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ABSURDITY AND IRRESPONSIBILITY
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 18 2013
Author: Susanna Petrosian, Yerevan, exclusively to VK
Today Armenia votes in presidential polls. There are seven presidential
candidates, but experts believe the clear election is incumbent
President Serzh Sargsyan. Election campaign in Armenia was very active
and memorable mainly because of hunger strikes and an attack on one of
the candidates Paruyr Hayrikian, who later tried to form an intrigue
with postponing the voting day, but later he abandoned this idea.
The absence of serious political struggle was reflected in such
an important field as foreign policy. Statements by some of the
presidential candidates on major foreign policy issues looked odd,
if not absurd. According to the head of the Center for Regional
Studies Richard Giragosian, in the current presidential race
there is a primitive, low-level foreign policy discourse, in which
Armenian-Iranian, Armenian-Georgian relations, the Armenian-Turkish
process and even the possibility of opening the airport in Stepanakert
are very little discussed.
Watchful attention was caused the statement of the leader of "Heritage"
party, presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian on prospects of
relations with neighboring Turkey: "By 2015, either the border between
Armenia and Turkey will be opened without preconditions, or on April
24 in Tsitsernakaberd we will sound our preconditions to Turkey. A
major priority of our political agenda will be genocide recognition,
compensation to relatives of victims, the guaranteed return of
descents of the Armenians affected by the genocide to their land, and
a new agreement on the delimitation of the Armenian-Turkish border,
based not on the Bolshevik-Turkish acts of 1921 but on the modern
international law". The former U.S. citizen whose family continues
to live in this country did not specify whether his own family and
he himself would move from prosperous California to the land of their
ancestors in such a case, whether his sons will serve in the Armenian
army to implement the ideas of their father, or only the voters of
Raffi Hovannisian will have this right. Given the present condition
of the balance of power in the region and the real possibilities,
this statement by Hovannisian can be qualified as irresponsible.
Giragosian called the position of Hovannisian considered to be the
main rival of the incumbent President regarding the Armenian-Turkish
relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict too harsh: "As forhe
issue of the Armenian-Turkish relations, Hovannisian has a much
harder position than ARF. Hovhannisyan is more Dashnak than Dashnaks
themselves. "
The perplexing of the political and expert community was also caused
by the statement by President Serzh Sargsyan on the Armenian Genocide
in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. In particular,
in February, the president said that the Armenian "genocide" and
"Meds Yeghern" ("great massacre") were synonyms. This statement was
honored with critical assessment not only of traditional parties like
"Dashnaktsutiun", but of the political forces, for which recognition
of the Armenian Genocide is not the key issue, it is about the Armenian
National Congress (ANC).
The representative of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of ANC
Vladimir Karapetyan drew attention to the fact that the political
agenda includes the issue of recognition not of "Yeghern" but of the
"genocide." "" Genocide "has international significance. In Armenian
"Yeghern" is its synonym, but it is not an international term. In
the plane of morality this is really the same thing, but when we talk
about the recognition of the genocide by the international community,
especially in terms of non-repetition, the emphasis definitely
should be on internationally accepted term - "genocide", Karapetyan
says. - "There is no need to replace the international term by its
Armenian synonym". In 1988, the Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted a
law recognizing the Armenian genocide, which clearly stated the term.
Therefore, the statement by Sargsyan that the term "genocide" and
"Meds Yeghern" are synonymous can be characterized as a violation of
the international law.
Radical, apparently intended for internal users, applications of
some of the presidential candidates on the need to recognize the
independence of Nagorno-Karabakh are also interesting. Moreover, such
statements are made by former senior officials with direct relevance
to foreign policy - the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia
Hovhannisyan and the former Foreign Minister of Nagorno Karabakh Arman
Melikyan. So, Hovannisian said that after being elected president he
will promote the recognition of the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh,
"Not recognizing Karabakh is equal to giving up national interests."
"If I am elected president, I will initiate the process of recognition
of the NKR, and this process will run parallel to the negotiations
within the OSCE Minsk Group, it will be its welcome addition," Melikyan
said. Some political scientists say that, such radical statements are
only pre-election trick, and such radical ideas should not be thrown
into the public consciousness.
Apparently, the former officials of the realm of foreign policy
against the background of their "patriotic" statements would have
to remember that Armenia has undertaken a number of international
commitments, particularly within the framework of the OSCE. The
Karabakh conflict, in contrast to all other conflicts in the former
Soviet Union, is the only one the negotiation process around which
was never interrupted. NKR recognition by Yerevan can be seen in Baku
as getting out of the negotiation process, which in turn can cause
the outbreak of the war, as the termination of negotiations in the
Georgian-Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhazian conflicts led to war. The
current presidential race is characterized by the pursuit for momentary
sensations - one candidate accuses another in the attempt on the
third. In particular, such a statement was made by Vartan Setrakian,
who accused Hovannisian in the attempt to Paruyr Hayrikian.
The absence of real competition, predetermined election results,
candidates fighting not for the first but for the second place,
the competition between candidates, who, except for the president,
have no serious political force - all this has meant that the bar of
the presidential elections in Armenia decreased by several orders.
Reckless statements by some candidates were only one consequence of
the absence of real political struggle. This will surely take effect
on the political processes, because the political life is not limited
to elections.
