PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 1) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 1) 52.48.46
E-mail: root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am
Website:
April 12, 2005
ACNIS Releases Expert and Public Opinion Results on Karabagh Issue
Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
today issued the results of both a public survey and a specialized
questionnaire on “The Karabagh Story: 17 Years in Progress” which it
conducted among 60 experts and 1900 citizens from Yerevan and all of Armenia
‘s regions.
ACNIS director of administration Karapet Kalenchian greeted the invited
guests and public participants with opening remarks. “Over 17 years the
prospect for final regulation of the Karabagh issue still seems vague. This
roundtable aims to focus on such thorny issues as the possible outcomes of
the conflict, the reasons for delaying the regulation, its failure, and
weakening of the victorious spirit as a result of diplomatic inability,”
Kalenchian underlined.
ACNIS research coordinator Stepan Safarian focused in detail on the findings
of the opinion poll. Accordingly, 11.6% of surveyed citizens and 6.7% of
experts are completely satisfied with the official information about the
Karabagh peace process. The vast majority of citizens (64.7%) and experts
(91.6) are not satisfied with it.
67.7% of the surveyed citizens and 83.3% of experts assert that the Karabagh
question is the priority issue for Armenia’s foreign and domestic policy
today. However only 11.9% of the citizens and 5% of experts are completely
satisfied with the Karabagh negotiation process, 61.9% and 71.7% are more
dissatisfied than satisfied or completely dissatisfied. To the extent the
negotiation process is deemed unsatisfactory, 51.5% of citizens and 83.3% of
experts hold accountable the Armenian authorities. 72.4% of respondent
citizens and 75% of experts think that Armenia, the Republic of Mountainous
Karabagh and Azerbaijan should take part in Karabagh negotiations, whereas
14.8% and 20% accept the dialogue between Mountainous Karabagh and
Azerbaijan without Armenia.
46.3% of citizens see the status of Mountainous Karabagh as an independent
and sovereign republic and 38% as a part of Armenia. Among the experts,
these figures are 33.4% and 30%, respectively. 50% of the polled citizens
and 73.3% of experts agree to make territorial concessions to Azerbaijan at
the expense of the security zone.
Only 24.6% of citizens and 18.3% of experts believe in the peaceful
resolution of the issue during the next 5 years. Nonetheless, 34.5% of
citizens and 43.3% of experts exclude Azerbaijan’s resumption of war against
Armenia and Mountainous Karabagh, 44.5% and 36.7% find it difficult to
answer. In the event of a new war, 71.9% of citizens and 81.7% of experts
are ready to participate to their utmost in the defense of Mountainous
Karabagh. It is noteworthy that only 24.8% and 38.8% are ready to take part
in military actions, while 41.8% and 97.9% prefer other work supporting the
war.
The second item on the day’s agenda was a presentation by ACNIS policy
analyst Alvard Barkhudarian on “What and How Much We Know about the Karabagh
Problem: Issues of PR Strategy.” “Let’s leave aside the senseless and
tiresome claims that we, Armenians, have lost the PR war, and do our utmost
to find ways to win it,” she emphasized. In her opinion, to achieve this
goal, we should distinctly define a united Armenian standpoint, be apprised
of the dynamics of Azerbaijan’s, other regional players’, and concerned
international organizations’ approaches, and find possible levers to
counteract anti-Armenian standpoints.
The formal interventions were followed by contributions by Hrant Khachatrian
of the Constitutional Right Union; Edward Antinian of the Liberal
Progressive Party; Noyan Tapan news agency political analyst Davit
Petrosian; Albert Baghdassarian of the National Democratic Union; Armen
Aghayan of the “Protection of Liberated Territories” public initiative;
Grigor Guyumjian of the Armenian Democratic Party; National Press Club
chairperson Narine Mkrtchian; Vardan Vardanian of Aib-Fe weekly; and several
others.
44.4% of respondent citizens participating in the ACNIS poll are male and
55.6% female; 11.1% are 16-20 years of age, 25.1% 21-30, 20.8% 31-40, 19.7%
41-50, 13.1% 51-60, 9.1% 61 or above. 41.2% of them have received a higher
education, 16.2% incomplete higher, 20.6% specialized secondary, 17%
secondary, and 2.7% incomplete secondary training. 53.4% are actively
employed and 21% unemployed, 8.7% are pensioners and welfare recipients, and
15.2% students. Urban residents constitute 65.5% of the citizens surveyed,
while rural residents make up 34.5%. 30.2% of all respondents hail from
Yerevan, and the rest are from outside the capital city.
All 60 professionals who took part in the specialized poll are from Yerevan.
68.3% of them are male, and 31.7% female; 29% are 20-30 years of age, 23.7%
31-40, 34.5% 41-50, 9.1% 51-60, 3.7% 61-70. All of the experts surveyed have
received a higher education: 14.3% are candidates of science (PhD), 76.8%
hold a Master’s degree, and 8.9% a Bachelor’s degree. The principal
profession of 34.6% of the expert pool is journalism, 13.4% political
science, 9.6% law and physics, 3.8% history and psychology, and so on.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves
as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges
facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also
aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider
understanding of the new global environment. In 2005, the Center focuses
primarily on civic education, conflict resolution, and applied research on
critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.
For further information on the Center or the full graphics of the poll
results, call (3741) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (3741) 52-48-46; e-mail
root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am; or visit or