Lamberto Zannier: Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved by use of froce

    (Exclusive interview the OSCE Secretary General with Turan news agency)

  Question: Mr. Zannier, a few days ago you expressed concern about the lack of political will at the leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan to agree to settle the Karabakh conflict. According to press reports, you said that "the parties were very close to an agreement on general principles, on which they could achieve a solution, but the process does not move."

   How do you explain the lack of will, and what hinders them to agree on the principles for a settlement?

Answer: Building peace is difficult and requires taking bold decisions. The point is not to apportion blame but to find ways of making progress. The starting point of any negotiated settlement is that the conflict cannot be resolved by the use of force. Neither can the solution be found or imposed by an external party – be it OSCE or any other international player. For this, parties must demonstrate genuine political will and readiness to implement the commitments they’ve undertaken. What the OSCE can do and continues doing is to provide a forum for dialogue between the parties and facilitate building confidence in the region. In his recent visit to the region our Chairperson in Office, Minister Gilmore very clearly set out some of his country’s own experience in building peace. We will continue working through the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, as the only agreed format to find a peaceful negotiated solution. 

Question:  Do you believe that peace can be achieved through negotiations? Recently, calls have been increasing for the need to force the parties to peace. Do not you think that the international community should abandon the fruitless negotiations, which have lasted for 20 years and find a new approach to the settlement?

Answer: There is no other solution than a peaceful, negotiated one. We do believe that – despite all frustration – negotiations aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the conflict are the only way ahead. The loss of lives on the Line of Contact and on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan is deplorable, and of great concern to me. This tragic loss of life underscores the danger and unpredictability of the situation on the ground, and reminds us of the need to strengthen international mediation and monitoring of the situation, through additional OSCE resources. People living in the conflict-affected areas deserve lasting peace and stability. This can only be achieved by strengthening the ceasefire regime, remove snipers from the line of contact and implement the mechanism for investigating incidents on the line of contact, as agreed by the Presidents. This does not represent a solidification of the status quo, it represents an effort to ensure some amount of stability on the ground, in order to allow political negotiations to be carried out. In parallel, people-to-people contacts should be developed, which was agreed in Sochi in January by the Presidents. 

Question:  How can we reconcile the principle of territorial integrity and the right of nations to self-determination?

Answer: No principle of the international law should be taken in isolation. In a joint statement on 19 June the Presidents of France, Russia and the US – the Minsk Group co-chairing countries – urged the leaders to be guided by the principles of the Helsinki Final Act - particularly those relating to the non-use of force or the threat of force, territorial integrity, and equal rights and self-determination of peoples. No confidence can be built, no peace can be achieved, and no progress is conceivable in a situation when people, including civilians, are daily fearing for their lives.

Question:  During Eurovision and after it, the Azerbaijani authorities were subject to international criticism for breaking human rights and freedoms. Until now there is no law on defamation, seven journalists are in prison, and the level of freedom of expression and assembly is one of the lowest in the OSCE area. What measures is the OSCE going to take to remove the causes for such criticism?

Answer: The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media has repeatedly raised concerns about the media situation in Azerbaijan. The OSCE stands ready to continue working with the key stakeholders, including the Government, the Parliament and the Azerbaijani Press Council on the new draft anti-defamation legislation – the work which started already in 2011.

The OSCE is ready to assist Azerbaijan in fulfilling their media freedom-related commitments and continue our co-operation. I believe that many of these issues will be raised during the visit of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media in the margins of the annual OSCE media freedom conference in Baku on 11-12 October 2012. 

Pluralism is imperative for an effective democracy. In my meetings with my counterparts in Azerbaijan I will reiterate that freedom of peaceful assembly is an important commitment that the country undertook within the OSCE, and that must be upheld. 

Question:  What can be and will be done by the OSCE to support the civil society in Azerbaijan?

Answer: Engagement of civil society is an indispensable element of any healthy and mature democracy. Civil society is a channel for effectively conveying the ideas and attitudes of the people to the higher echelons of power, and their participation in the decision making is very important. 

Our Office in Baku has been working to support the inclusion of the civil society in decision-making processes in the country – for instance, it has supported discussions between members of the parliament and their constituencies, has held the open discussions and working groups, and has trained civil society actors in advocacy and reporting issues. We also run the Civic Action for Security and Environment grant programme meant for civil society organizations working in environmental field.

We aim to continue this important work supporting Azerbaijani authorities in the democratic reform.

Question:  A few years ago the OSCE Office in Baku organized and conducted dialogues between the authorities and the opposition to search for civil harmony and reconciliation. Why has this practice been forgotten?

Answer: The OSCE Office in Baku organized series of roundtable discussions with participation of political parties before the parliamentary elections. These discussions addressed such important issues as work of election commissions, handling of election complaints and access to mass media. The OSCE Office supports such initiatives and is ready to facilitate similar events in the future, if there is a will on part of political parties themselves to conduct such discussions.

Question:  How do you assess the recent legislative amendments in Azerbaijan, limiting access of the media to information about the owners of businesses and companies?

Answer: The legislative amendments to the laws “On Receiving Information,” “On the State Registry and the State Registration of Juridical Persons,” and “On Commercial Secrets” can indeed have a negative impact on media freedom and access to information. The OSCE  Representative on Freedom of the Media in her statement in mid-June called on the authorities to do their utmost to reverse these recent developments. -02В-