European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 26, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 columns the stars stripes William f. Buckley who cares about Azerbaijan you should lets face it some of what is going on in Eastern Europe West Asia is going to bring something of the big Yawn to the american news shopper. Earlier this month. Macneil Lehrer blessed be their names for they have Begotten the Best news show in history dug up a scholarly lady who once worked in Iran s diplomatic service is azerbaijani in origin. She began to discuss with an Armeni an professor located somewhere near de troit the question of who is right who is wrong Why. In the struggle Over which country really ought to claim sovereignty Over Magorno Karabash. Stay with me. This is an enclave in the Middle of Azerbaijan predominantly Christian in loyally As Are the Armeni ans but is surrounded by fanatically de voted shiite moslem. Now soviet troops arc there attempt ing to restore order because 100 people Are reported As having been killed in Baku what we want to know is is this a civil War Well that depends on whether you consider the two countries separate be cause a civil War is defined As a War fought within the boundaries of a single country to answer that question you have got to begin by looking at the situation in the first Century . First Century .? god spare us because Back then what is now Armenia really exercised Power Over the whole area including much of what is now Iran Turkey. And then when in 1920 the soviet Union annexed the two states it was really a Balkans Zalizn of two countries that could certainly live amicably together if Only. I stuck it out with Macneil Chr or. But my guess is that not count ing american armenians by the end of the Quarter hour it was Only me the duty officer of the world almanac who were there trying to piece it together. And this suggests a problem with the events immediately ahead because the liberation of Eastern Europe amounts is Bill Keller Multa Neoushy to the liberation of pent up antagonisms that emptied out into the world with Fiss Parous gusto about the time the animals stalked away from Noah s Ark. Erik von Kuehnelt Leddin the aus Trian scholar recently reminded us in National review of some of these Divi Sions while acknowledging grounds for coexistence. Northern europeans have for Gencia tons looked Down upon italians spaniards greeks but accept them As guest workers with equanimity. The real trouble began with the proliferation of islamic guest workers. They arc distinctive proud to be seen worshipping apart refusing to intermarry. Their presence tends to induce not Only Othni cism but racism. The non admission of Turkey by the european Community is largely owing to a fear of massive turkish immigration. The i urls Are everything Good de cent hard working. But unassailable. In Belgium itself fiercely divided Between the Flemings the French speaking balloons signs appear in shops restaurant windows no arabs. But go East. We have seen Lithuania against soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev with latvians estonians standing by resisting russian Immi Gration. In addition to the armenians is. Azerbaijani there Are the Tad his against the kirghiz uzbeks against Tad his islamic abkhazian against Christian georgians the lot of them against the russians. Elsewhere within the communist Camp we see the oppression of magyars by romanians of turks islami cd Bulgari by a immunized Christian Bui Gars of slovenes croats albanians others by the serbs of Yugoslavia. We fancy ourselves As having be come a truly cosmopolitan nation since world War ii when we woke up one Day discovered that we were one of two Imperial Powers in the world. But inter est in International affairs was held by the threat of the other Imperial Power. At least for the time being the soviet Union has ceased to be that. Moreover if you count in a few of the constituent soviet states that Given half a Chance the Ukraine is the most conspicuous example would take their stand in Dixieland Settle for an Exchange of ambassadors to Moscow you would have the Happy Prospect of a thoroughly Balkans cd soviet Union. But the Point of this essay is that it is not realistically possible of fasten Ameri can interest on the centrifugal impulses of Europe Asia. The attention just Plain flags conscientious Folk seeking an excuse to de Tach themselves from the quarrel be tween armenians azerbaijani take Refuge in the cozy Hearth of isolationism. To energize the american Public on the rivalries breaking out All Over it will be necessary to dramatize their Geo political implications for the United states. And that is a Challenge at least the equal of the talents of Macneil Lehrer. Universal press Syndicate the Frue picture in Baku May never be known Moscow Between the tight rationing of official information the unchecked explosion of rumours presented As fact the outside world can still claim Only an incomplete picture of what happened saturday when soviet troops rolled into Baku. Did nervous inexperienced troops fire indiscriminately upon peaceful bystanders As they stormed the City Early saturday morning As some witnesses have charged in Telephone interviews As some soviet reporters deduced from Bullet pocked buildings or did they fire primarily in self defense As recounted by other witnesses including an estonian television cameraman who is no apologist for the soviet army did the militants attack the arriving columns with rooftop machine gun emplacements As the military claims or with sporadic Rifle shots gasoline bombs As others report How Many troops How Many dead in the Days since Moscow declared a state of emergency in parts of Azerbaijan much of the soviet press has returned to its pre glasnost habit of delivering propagandists homilies in place of information. Central television has shown dramatic scenes of conflict along the azerbaijani Frontier with Armenia on monday showed a funeral gathering in Baku but no footage at All of saturday s pre Dawn assault on Baku. Pravda the communist party newspaper has filed no original reporting from Azerbaijan not even on such internal party business As the ouster of the azerbaijani party chief. Newspapers such As Izvestia the youth daily Komsomol Skaya pravda which have made a much More serious Effort to cover the conflict intensively have left great gaps in their reporting especially re Garding thai scale atmosphere of the military intervention. Azerbaijan has been closed to foreign reporters is Likely to stay off limits a government official said until they arc no longer shooting at everyone with Blue eyes no Black Rumor has rushed to fill the news vacuum. In recent Days the leaders of the Azerbaijan popular front have alternately either fled to Iran or been reported arrested in Masse when in fact they arc still involved in the Republic s political affairs. Azerbaijanis now report with absolute certainty often citing the azerbaijani Academy of sciences or similarly authentic sounding sources that up to 15,000 people were killed in the taking of the City. And also that Mounds of bodies were hidden in stadiums or dumped surreptitiously into the Caspian sea. On monday the government press Agency Tass produced this matter of fact dispatch As Many As 3,700 people were killed some 10.000 injured in clashes at the arrival of soviet troops in Baku a news conference at the Mission of the Azer Baijan Republic in Moscow was told. There is no confirmation however of these figures observers be Lieve the True figure is much the report continued the news conference was told that troops were loading dead bodies onto a vessel to dump them at sea. But there was no confirmation of even presumably objective witnesses have been swayed by the excitement of events or limited by their particular Vantage Point. In the Days since soviet troops rumbled into Baku the Reuters news service has gathered 45 Rolls of film from five different soviet photographers who were pre sent during the action. While the photographers clearly sought out the most grisly thus marketable scenes available they All tended to show the same dozen or so corpses. Andrei Rainy a correspondent for Kim Sokolskaya pravda fired off a series of emotional dispatches from Baku most of which were not published by his editors. A Shower of stones came from the crowd onto the soldiers he wrote in one account that was not used. In response there was the sound of automatic weapons fire. Exact figures of the deaths Are not known yet but they run into several there is no doubt that this was an organized shoot ing of peaceful people he added. Rainy s uncut reports were made available to West Ern reporters by one of his colleagues. Interviewed monday night upon his turn to Moscow Rainy said that his death estimates were based on an Assumption that a certain number of Bod ies were taken Home without being officially recorded that he would now probably revise them Down Ward. Today i would not be so categorical but i m still quite sure there were twice As Many As the official death toll he said referring to the official toll of 100. A full picture of the events in Baku May never be entirely possible As memories Are distorted by emotions. The new York times
