Residents of Abkhazia, Karabakh and South Ossetia are sceptic about Catalonian referendum

In the modern world, the right of peoples to self-determination is violated everywhere; and the international community applies the "double standards" policy, the residents of Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" in connection with the events in Catalonia, have stated. They believe that events in the Spanish region will have no effect on the status of their republics.

On October 1, 90% of people voted for independence and Catalonia’s exit from Spain, Catalan authorities assert, while Madrid treats the referendum as illegitimate.

Many of the interviewed Abkhazians believe that Catalonia has the right to self-determination and independence. However, there are those, who are sceptical about the idea of Catalonia's independence.

Alan Parastaev, a journalist and the author of the blog "South Ossetia as it is, was and could be" on the "Caucasian Knot", has noted that Catalonia "repeats, with the utmost accuracy and given the European conditions, the South Ossetia’s steps in the 1990s."

Anna Chochieva, a public activist, suggests that after the referendum, Catalonia "sooner or later will be recognized by the world community, same as South Ossetia."

Zarina Djioeva, a South-Ossetian political analyst, believes that Catalonia has tried to use its right to self-determination. "However, the police intervention and the Spain's non-recognition of the referendum outcomes show that the principles of international law have long been gone," she said.

In their turn, the interviewed residents of Nagorno-Karabakh believe that Catalonia has the right to self-determination, but the European Union will not admit any Spain’s disintegration.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.