ARFD DISAPPROVES BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR NAGORNO KARABAKH
SETTLEMENT ELABORATED BY OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS

AZG Daily #130, 07/13/2006

OPINION

ARF Dashnaktsiutiun party disapproves the basic principles for Nagorno
Karabakh settlement suggested by the OSCE MG Co-Chairs. Kiro Manoyan,
Chairman of ARF" Dashnaktsiutiun party, said this at "Hayeli" club.

He said that the positive part in the suggestion of the OSCE MG
is the point on holding referendum for the status of NKR. This
means that Azerbaijan will have to get accustomed to the idea that
Nagorno Karabakh will have a status and they will stop talking of
any autonomy. But the party doesn’t like the fact that from the very
beginning of the negotiations both the Armenian and NKR authorities
treated the regions under the control of NKR Armed forces as "something
they have to give back." Agreeing for the referendum, the Armenian side
doesn’t make any big concession. At the same time, he said that they
could have preserved the territories. Manoyan stated that his party
is mostly concerned about the stability in the country and that’s why
they are going to declare their position to everyone. He added that
Matthew Bryza, OSCE MG Co-Chair, made his statement, trying to change
the impression from his meeting with Speaker of Azeri Parliament and
Azeri Foreign Minister in Washington. Manoyan stated that Bryza didn’t
properly estimate the situation and interfered with spheres that are
out of the OSCE plenipotentiaries, particularly, the Armenian-Turkish
relations and the democratic processes in Armenia. That’s why his
statements had negative effect, he said.

Manoyan’s opponent, Hmayak Hovhannesian, member of RA Parliament,
stated that the tactics of Armenia in the negotiations was always
based on the intolerance of Azerbaijan to any concessions and that
was quite a successful one. But the Armenian side always stated about
its readiness to make concessions, that’s why they demand more from
Armenia. Besides, the Armenian society, as compared with the Azeri one,
is prepared for the concessions, as it feels the negative impact of
the unsettled conflict, he said.

The parties also touched upon the recent statement of Sabina Fraizer,
representative of the International Crisis Group, who said that the
situation around the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement is close
to a critical one. Manoyan said one shouldn’t impart much importance
to the statements of such NGOs. While Hovhannesian said that the
importance of such statements shouldn’t be underestimated, as ICG
is closely connected to the US State Department. He added that the
US State Department tries to find out what the public opinion is on
probable impacts of certain consequences of this or that settlement
plans through such statements.

By Gohar Gevorgian