This year, the “Co-operative Best Effort 2004” military training
program organized by NATO in Azerbaijan will not be taking place due to
the increasing hatred between Armenians and Azerbaijan. I think that
Azerbaijan needs NATO in this region more than Armenia whose
Russian-orientated politics is getting deeper. However, Armenia is
still not holding back from the civilized diplomatic approach and the
Armenian hospitality. Azerbaijanis did not participate in the military
training last year either in Armenia. The Armenians were not against
having them there. The Armenians had the Turkish soldiers participating
in the training. Everything went well without any hatred or amnity. The
best effort for collaboration in 2004 was to be in Azerbaijan, but the
Azeri had announced beforehand that they were against the participation
of Armenians in the military training. It was simple logic: we did not
participate in your country, so don’t participate in ours. Then,
forbidding the participation was to be added to the first consultation,
the killing of the Armenian military officer by Ramil Safarov in
Budapest, then the hysteria of the Karabagh Liberation Organization
(KLO)’s hysteria against the two Armenian soldiers participating in the
third conference and all of this was going to be in the context of
Karabagh. During all this time NATO has kept silent and hasn’t even
considered it necessary to express anything about the crime committed
in Budapest. Not only are the Azerbaijani radicals of the Karabagh
Liberation Organization taking advantage of this silence, but also the
authorities and representatives of mass media. Despite the fact that
President of Azerbaijan personally promised to provide the
participation of the Armenian delegation and security and showed proof
of his preparedness by sentencing the leader of the KLO and the
barbarities which took place in the second conference Akif Naghrin to 5
years of imprisonment, one thing still remained the same: the
anti-Armenian hysteria did not lack and it was getting more connected
with the Karabagh conflict.
The military trainings organized by NATO have nothing to do with
Karabagh. Chief Secretary of NATO Yaap de Hop Skhefer affirmed that by
saying that the organization will not intervene in the conflicts going
on in the region. Despite the announcement made by the Chief Secretary,
speaker for Azerbaijan Mili Mejlis Murtuz Aleskerov had made a speech
last week with an announcement condemning the participation of
Armenians and had not made a reference to Karbagh. “The people who
killed our children should not step foot on Azerbaijani land,” said
Murtuz Aleskerov and added that the Armenians occupying the regions of
Azerbaijan now want to go to Baku and boast of their strength. He
believes that no Azerbaijani with good judgement can accept that.
Aleskerov understood the peoples’ complaints but he thinks that they
must use their heads. He also thinks that it is necessary to negotiate
with NATO in the appropriateness of conducting the military training.
It is unknown if the Azerbaijanis managed to lead negotiations or not,
but on September 13 at NATO they decided to make the best effort of
collaborating due to the fact that the effort is in vain when there is
animosity. Why didn’t the Azerbaijanis want to include the Armenians in
this international event?
After the election of Ilham Aliyev as president, the Azeri have adopted
a form of anti-Armenian politics. Aliyev wants its people to be filled
with wrath, to strengthen and solve the Karabagh conflict
strategically. There need to be heroes in Azerbaijan and perhaps this
wrath will give light to liberators of the seized lands and tomorrow’s
Karabagh. However, the people’s wrath gives light to Ramil Safarov
holding an axe and half-crazy and romantic Akif Naghri. This is where
the shaping of a hero, the “national awakening” processes and the best
effort made by the North-Atlantic union do not correspond. This is also
where the Azerbaijanis lose the chance to make a logical choice. If the
Armenian soldiers had to boast of their strength in Baku by stepping
foot on Azeri land, in that case, why was Ramil Safarov born and why
does that young military officer have to suffer in jail because of the
hero-criminal two-fold.
Whatever the case, pretty soon the Azerbaijani people will begin to
understand their president and peace will be established. We will make
a note of our morally achieved diplomatic victory when the orientations
of Azerbaijan get mixed up together.