Guardian Newspaper
Your article on 'the Black Hole' of Nagorno Karabakh by Alexandros Petersen (June 7) contains so many false allegations and untruths that it would be laughable if the implications were not so serious.
I was in Nagorno Karabakh last week and I can personally testify to the ridiculous nature of the claims that 'Karabakh is a black hole that attracts arms, drug and human trafficking, money laundering and organised crime. Chances are that heroin on London's streets, illegal weapons in the Paris banlieue, and the underage prostitutes in Berlin either came through a conflict zone such as Karabakh , or were trafficked by a network that uses the area to facilitate its operations.'
These allegations are outrageous. The Armenians in Karabakh had to defend their land against well-documented attempted ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan in a bitter war from 1991-1994, During that war, Islamist terrorists fought on the side of Azerbaijan against the Armenians of Karabakh, who are now rebuilding their shattered lives and land with laudable commitment to democratic principles (their elections have been declared free and fair by independent respected international observers).
My charitable organisation supports a Rehabilitation Centre for people with disabilities which has become recognised by many professional visitors as a Centre of Excellence, disseminating innovative good practice throughout the South Caucasus. Over the years, I have encouraged as many as a thousand people to visit this historic land; we have travelled widely throughout the small region and every visitor has been inspired by the graciousness, openness and warm hospitality of the people. All would join me in signing this letter of rebuttal of the outrageously absurd and misleading allegations in your article.
Yours faithfully,
The Baroness Cox
House of Lords
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