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OPPOSITION LEADER WARNS AGAINST KARABAKH CONCESSIONS
Karine Kalantarian
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/2105183.html
20.07.2010
Armenia -- Ruben Hakobian, the deputy chairman of the opposition
Zharangutyun party, undated.
A resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict involving Armenian
territorial concessions to Azerbaijan would lead to President Serzh
Sarkisian's resignation, the deputy chairman of a major Armenian
opposition party claimed on Tuesday.
"It is very possible that pre-term elections will take place in
Armenia, and that would mainly be conditioned by the Artsakh (Karabakh)
conflict," said Ruben Hakobian of the Zharangutyun (Heritage)
party. "The return of any [Azerbaijani] district, any liberated
territory would meet with serious opposition in Armenia and Artsakh."
"Even the slightest change in the status quo [in the conflict zone]
would seriously escalate the situation in Armenia, which I think
would result in regime change," he told RFE/RL's Armenian service in
an interview.
Unlike the Sarkisian administration, Zharangutyun is strongly
opposed to international mediators' existing peace proposals that
call for Armenian withdrawal from virtually all Azerbaijani districts
surrounding Karabakh. It has also been highly critical of Sarkisian's
policy of rapprochement with Turkey.
Hakobian, who joined the party earlier this year, said leadership
change in the country is essential for a "radical change" of these
policies. "Even if these authorities want to get out of the negotiating
process, they can't do that, they can't radically change their position
and reject the [mediators'] Madrid Principles," he said. "Only a new
government can do that."
Zharangutyun's hard line on Karabakh and Turkish-Armenian relations is
shared by another major opposition party, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), of which Hakobian was a senior member
until 2008. But the country's largest opposition force, former
President Levon Ter-Petrosian's Armenian National Congress (HAK),
is thought to be more open to a compromise deal with Azerbaijan.
In a speech on Saturday, Ter-Petrosian said a Karabakh settlement is
a necessary condition for Armenia's long-term security and sustainable
development. The statement prompted stern rebukes from Dashnaktsutyun
and Zharangutyun representatives.
Speaking to RFE/RL, Hakobian also said that ground-breaking
developments in the Karabakh negotiating process are the only factor
that could seriously threaten President Sarkisian's hold on power.
"Right now the opposition lacks the strength and necessary unity to
trigger to fresh elections," he said.
From: A. Papazian
Karine Kalantarian
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/2105183.html
20.07.2010
Armenia -- Ruben Hakobian, the deputy chairman of the opposition
Zharangutyun party, undated.
A resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict involving Armenian
territorial concessions to Azerbaijan would lead to President Serzh
Sarkisian's resignation, the deputy chairman of a major Armenian
opposition party claimed on Tuesday.
"It is very possible that pre-term elections will take place in
Armenia, and that would mainly be conditioned by the Artsakh (Karabakh)
conflict," said Ruben Hakobian of the Zharangutyun (Heritage)
party. "The return of any [Azerbaijani] district, any liberated
territory would meet with serious opposition in Armenia and Artsakh."
"Even the slightest change in the status quo [in the conflict zone]
would seriously escalate the situation in Armenia, which I think
would result in regime change," he told RFE/RL's Armenian service in
an interview.
Unlike the Sarkisian administration, Zharangutyun is strongly
opposed to international mediators' existing peace proposals that
call for Armenian withdrawal from virtually all Azerbaijani districts
surrounding Karabakh. It has also been highly critical of Sarkisian's
policy of rapprochement with Turkey.
Hakobian, who joined the party earlier this year, said leadership
change in the country is essential for a "radical change" of these
policies. "Even if these authorities want to get out of the negotiating
process, they can't do that, they can't radically change their position
and reject the [mediators'] Madrid Principles," he said. "Only a new
government can do that."
Zharangutyun's hard line on Karabakh and Turkish-Armenian relations is
shared by another major opposition party, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), of which Hakobian was a senior member
until 2008. But the country's largest opposition force, former
President Levon Ter-Petrosian's Armenian National Congress (HAK),
is thought to be more open to a compromise deal with Azerbaijan.
In a speech on Saturday, Ter-Petrosian said a Karabakh settlement is
a necessary condition for Armenia's long-term security and sustainable
development. The statement prompted stern rebukes from Dashnaktsutyun
and Zharangutyun representatives.
Speaking to RFE/RL, Hakobian also said that ground-breaking
developments in the Karabakh negotiating process are the only factor
that could seriously threaten President Sarkisian's hold on power.
"Right now the opposition lacks the strength and necessary unity to
trigger to fresh elections," he said.
From: A. Papazian