Yes to peace, no to war

Tehran, Oct 5, IRNA – To witness the disastrous scenes of human conflicts, you do not need to turn the pages of history. Currently, the long-standing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh has soared. The history repeats itself but people say worldwide yes to peace and no to war. It is unbelievable but if you are in the vicinity of Aslanduz County in the northwest of Ardebil province these days, cannons and mortar shells can be heard from across the borders of Aras. The bloody display of battle in Nagorno-Karabakh can be seen from the mountains and hills of the Aslanduz. Today, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has a full-fledged war situation, and the international community is merely monitoring. The international bodies only declare positions and issue warnings and statements. Influential regional and trans-regional powers must learn from humanitarian catastrophes in Yemen, Syria, and Libya as the crisis and war are not in the interest of any state. The Nagorno-Karabakh crisis is now in its onset and must be put out at the very beginning. This responsibility falls on the region's neighbors and the main concern will be the displacement of the civilian population. The dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan originally erupted over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh and changed into a six-year war (1988-1994), Armenia took control of the region, as well as seven counties around it. Some 35,000 people were killed and 800,000 were displaced. In May 1994, the two countries accepted a ceasefire, but international efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), aka Minsk Group, have been fruitless so far.