.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/politics/37171.html
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 18 2013
Author: Susanna Petrosian, Yerevan, exclusively to VK
Today Armenia votes in presidential polls. There are seven presidential
candidates, but experts believe the clear election is incumbent
President Serzh Sargsyan. Election campaign in Armenia was very active
and memorable mainly because of hunger strikes and an attack on one of
the candidates Paruyr Hayrikian, who later tried to form an intrigue
with postponing the voting day, but later he abandoned this idea.
The absence of serious political struggle was reflected in such
an important field as foreign policy. Statements by some of the
presidential candidates on major foreign policy issues looked odd,
if not absurd. According to the head of the Center for Regional
Studies Richard Giragosian, in the current presidential race
there is a primitive, low-level foreign policy discourse, in which
Armenian-Iranian, Armenian-Georgian relations, the Armenian-Turkish
process and even the possibility of opening the airport in Stepanakert
are very little discussed.
Watchful attention was caused the statement of the leader of "Heritage"
party, presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian on prospects of
relations with neighboring Turkey: "By 2015, either the border between
Armenia and Turkey will be opened without preconditions, or on April
24 in Tsitsernakaberd we will sound our preconditions to Turkey. A
major priority of our political agenda will be genocide recognition,
compensation to relatives of victims, the guaranteed return of
descents of the Armenians affected by the genocide to their land, and
a new agreement on the delimitation of the Armenian-Turkish border,
based not on the Bolshevik-Turkish acts of 1921 but on the modern
international law". The former U.S. citizen whose family continues
to live in this country did not specify whether his own family and
he himself would move from prosperous California to the land of their
ancestors in such a case, whether his sons will serve in the Armenian
army to implement the ideas of their father, or only the voters of
Raffi Hovannisian will have this right. Given the present condition
of the balance of power in the region and the real possibilities,
this statement by Hovannisian can be qualified as irresponsible.
Giragosian called the position of Hovannisian considered to be the
main rival of the incumbent President regarding the Armenian-Turkish
relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict too harsh: "As forhe
issue of the Armenian-Turkish relations, Hovannisian has a much
harder position than ARF. Hovhannisyan is more Dashnak than Dashnaks
themselves. "
The perplexing of the political and expert community was also caused
by the statement by President Serzh Sargsyan on the Armenian Genocide
in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. In particular,
in February, the president said that the Armenian "genocide" and
"Meds Yeghern" ("great massacre") were synonyms. This statement was
honored with critical assessment not only of traditional parties like
"Dashnaktsutiun", but of the political forces, for which recognition
of the Armenian Genocide is not the key issue, it is about the Armenian
National Congress (ANC).
The representative of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of ANC
Vladimir Karapetyan drew attention to the fact that the political
agenda includes the issue of recognition not of "Yeghern" but of the
"genocide." "" Genocide "has international significance. In Armenian
"Yeghern" is its synonym, but it is not an international term. In
the plane of morality this is really the same thing, but when we talk
about the recognition of the genocide by the international community,
especially in terms of non-repetition, the emphasis definitely
should be on internationally accepted term - "genocide", Karapetyan
says. - "There is no need to replace the international term by its
Armenian synonym". In 1988, the Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted a
law recognizing the Armenian genocide, which clearly stated the term.
Therefore, the statement by Sargsyan that the term "genocide" and
"Meds Yeghern" are synonymous can be characterized as a violation of
the international law.
Radical, apparently intended for internal users, applications of
some of the presidential candidates on the need to recognize the
independence of Nagorno-Karabakh are also interesting. Moreover, such
statements are made by former senior officials with direct relevance
to foreign policy - the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia
Hovhannisyan and the former Foreign Minister of Nagorno Karabakh Arman
Melikyan. So, Hovannisian said that after being elected president he
will promote the recognition of the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh,
"Not recognizing Karabakh is equal to giving up national interests."
"If I am elected president, I will initiate the process of recognition
of the NKR, and this process will run parallel to the negotiations
within the OSCE Minsk Group, it will be its welcome addition," Melikyan
said. Some political scientists say that, such radical statements are
only pre-election trick, and such radical ideas should not be thrown
into the public consciousness.
Apparently, the former officials of the realm of foreign policy
against the background of their "patriotic" statements would have
to remember that Armenia has undertaken a number of international
commitments, particularly within the framework of the OSCE. The
Karabakh conflict, in contrast to all other conflicts in the former
Soviet Union, is the only one the negotiation process around which
was never interrupted. NKR recognition by Yerevan can be seen in Baku
as getting out of the negotiation process, which in turn can cause
the outbreak of the war, as the termination of negotiations in the
Georgian-Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhazian conflicts led to war. The
current presidential race is characterized by the pursuit for momentary
sensations - one candidate accuses another in the attempt on the
third. In particular, such a statement was made by Vartan Setrakian,
who accused Hovannisian in the attempt to Paruyr Hayrikian.
The absence of real competition, predetermined election results,
candidates fighting not for the first but for the second place,
the competition between candidates, who, except for the president,
have no serious political force - all this has meant that the bar of
the presidential elections in Armenia decreased by several orders.
Reckless statements by some candidates were only one consequence of
the absence of real political struggle. This will surely take effect
on the political processes, because the political life is not limited
to elections.
.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/politics/37171.html