Azernews.Az

By Gunay Hasanova

The change of the name of Nagorno-Karabakh to “Artsakh” aims to deny the religious affiliation of the population of region and the OSCE Minsk Group’s silence on this issue is a thought-provoking moment, said Iran’s former ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsun Pakayin to Trend.

“The Minsk Group members understand very well that the change of name of Karabakh and denial of the religious identity of its population won’t be accepted by Azerbaijani society and will further ignite the flames of war in this issue,” Pakayin said.

Pakayin said that the proposal of Armenia has no historical reference, adding that based on historical documents Karabakh is a word belonging to the Azerbaijani Turkish: “qara”- black, “bag”- garden. The historical roots of this concept go to the 12th century, according to the historical documents.

The change of the name of Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia in the framework of set-up process of “constitutional amendments” to “Artsakh Republic” is a part of attempt to change the Islamic identity of “Nagorno-Karabakh republic, he believes.

“Supporters of this proposal, as well as, the Minsk Group should understand that even the 70-year communist rule was incapable of denying the Muslim identity of Nagorno-Karabakh. Although, they’ve hard conditions, they always maintained their own identities and traditions,” he added.

The former ambassador pointed out that the Caucasus region is developing rapidly, so it is necessary to prevent any provocative action. In this sense, maintenance of peace and stability in the region plays an important role.

“Those countries and peaceful organizations, such as Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which are sure that Karabakh belongs to the Muslims, should call other countries and organizations, as well as, Minsk Group to react against this set-up proposal of Armenian regime,” Pakayin added.

All historical works prove this was the land of Muslims since the ancient times.

Based on Gulistan and Turkmenchay treaties, the Russians transferred Armenians to Islamic territories of Karabakh and Irevan.

Back then, Russians have promised Karabakh population that this migration is temporary. In 1823, 478 of 625 villages of Karabakh were populated with Muslims.

At that time, Thomas de Waal, head of the British delegation, who visited Shusha after Iran-Russia war, wrote that the majority of the population of the city was Muslims.

In addition, the diplomat noted that the historical monuments, cultural heritage and music show that this territory belongs to Muslims.

“Although the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is considered a regional conflict for the latest 20 years, international organizations also stress that this area belongs to Azerbaijan. All documents prove that Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan’s Shiite identity,” Pakayin concluded.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in the resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of the due attention of the international community for years.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping the tension high in the region.

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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova

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