Tweet
YEAR AFTER YEAR - STEP BY STEP
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=892:-year-after-year-step-by-step&catid=3:all&Itemid=4
Wednesday, 26 December 2012 17:08
After a few days we'll turn over the last page of the calendar of
the year of 2012. For what will the passing year be remembered by
the people of Artsakh and what were the major public and political
events of the year?
First of all, it is important to note that the year of 2012 was
peaceful for Artsakh. Surely, the tension on the line of contact
between the armed forces of the NKR and Azerbaijan does not decrease,
unfortunately, leading sometimes to victims; but on the whole, thanks
to the Defense Army - the basic guarantor of the Republic's security -
it is possible to maintain peace in the Karabakh conflict zone. It
would not be an exaggeration to say that the implementation of all
our plans in the public-political, social-economic, and cultural life
has become a reality only and only due to the fact that the Karabakh
Army, as the major deterrent of the Azerbaijani aggressive militarism,
could maintain the inviolability of the NKR state borders.
A convincing demonstration of the power and high fighting capacity
of the NKR armed forces was the May 9 military parade dedicated
to the Victory Day, the 20th anniversary of the Defense Army,
and the liberation of Shushi. The parade testified to the enormous
changes taken place in the Karabakh Army for the two decades - from
scattered and poorly equipped volunteer corps it grew into regular and
well-trained armed forces provided with modern weapons and equipment
and capable to address grave challenges.
Speaking of the political events of state importance, the first
thing to be mentioned are the July 19 presidential elections in
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. For the entire period of the NKR
independence, they were the fifth national elections of the head of
the Republic and were held on an alternative and really competitive
basis, obviously proving the commitment of the Republic's people and
authorities to the democratic development of the Karabakh statehood.
It should be emphasized that the presidential elections were observed
by over a hundred independent international observers from the European
Parliament, 22 countries of Europe and America, the assessments of
which would do honor to many internationally recognized states. And the
high assessment was given not only to the purely electoral process
qualified by the observers as a democratic act of the citizens'
free will corresponding to the international standards of electoral
law. More important was the political assessment - the conclusions
of all the observing missions noted the correspondence of the level
of democratic development in Nagorno Karabakh to the standards of
developed democracies. Most of the international observers and experts
stated that from the legal point of view, the NKR had every right to be
recognized as an independent state. As for the domestic significance of
the presidential elections, surely, transparent and fair elections at
all levels, resulting in the formation of legitimate authorities, are a
factor of stability of the state and its progressive development. The
electoral program of President Bako Sahakyan, which formed the basis
of the NKR Government's activity, covers actually all the spheres of
the public-political and social-economic life of the country and is
aimed at continuing the efforts on building an independent statehood,
on the development and consolidation of the democratic institutions.
It is well known that a foreign policy is the continuation of a
domestic policy. In other words, the achievements of the NKR in
the public-political, social-economic, and other spheres affect
the international image of our Republic and the effectiveness of
its foreign policy. And from this point of view, we can state that
the world has appreciated our commitment to democratic values and
our practices aimed at building a civil and democratic and most
importantly - a socially just society.
In the conditions that through Azerbaijan's fault the Karabakh
settlement process has been driven into the state of stagnation,
the issue of achieving the international recognition of the NKR
has become topical. The commitment of the Republic's leadership
and people to the democratic principles of the Karabakh society's
development has been echoed and reflected in this year resolutions
of the Parliaments of Rhode Island and Massachusetts (USA) and New
South Wales (Australia), which called upon the authorities of these
countries to support the self-determination and democratic independence
of Nagorno-Karabakh. In fact, a tendency to recognize the rights of the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination of their political
future is outlined. This year visits of parliamentary delegations
from France, Switzerland, and Uruguay, as well as individual
parliamentarians from other countries to our Republic should be also
considered just in this context. The arrival of Uruguay's parliamentary
delegation, headed by Chairman of the House of Representatives Jorge
Orrico, was actually the first visit of a foreign country's high-level
delegation and marked a significant event in the political life of
the NKR. It is worth noting that Mr. Orrico recognized the right of
the Artsakh people to self-determination. There are all prerequisites
to expect that this process will be continued in 2013.
The independence of the NKR is an objective reality. Today, the efforts
of Armenia, Artsakh, and the Diaspora are aimed at the international
recognition of this reality. Only by consolidating the potential of
the entire Armenian people we can resist the challenges of the modern
world and firmly continue, in 2013, the achievement of national goals,
which, surely, include the strengthening of the Karabakh statehood.
