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.”
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