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Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
June 24, 2003
NO ONE-SIDED CONCESSIONS
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the cease-fire the public
undertaking `Defence of Liberated Territories' in Yerevan published a
report. The authors of the report think that the negotiations for the
regulation of the Karabakh conflict have reached a deadlock and it is
time to make changes. The report says, `Although the cease-fire was
maintained the diplomatic war goes on.' The mentioned public
organization informed journalists about this during the seminar on
June 19. `The past years were enough to make it clear that the
international regulation of the Artsakh issue is not its settlement
but the continuation of the war through diplomatic means,' says the
report. According to the representatives of the public undertaking
`Defence of Liberated Territories', returning the liberated
territories or part of them is the main problem discussed at the
negotiation, and if it is fulfilled, it will mean serious
reconsideration of the results of the war not in favour of Armenia.
According to the authors of the report, `the current situation has
two solutions: either the liberated territories are fixed in our
consciousness as motherland, populated and made part of the Armenian
state or are merely considered temporarily occupied territories for
the aim of security and estranged sooner or later.' The settlement of
the Karabakh conflict is related to the problem of telecommunication
and refugees. The authors of the report think that because of the
long-lasting and fruitless negotiations we have appeared in a
deadlock and live under the threat of the imposed one-sided
concession. The director of the undertaking thinks that the policy of
the current government does not differ from the former. The core
principle of the both is willingness for concessions. `The only
difference perhaps is that if the former authorities expressed their
willingness for concessions in plain text, the present government
tries to postpone, not to make that step under different pressuresâ=80¦'
This is, of course, the opinion of the director of the undertaking.
And in order not to mislead the reader, we consider it necessary to
quote one of the representatives of the authorities, vice speaker of
the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Vahan Hovhannissian.
Recently in an interview in answer to the question of the journalist
whether it is possible to make pressure on the government of Armenia
and impose a non-favourable variant in reference to the Karabakh
problem, and under the foreign pressure Armenian will make one-sided
concessions, Mr. Hovhannissian said, `No, because Armenia is an
independent country and it is difficult to whitewash. We also have
eyes abroad.' Of course, this is not the only argument and more
similar statements of representatives of the present authorities of
Armenia can be enumerated but this is not our task. Our task is to
agree to the healthy idea of the representatives of the public
organization `Defence of Liberated Territories' that the position of
each conscious Armenian must be that all the liberated regions are an
indivisible part of Armenia and cannot be surrendered to the
strangers or become subject of negotiation bargaining. The speaker of
the National Assembly of NKR Oleg Yessayan said, `For a divided
nation the consistent accomplishment of its integrity must be a law.â=80=9D
And this integrity must not merely be physical but ideological and,
of course, determined, which is more important. With ideological
integrity we may state confidently that we will manage to achieve our
aims. Although as the participants of the seminar mentioned, `Today
Azerbaijan is not ready to admit and sign an agreement recognizing
the right of the Armenians to live free and have self-governance on
the land of Artsakh', this is a matter of time. And the sooner our
integrity is maintained, the sooner we will manage with the
participation of our as well as a number of European organization
dealing with the Artsakh issue to make our neighbour Azerbaijan
recognize the dominance of Artsakh on the territory which Artsakh
controls de facto as well as recognize that the Republic of Nagorni
Karabakh is a self-governing state and never was and can be part of
independent Azerbaijan.
CHRISTINE MNATSAKANIAN.
June 24, 2003
NO ONE-SIDED CONCESSIONS
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the cease-fire the public
undertaking `Defence of Liberated Territories' in Yerevan published a
report. The authors of the report think that the negotiations for the
regulation of the Karabakh conflict have reached a deadlock and it is
time to make changes. The report says, `Although the cease-fire was
maintained the diplomatic war goes on.' The mentioned public
organization informed journalists about this during the seminar on
June 19. `The past years were enough to make it clear that the
international regulation of the Artsakh issue is not its settlement
but the continuation of the war through diplomatic means,' says the
report. According to the representatives of the public undertaking
`Defence of Liberated Territories', returning the liberated
territories or part of them is the main problem discussed at the
negotiation, and if it is fulfilled, it will mean serious
reconsideration of the results of the war not in favour of Armenia.
According to the authors of the report, `the current situation has
two solutions: either the liberated territories are fixed in our
consciousness as motherland, populated and made part of the Armenian
state or are merely considered temporarily occupied territories for
the aim of security and estranged sooner or later.' The settlement of
the Karabakh conflict is related to the problem of telecommunication
and refugees. The authors of the report think that because of the
long-lasting and fruitless negotiations we have appeared in a
deadlock and live under the threat of the imposed one-sided
concession. The director of the undertaking thinks that the policy of
the current government does not differ from the former. The core
principle of the both is willingness for concessions. `The only
difference perhaps is that if the former authorities expressed their
willingness for concessions in plain text, the present government
tries to postpone, not to make that step under different pressuresâ=80¦'
This is, of course, the opinion of the director of the undertaking.
And in order not to mislead the reader, we consider it necessary to
quote one of the representatives of the authorities, vice speaker of
the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Vahan Hovhannissian.
Recently in an interview in answer to the question of the journalist
whether it is possible to make pressure on the government of Armenia
and impose a non-favourable variant in reference to the Karabakh
problem, and under the foreign pressure Armenian will make one-sided
concessions, Mr. Hovhannissian said, `No, because Armenia is an
independent country and it is difficult to whitewash. We also have
eyes abroad.' Of course, this is not the only argument and more
similar statements of representatives of the present authorities of
Armenia can be enumerated but this is not our task. Our task is to
agree to the healthy idea of the representatives of the public
organization `Defence of Liberated Territories' that the position of
each conscious Armenian must be that all the liberated regions are an
indivisible part of Armenia and cannot be surrendered to the
strangers or become subject of negotiation bargaining. The speaker of
the National Assembly of NKR Oleg Yessayan said, `For a divided
nation the consistent accomplishment of its integrity must be a law.â=80=9D
And this integrity must not merely be physical but ideological and,
of course, determined, which is more important. With ideological
integrity we may state confidently that we will manage to achieve our
aims. Although as the participants of the seminar mentioned, `Today
Azerbaijan is not ready to admit and sign an agreement recognizing
the right of the Armenians to live free and have self-governance on
the land of Artsakh', this is a matter of time. And the sooner our
integrity is maintained, the sooner we will manage with the
participation of our as well as a number of European organization
dealing with the Artsakh issue to make our neighbour Azerbaijan
recognize the dominance of Artsakh on the territory which Artsakh
controls de facto as well as recognize that the Republic of Nagorni
Karabakh is a self-governing state and never was and can be part of
independent Azerbaijan.
CHRISTINE MNATSAKANIAN.