Leonid MARTIROSSIAN
Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=892:-year-after-year-step-by-step&catid=3:all&Itemid=4
Wednesday, 26 December 2012 17:08
After a few days we'll turn over the last page of the calendar of
the year of 2012. For what will the passing year be remembered by
the people of Artsakh and what were the major public and political
events of the year?
First of all, it is important to note that the year of 2012 was
peaceful for Artsakh. Surely, the tension on the line of contact
between the armed forces of the NKR and Azerbaijan does not decrease,
unfortunately, leading sometimes to victims; but on the whole, thanks
to the Defense Army - the basic guarantor of the Republic's security -
it is possible to maintain peace in the Karabakh conflict zone. It
would not be an exaggeration to say that the implementation of all
our plans in the public-political, social-economic, and cultural life
has become a reality only and only due to the fact that the Karabakh
Army, as the major deterrent of the Azerbaijani aggressive militarism,
could maintain the inviolability of the NKR state borders.
A convincing demonstration of the power and high fighting capacity
of the NKR armed forces was the May 9 military parade dedicated
to the Victory Day, the 20th anniversary of the Defense Army,
and the liberation of Shushi. The parade testified to the enormous
changes taken place in the Karabakh Army for the two decades - from
scattered and poorly equipped volunteer corps it grew into regular and
well-trained armed forces provided with modern weapons and equipment
and capable to address grave challenges.
Speaking of the political events of state importance, the first
thing to be mentioned are the July 19 presidential elections in
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. For the entire period of the NKR
independence, they were the fifth national elections of the head of
the Republic and were held on an alternative and really competitive
basis, obviously proving the commitment of the Republic's people and
authorities to the democratic development of the Karabakh statehood.
It should be emphasized that the presidential elections were observed
by over a hundred independent international observers from the European
Parliament, 22 countries of Europe and America, the assessments of
which would do honor to many internationally recognized states. And the
high assessment was given not only to the purely electoral process
qualified by the observers as a democratic act of the citizens'
free will corresponding to the international standards of electoral
law. More important was the political assessment - the conclusions
of all the observing missions noted the correspondence of the level
of democratic development in Nagorno Karabakh to the standards of
developed democracies. Most of the international observers and experts
stated that from the legal point of view, the NKR had every right to be
recognized as an independent state. As for the domestic significance of
the presidential elections, surely, transparent and fair elections at
all levels, resulting in the formation of legitimate authorities, are a
factor of stability of the state and its progressive development. The
electoral program of President Bako Sahakyan, which formed the basis
of the NKR Government's activity, covers actually all the spheres of
the public-political and social-economic life of the country and is
aimed at continuing the efforts on building an independent statehood,
on the development and consolidation of the democratic institutions.
It is well known that a foreign policy is the continuation of a
domestic policy. In other words, the achievements of the NKR in
the public-political, social-economic, and other spheres affect
the international image of our Republic and the effectiveness of
its foreign policy. And from this point of view, we can state that
the world has appreciated our commitment to democratic values and
our practices aimed at building a civil and democratic and most
importantly - a socially just society.
In the conditions that through Azerbaijan's fault the Karabakh
settlement process has been driven into the state of stagnation,
the issue of achieving the international recognition of the NKR
has become topical. The commitment of the Republic's leadership
and people to the democratic principles of the Karabakh society's
development has been echoed and reflected in this year resolutions
of the Parliaments of Rhode Island and Massachusetts (USA) and New
South Wales (Australia), which called upon the authorities of these
countries to support the self-determination and democratic independence
of Nagorno-Karabakh. In fact, a tendency to recognize the rights of the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination of their political
future is outlined. This year visits of parliamentary delegations
from France, Switzerland, and Uruguay, as well as individual
parliamentarians from other countries to our Republic should be also
considered just in this context. The arrival of Uruguay's parliamentary
delegation, headed by Chairman of the House of Representatives Jorge
Orrico, was actually the first visit of a foreign country's high-level
delegation and marked a significant event in the political life of
the NKR. It is worth noting that Mr. Orrico recognized the right of
the Artsakh people to self-determination. There are all prerequisites
to expect that this process will be continued in 2013.
The independence of the NKR is an objective reality. Today, the efforts
of Armenia, Artsakh, and the Diaspora are aimed at the international
recognition of this reality. Only by consolidating the potential of
the entire Armenian people we can resist the challenges of the modern
world and firmly continue, in 2013, the achievement of national goals,
which, surely, include the strengthening of the Karabakh statehood.
Leonid MARTIROSSIAN
Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper