The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, March 08, 1993, Page 3, Image 3
Old blood feud erupts again in Azerbaijan By Neil Feldman Staff Reporter Although Azerbaijan is rarely mentioned in the media, the former Soviet republic is faced with a crisis comparable to the Balkan War. ghting has persisted in Nagomo a predominately Armenian \zerbaijan, for more than two years, and, amid the fact that more than 2,000 people have perished in the civil war, outside interven tion has been nil. With no significant economic, national or political interests in Azerbaijan, analysts say, outsiders would rather turn their backs on this crisis. Scarcely a single building has escaped damage in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. Stepanakert has been the target of almost daily shelling since the summer of 1991. . Most of the shelling takes place from a mountain top stronghold held by the Azeris at Shusha, just four miles outside the capital. Stepanakert has been without running water, electricity and telephone for more than nine months, and other smaller cities in Karabakh have been without these basic services for more than a year. Moreover, the few schools and factories that have not been leveled are closed, causing further ire among the lower-class working people. Those with enough money to flee Karabakh have already done so, but many are too poor to leave and have been , forced to remain in the besieged war zone. The war in Karabakh is a historic blood feud that can be traced back to World War I. In 1915, during the twilight of the Ottoman Empire, Armenians living in Turkish Armenia were deported into the deserts of what is now Syria. More than 1 million people of Armenian descent were cither slaughtered or died of starvation. Azeris are ethnic cousins of the Turks, and many Armenian soldiers claim they are continuing this feud of ethnic hatred. James Mensnng/UN Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin tended to favor the Azeris in the conflict, largely because Azerbaijan was the last bastion of communist orthodoxy in the Caucasus. Soviet army and Interior Ministry troops tried to keep the peace or assisted the Azeris in military operations. While tensions persisted when the Soviet Union was strong, the power of Red Square suppressed the bulk of the fighting by casting its shadow over the enclave. But when the USSR broke up, no one was there to ensure the two sides stayed clear of each other. The result was a quick outbreak of civil unrest. The rejuvenation of war has been blamed on many former Soviet leaders, including Mikhail Gorbachev. However, nearly all Western analysts point to historic grudges, arguing that both sides feel as though unfinished business has been left out in th^open ever since the dispersal of World War I. Such wrath, analysts say, has stimulated the Azeris to launch attacks against the Armenians. But Armenians assert that fighting is the best way to resolve this crisis. This type of approach to the war, analysts argue, will deter outside intervention. “If both sides appear unwilling to negoti ate peace, outside sources will tend to look the other way,” commented Russian affairs analyst Hedrick Smith, who recently ad dressed the issue on Washington Week in Review. Many analysts have questioned the internationalization of humanitarian assis tance and human rights. Analyst Sergi Rogov said recently on CNN, “Karabakh is in desperate need of assistance, yet outsiders continuously give excuses as to why they haven’t suggested intervening.” Rogov also said a humanitar ian multilateral effort would at least partially quell the turbulence in Karabakh, because neither side was exceptionally strong militarily. East Continued from Page 1 Morris said ihc botany labs were offered at the City Campus because East Campus did not have the facili ties. But East Campus isn’t lacking in lecture hall facilities, Krocse said. Two fairly new lecture halls on East Campus are used for storage, he said. Morris said for other classes with more than one section, the problem boiled down to parking. “We’ve had a greater reluctance to schedule classes on East Campus in recent years, and most of that is be cause of parking.” Morris said his school had re quested designated parkirig spots but the East Campus administration hadn’t provided them. Another factor that keeps biology faculty from scheduling their classes on East Campus is that their offices are downtown, he said. The Department of Economics told Kroese the same thing. But Kroese said everyone had those problems. “I have to go downtown every day to fight parking," he said. “My desk is here. My stuff is here. I have to take my books ... why can’t they?” Kroesc said he had tried to talk to Joan Leitzcl, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, but she could not meet with him until April. —— Kroese has obtained 500 signa tures petitioning for basic, required classes to be offered on East Campus, and he has authored a AS UN bill with the same request. He wants some of those classes to be offered on East Campus by next spring, he said. Student senators will vote on the bill at Wednesday’s meeting of the Association of Students of the Uni versity of Nebraska. Scams Continued from Page 1 the beach. He wasn’t disappointed. Until the time came to pay the bill. When Tieken and his friends tried to collect their $300 room-damage deposit, he said, they were given the runaround by the motel and their tour agency. “We had pul down the damage deposit on the promise that we would get it back,” he said. Tieken said the hotel room was checked and approved, but the tour representative said they had missed a deadline for filling out a room packet, and as a result could not collect their $300. The packet, Tieken said, was a thick booklet of instructions and forms that was delivered to their room dur ing their vacation. Neither the hotel management nor the tour representa tive informed them of a deadline. “You’re not going to sit down and fill out a package during spring vaca tion,” Tieken said. “It’s crazy.” Tieken said he lost his room-dam age deposit again when he went ski ing over winter break. Tieken’s twice-bitten advice to stu dent vacationers is to pay close atten tion to the details of their deposits. He said students should discuss the paperwork with their tour consultants before the trip begins. “Our representative was really ac cessible before the tour, but after it we couldn’t get ahold of him.” Many times companies try to con fuse students with lots of red tape, he said. “Students are really not in the mood to tackle red tape during vacation,” he said. Students should al ways call to con firm their reservations, he said. “Make sure you do that and don’t blow it off,’’ he said. “It’s really im portant to get back to them — other wise you’ll wish you had.” He said he knew students who made reservations with hotels that overbooked or canceled but still kept the room deposits. Tieken said well-known, local -44 Students are really not In the mood to tackle red tape during vacation. —Tieken UN(senior -ft - agencies were less likely to overbook rooms. “I almost wish there were a gov ernment agency overlooking this and investigating ghost companies who ripped students off," he said. Briener said she urged students who had a complaint about a com pany to take it to the Better Business Bureau. The bureau will ask the student to talk with the management of a com pany about the complaint, and if the student still is not satisfied, a letter of complaint can be filed. She said most problems usually were solved within three letters. “Most companies seek to please thcircustomers, she said. “They know how bad word-of-mouth can damage their business.” After | the action moves into ourcourt 475-2281 City Campus 239 N. 14th Street Dine-In, Delivery or Carryout 466-5533 East Campus 2340 N 48th Street Delivery or Carryout Makiri it great!*^ I II $3off any Large Pizza! J2off any Medium Pizza! -1 1-25! —l| nMMHWUMMM aSXvaSbv U eimnoi r— Large fora Medium Charge! | OOwr—jlwIhySO, 1W8 I I———-1 I __ll IVvo Medium Cheese Pizzas i ■£r "i W—t rm*hm ommm wlw Ow wpwt ym m < Oltn Ptaa Hut Inc. MM <Mh ndempUen ate.