Vartan Matiossian
An article filed by journalists Marianna Grigoryan from
Yerevan and Shahin Abbasov from Baku (Eurasia.net, Sept. 16, 2011) said that
the Azerbaijani media indeed "quickly disputed that Almagro had actually
expressed support for Karabagh independence. Instead, citing a transcript of
the speech posted by an Armenian Diaspora organization in Latin America,
Azerbaijani media reports contended that Almagro merely acknowledged that
Armenians themselves believe that independence for Karabagh, along with strong
ties with Armenia, are 'the best way.'"
We have lost no time looking into Azerbaijani media
assertions, which seem to have overlooked the fact that Almagro also recognized
and established diplomatic relations with Palestine last March. However, if
they based their contention on the “transcript of the speech posted” by the ANC
of South America on their website (www.cna.org.ar), their position may be
qualified as self-delusional. This writer, who is a bilingual Armenian-Spanish native
speaker and was born in Uruguay, wonders whether the Azerbaijani media outlets
even have Spanish-speaking journalists suited to understand a maze of impromptu
remarks not necessarily grounded on grammar books.
The Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet released
an official transcript of Almagro’s speech, in full or in part. The following
English translation, transcribed verbatim, may be regarded as the best
“non-official transcript” of the high official’s words, at least for the time
being. Our source is the ANC website. We have corrected misspellings and
restored minor omissions through the audio recording of Almagro’s words posted
on YouTube (Sept. 11, 2011) with a written translation in Russian and English.
For the record, we posted the Spanish reconstructed version on this blog on Sept. 18.
***
"We not only want the best relations with all peoples, as
Armenia wants them, but we do not want to be conditioned in our friendship with
this country either. We believe, and we have exhaustively analyzed the issue,
the Nagorno Karabagh issue, and we are looking for consensus, and we will
continue to look for a national consensus to take a state decision on the
matter. We understand that Nagorno-Karabagh is intimately tied to Armenia, that
its population is Armenian, and that either its independence or its tie to
Armenia in the future is the best road for Nagorno-Karabagh.
This is a strong definition, which will obviously shake
people, as many others we have taken before, but be sure of our convictions and
be sure of this friendship based on principles."
***
Now, the "Armenian Weekly" and other English-language Armenian
outlets reported the speech as follows:
"Today we are looking into the issue [Nagorno-Karabagh] in
order to present an official government position on the matter,' said Almagro. 'I am personally convinced that Nagorno-Karabagh is part of historic Armenia
and it must be independent and in a short while be unified with Armenia. This
is the only resolution to the Artsakh [Karabagh] issue.'"
The Spanish version of this paragraph appeared in "Armenia,"
the ARF organ of South America, on Sept. 16, with only one difference: The
Spanish version said "Armenia" and not "historic Armenia." There is little
doubt that the source came from the “other” America.
The reader will legitimately ask: Where are these words in the
Sept. 18 translation? The one and only answer, unbelievable but true, is that
the transcript on the ANC website does not contain the paragraph in question.
The paragraph reported by the English-language outlets appears to be the
translation—without the benefit of fact-checking—of a Spanish paraphrasing of
Almagro’s actual words. One wonders how such a disservice—even if inconsequential
in the end—could be produced by whoever wrote the original press release in
Spanish (and also contradicted the transcript posted by its own organization).
(On Sept. 18, 2011, news.am posted a translation of
Almagro’s actual words that is somewhat less close to the original than ours,
without making reference to the contradiction.)
While the essence of Almagro’s words does not differ
significantly from what was reported (thereby taking away any reason for Azerbaijanis
to rejoice), this author, as a historian, feels the record must be set straight
to avoid misquotes and misunderstanding for scholars, journalists, or
politicians who may reference such internet-based media in English in the near
future.
One final note: While Almagro’s statements explicitly
indicate his personal position on the subject, and cannot be construed as an
official declaration of his ministry, something should be expected from them.
Azeri analyst Elhan Shahinoglu, as quoted by Grigoryan and Abbasov, is right in
his worry that Uruguay’s silence on the issue "could mean that Montevideo
really is considering some anti-Azerbaijan steps." Azerbaijan should be
holding its breadth, since Uruguay has in the past shown remarkable consistency
in maintaining a moral high ground. It will not be misled by the 125 rewriters
of history who signed a petition, from Sept. 15-18, titled "What Luis Almagro
doesnt [sic] know about Nagorno-Karabakh," containing the usual Azeri
mumbo-jumbo—even if they, unlikely, become 125,000.
And while the South American country has been a pioneer in
issues regarding the Armenian Cause since its groundbreaking recognition of the
genocide in 1965, that recognition did not have political consequences in the immediate
future. It is hard to say whether its
recognition of Karabagh would substantially change the situation for Armenia
and Karabagh, or trigger a cascade of further recognitions. Because of the
country’s background, its impact would likely be more transcendent than the
recognition of breakaway Abkhazia by Nicaragua or Venezuela, let aside the
diminutive Pacific islands of Nauru or Vanuatu. But let’s not forget the
comparative strength of the forces behind Abkhazia and Karabagh.
"The Armenian Weekly," September 21, 2011
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