Azernews.Az

BAKU - Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s statement about a possible determination of the final status of Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azerbaijani region under Armenian occupation, by holding a public opinion poll has sparked mixed responses.
Mammadyarov said that Armenia supports holding a referendum, while Azerbaijan opposes this, saying that, under its Constitution, a referendum must be held in the country’s entire territory. He said, however, that "we also have a public opinion poll and it has legal force". Mammadyarov noted that according to the principles being discussed between the sides, an ad hoc committee comprising Azerbaijani and Armenian representatives and the mediating OSCE Minsk Group’s co-chair countries will be established to conduct an opinion poll.
The president of the Public Forum for Azerbaijan Eldar Namazov says that both under international law and Azerbaijan’s Constitution, Garabagh Armenians cannot be granted the right to self-determination by voting in such a poll, because "Azerbaijani legislation does not contain the notion of a local opinion poll".
Namazov said the public opinion poll is a new concept in the ongoing peace talks.
"Such a principle has been non-existent in the negotiating process in past years, it has emerged at the latest talks. This is an erroneous step."
Zardusht Alizada, another Azerbaijani commentator, also believes that holding such an opinion poll would run counter to Azerbaijani interests and international law.
Alizada went on to say that though this proposal defies Azerbaijani laws, the forces who have put it forward intend to ensure its adoption on their own.
"The idea to hold this opinion poll has been entered into the negotiating process under pressure from the United States and France’s leadership. And it is under their influence that it will most likely be adopted. The results of the poll are known ahead of time. There are a lot of Armenians in Nagorno Garabagh, and they will not accept an autonomy within Azerbaijan."
Alizada opined, further, that though this opinion poll would contradict Azerbaijan’s interests, forces that could oppose it in the country are very week.
"The opposition is very week in Azerbaijan. They can’t even hold plain protests. As for intellectuals, they do not appear as an opposing force. This is grounds for us to say that Azerbaijan will be compelled to go for this opinion poll though it would definitely not meet its interests."
Analyst Farhad Mehdiyev has told Radio Liberty that holding a local public opinion poll in Azerbaijan would require amending the country’s Constitution.
"This would be ensured under an international agreement. Under our Constitution, constitutional norms overpower international agreements. But under international law, domestic legislation does not have superior force over international law. There is such a clause there: no country may turn its back on international obligations while putting forward its domestic legislation. If a local public opinion poll takes place under an international agreement and it is stipulated in writing that it has mandatory effect for the parties, the Azerbaijani government will have to comply with it. And it would have to alter the country’s Constitution to do this, if necessary."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally-recognized territory since the early 1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994. Peace talks, brokered by US, Russian and French mediators through the Minsk Group, are ongoing based on the Madrid principles, an outline for a conflict settlement proposed by the mediators. The outline envisions granting an interim status to Nagorno Garabagh at the initial stage, and a future determination of the region’s legal status "through a legally binding expression of will" and the right of "internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence." The Madrid Document also covers "the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno Garabagh to Azerbaijani control".
Azerbaijan stated that it generally accepts the renewed Madrid principles early this year, while the Armenian stance remains unclear.