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IN "ENEMY'S DEN": RAFFI HOVANNISIAN STANDS UP TO KARABAKH RIGHTS IN BAKU
http://armenianow.com/karabakh/41343/armenia_azerbaijan_raffi_hovannisian_baku_speech
KARABAKH | 22.11.12 | 14:22
Raffi Hovannisian, the founder and leader of the Heritage Party,
has spoken in defense of the rights of the people of Karabakh to
self-determination as he delivered a speech at an international
gathering in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Hovannisian alone travelled to Baku via Tbilisi on Wednesday to take
part in an international conference of Asian political parties to
which he had been invited as the leader of Heritage.
At a press conference in Yerevan shortly before his trip Hovannisian
said organizers of the event in Azerbaijan had promised equal
conditions for him to express his views along with other participants
of the conference as well as provided him with security guarantees.
"I hope that we can reach peace, restore relations and that it will
happen when either party understands that it bears responsibility for
the entire region," Hovannisian said in his speech as cited by A1 Plus.
"Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh have equal rights to declare their
self-determination. One has to respect each other's rights, each
other's identity and culture," emphasized the Armenian politician.
Hovannisian, who served as independent Armenia's first foreign
minister in 1991-92, also reportedly named Azerbaijan's aggression
against Nagorno-Karabakh as the cause of the conflict.
According to Azerbaijani media, the Armenian politician, who was on his
first visit to Baku, also announced his plans to visit a local Armenian
church (which was renovated in 2002, but has been used to house a
presidential library since then) as well as meet some local Armenians.
Authorities in Azerbaijan claim up to 30,000 ethnic Armenians continue
to live in Baku despite the displacement of nearly 400,000 Armenians
from Azerbaijan in the late 1980s- early 1990s.
From: Baghdasarian
http://armenianow.com/karabakh/41343/armenia_azerbaijan_raffi_hovannisian_baku_speech
KARABAKH | 22.11.12 | 14:22
Raffi Hovannisian, the founder and leader of the Heritage Party,
has spoken in defense of the rights of the people of Karabakh to
self-determination as he delivered a speech at an international
gathering in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Hovannisian alone travelled to Baku via Tbilisi on Wednesday to take
part in an international conference of Asian political parties to
which he had been invited as the leader of Heritage.
At a press conference in Yerevan shortly before his trip Hovannisian
said organizers of the event in Azerbaijan had promised equal
conditions for him to express his views along with other participants
of the conference as well as provided him with security guarantees.
"I hope that we can reach peace, restore relations and that it will
happen when either party understands that it bears responsibility for
the entire region," Hovannisian said in his speech as cited by A1 Plus.
"Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh have equal rights to declare their
self-determination. One has to respect each other's rights, each
other's identity and culture," emphasized the Armenian politician.
Hovannisian, who served as independent Armenia's first foreign
minister in 1991-92, also reportedly named Azerbaijan's aggression
against Nagorno-Karabakh as the cause of the conflict.
According to Azerbaijani media, the Armenian politician, who was on his
first visit to Baku, also announced his plans to visit a local Armenian
church (which was renovated in 2002, but has been used to house a
presidential library since then) as well as meet some local Armenians.
Authorities in Azerbaijan claim up to 30,000 ethnic Armenians continue
to live in Baku despite the displacement of nearly 400,000 Armenians
from Azerbaijan in the late 1980s- early 1990s.
From: Baghdasarian