just beginning. It hardly makes any sense to try to predetermine the final outcome of the Corfu Process or to formalize its structure and subject matter". The Russian Minister added that the Corfu Process is a valuable means of generating an open-minded approach to things and that he hoped
open discussions will breathe fresh life into the work of the OSCE’s permanent bodies, to devise ways for generally improving the Organization’s effectiveness and competence, to eliminate serious distortions in the application of a comprehensive approach and to make it balanced.
The Russian Foreign Minister made thinly veiled criticism of the OSCE for what he considered to be selective emphasis of the Helsinki Final Act and subsequent agreements. He cited previous OSCE agreements to abolish visas between states in the OSCE area, and said that not only are visas not abolished but that their costs in some countries exceed the monthly salary of the average citizen. He also insisted that respect for human rights need to be discussed in the context of different cultural traditions.
Fifty six governments and other European organisations and institutions are attending the Athens summit which opened this morning with speeches by the President and the Prime Minister of Greece. Greece holds the Chairmanship of the OSCE for 2009.
In a short opening speech Greek President Karolos Papoulias called for unity of purpose and action. "The Athens Ministerial provides us all with an important opportunity to send out a clear message of unity on the need for enhanced dialogue complemented by joint action", the Greek President said. "Despite the progress that has been achieved our work remains unfinished. Dividing lines continue to exist, old conflicts have yet to be resolved, new challenges emerge both inside and outside our borders".
The documents adopted by the 17 Ministerial Meeting of the OSCE are available on the conference web site:
http://www.osce.org/conferences/mc_2009.html █
INTERNATIONAL OUTCRY AGAINST PRISON SENTENCES FOR TWO YOUNG AZERBAIJANI BLOGGERS - Amnesty International declares Emin Abdullaev and Adnan Hajizade prisoners of conscience.
The decision of the Azerbaijan Courts to sentence two young bloggers, Emin "Milli" Abdullaev and Adnan Hajizade to thirty and twenty four months imprisonment respectively has caused outrage amongst human rights activists worldwide and is being widely condemned by governments and international organisations. The decision of the Court on 11 November, came at the end of a judicial process that many consider to have been a travesty of justice.
On 12 November Amnesty International declared the two young Azerbaijani activists as prisoners of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally. (For the full statement by Amnesty International click here ).
The US State Department issued a statement calling the court's decision "a step backwards for Azerbaijan's progress toward democratic reform." The statement criticized "the non-transparent investigation, closed-door hearings, and disproportionate legal charges," saying they "raised concerns about the independence of the police and the judiciary as well as about restrictions on freedom of expression in Azerbaijan."
For background reports and comments see the BBC report click here and the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report, available here. █
Al-Qaeda in the Caucasus: fact or fiction?
LINKS and INEGMA, the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Studies have just published a briefing paper on the presence and role of Al-Qaeda in the Caucasus. With a deteriorating security situation in the North Caucasus and amidst Russian accusations of Georgian support for Al-Qaeda activity in the region, the briefing paper discusses where fact stops and fiction starts.
To read the full paper click here
THE NORMALISATION OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS WILL HAVE IMPLICATIONS WELL BEYOND THE TWO COUNTRIES
In a joint paper, published by LINKS and the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Studies (INEGMA), the implications of the normalisation of relations between Turkey and Armenia and their impact beyond the two countries is discussed. Not only in the Caucasus, but also in Central Asia and in the Gulf the significance of the move, and particularly the new diplomatic tools being employed by the Turkish government are being looked at with great interest.
Read more
LINKS Executive Director concludes fact finding visit to Chechnya. 
