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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 23, 1992)
Conflict in former Soviet Union balloons Optimistic outlool tough to muster, professor says i By Neil Feldman Staff Reporter Plagued by war and carnage, th< former Soviet republics of Armeni; and Azerbaijan are engaged in an ethnic feud that has killed an estimated 2,500 people and has destroyed many cities. Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave within the borders of Azerbaijan, i< the reason for the conflict, as its inhabitants are mostly Armenian. In 1988, the seeds of a quarrel were sown when the Armenian majority in the enclave demanded autonomy in the territory. This sparked ^ - demonstra *tonVSV> lions and *L1 riots, which erupted into an ethnic volcano a year later. The conflict has since ballooned Schools and churches have been permanently closed, the wealthy and middle classes have fled, and the lower class in Karabakh has been left to rot in the turmoil. Lack of concern To make matters worse,' no single nation, republic or multilat eral organization has expressed a bi of concern for the crisis, because none of them have a compelling national interest in Azerbaijan. Hedrick Smith, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and an expert on lb r former Soviet Union, recently stated on “Washington Week in Review” that the animosity in Karabakh would continue to flourish until some degree of economic order was restored in the European Community. James McClelland, a history ~ professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, agreed, and said j he was pessimistic about the future of the Azerbaijanis and Armenians. “It’s really hard to see an obvious solution that each of the two sides could compromise on,” h< said. Ethnic enemies Historical relations between factions, McClelland said, arc an important consideration with ethnic conflicts. He said the two groups had been engaged in strife since the twilight of the Ottoman Empire in 1915. “These two groups have histori cally been involved in fighting,” he said. When the Soviet Union still existed, McClelland said, Moscow suppressed the bloodshed. The conflicts in Georgia, Latvia, Estoni; and the Balkans also were con . ccaled by the Kremlin. Another issue of concern in Azerbaijan regards Nakhichevan, a smaller province within Azerbaijan that is administratively ruled. Province vulnerable Like Karabakh, Nakhichevan was awarded to Azerbaijan by Joseph Stalin in the early 1920s. t Some analysts say Nakhichevan is just as vulnerable to war as Karabakh, though little ethnic commotion has erupted there since the! collapse of the Soviet Union. ; McClelland said he believed Nakhichevan’s location was the principal reason it had remained relatively quiet during the period of upheaval. “There i&a good chance Turkey would get involved if Nakhichevan came under severe attack,” McClelland said, and added that Turkey had a much more powerful army than both Armenia and Azerbaijan. “I don’t see this conflict spread ing much beyond the borders of Karabakh,” he said. Information suppressed Eugene Gorbatov, a Russian student attending UNL, said the Kxemlin suppressed the conflicts, but many people in the former Soviet Union were aware of them. They simply could not talk about them, he said. “Access to truthful information was not given to journalists,” Gorbatov said. “(Azerbaijanis) and Armenians have sporadically killed each other through the years. “This conflict has been going on for decades.” Gorbatov added that the KGB , did not allow information pertaining to Nagorno-Karabakh to be re leased. Even people in Moscow were unaware of the strife in Azerbaijan, he said. Optimism impossible A recent report published in Global Affairs, an international politics journal, said that the most significant quarreling in Nagorno Karabakh was finished, and the warring hostility over the enclave would not be a lasting dilemma. However, reports from foreign correspondents two weeks ago slated that the bloodshed (Mice again had intensified in Stepanakert, the rJBHIi 1 1 Both Armenia and Azerbaijan claim historic links to Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan. Its estimated population is 170,000. I I Azerbaijan has a population of about 6.6 million, most of whom are Muslims of Turkish, Iranian, and Caucasian stock. Armenia has a population of about 3.3 million. Most are Christians who historically have despised Muslims throughout the region. I Although they can be traced back to the Ottoman Revolution, the Armenian demands in 1988 for automony in Karabakh prompted the current conflict. I Negotiations have not yet been hinted and no outside force has indicated it will get involved. Meanwhile, the fighting continues in its "on one day, off the next" style. capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. The reports said the Azerbaijanis shelled Stepanakert from Shusha, a hillside region four miles outside of the city. Baku, a Azerbaijani city just outside of Karabakh, later came under attack by Armenian militia, Brian Shellito/DN Scott Maurar/DN but no deaths were reported. “This conflict, along with several others in the former Soviet Union, will most likely last for an extended period of time,” McClelland said. “It is impossible to be an optimist when looking at this crisis.” r CLASSIC STYLING 1 (LIMITED OFFER - SAVE $20. TO $30) Take advantage now of this great savings. The Herff Jones Representative Will Be At The University Bookstore, City Campus On September 23 through 26 HHERFF JONES The skill of getting your ideas across to other people, as well as discovering what people require, is not industry specific. Whatever the person's field, indi vidual effectiveness depends on proficiency in listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills. - Who s Going to Run QM The Writing Lab __ AndreWS 129 ■imaa,.a.Mnni.l-IMi The Writing Lab, developed by the Dept, of English, is a place to write and a place to learn about writing. All students, regardless of their abilities and experience, benefit from continued practice writing with a supportive and responsive reader. Through the lab, students gain confid ence, improve their power of self-expression, and strengthen their analytic reasoning abilities by examining their writing strategies and re « ceiving immediate feedback of their written work. Call 472-8803 to set up an initial appointment with a lab teacher. Remember, it's never too late to improve your writing skills. Student Development _Renter Stuart Leadership ^ Corporate partners program College of Business Administration University of Nebraska-Lincoln ~ _
