MPs from the National Assembly of Karabagh, political and social figures, journalists and representatives of NGOs were present. Others present at the event include representatives of the “Peace Resources” international organization Jonathan Kowen (co-chairman of the PR Caucasus branch) and Laurence Broers (editor of “Accord” 17th edition), as well as NGO representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Great Britain.
After the promo, four NGO representatives from the British Consortium met with students, Karabagh authorities and NGO representatives in Karabagh. During the meeting, which took place at the “Mesrop Mashtots” university in Stepanakert, the representatives of “Peace Resources” and “International Alert” international organizations discussed the promo of the 17th edition of “Accord” and the opinions expressed by the people of Yerevan and Baku. According to editor of the 17th edition, Laurence Boers, readers in Yerevan complained that the magazine did not present the official decision of Karabagh about the conflict, while in Baku people stated that the magazine places too much emphasis on the role that Karabagh plays in the region. Laurence Boers cleared everything up and said that nothing good would come out if the countries in the region militarized politics. The students at the meeting answered to the guests’ questions and said that Karabagh had no outlooks for peace with Azerbaijan when a compatriot kills an Armenian in his sleep and is named man of the year.
“Why is everyone talking about the Azerbaijani refugees and not the Armenians who lost their homes in the bloodshed, took refuge and lost their former homes in Azerbaijan? Those people have the right to get their homes back, just like the refugees of Karabagh”.
“How can we explain the fact that Azerbaijan considers Armenians as citizens of the country and at the same time declares war?”
These were some of the questions among the many concerning students. They emphasized that Karabagh has already made its decision-either independence or join Armenia.
The guests also met with politicians and experts in Karabagh. Georgian and Azerbaijani lawyers Paata Zakareashvili and Avaz Hasanov were also taking part in the meeting. The topic put up for discussion was the possibility of conflict settlement in the Southern Caucasus region through regional integration. What can bring the people of all regional countries together and what danger do politicians and experts see? The participants tried to answer to this and other questions.
According to Azerbaijani lawyer Avaz Hasanov, the Southern Caucasus countries could work together to solve issues in the fields of law and youth politics, exchange cultural values and even make educational reforms. However, in order to do this, the people of each country must change their mentalities so that they can actually participate in the integration. It is necessary to be active in commerce, use natural resources, ecology, and even fight against the spread of the bird flu epidemic.
Many speakers agreed that globalization is the main source for ethnic-cleansing in the region. According to Laurence Boers, some nations striving for autonomy can’t really deal with issues concerning globalization. Thus, the people have to find something in common.
Another thing that was mentioned was the fact that the reason for conflicts in the region was that there is “pressure” for democracy against autonomous regions. People will keep being scared of each other as long as that pressure continues.
Member of the “Helsinkian initiative-92” NGO Ellada Sahakyan made an interesting comment. She said that the people of the Southern Caucasus countries don’t trust each other and they are extremely careful.