HE WILL DEMAND ROBERT KOCHARYAN’S RESIGNATION BUT IS
CONVINCED…
Lragir.am
18 July 06
If we compare the proposal on settlement presented in 1997 and what
Mathew Bryza revealed, we can say that the present proposal has
a positive difference, stated Vazgen Manukyan, the leader of the
National Democratic Union, July 18 at the Pastark Club, speaking
about the present process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict.
"What is there in comparison? If they used to say that we will return
the territories except Lachin and wait that the status of Karabakh
will be settled sooner of later, here the question of Kelbajar is put
forward besides Lachin, and a special way should be found for Lachin
and Kelbajar. It is not clear what it means An attempt is made to
settle the Karabakh issue in a referendum, and somewhere in the middle
Karabakh is granted a status, international or whatever. But neither
can reach a resolution because the main issue has been withdrawn,"
says Vazgen Manukyan.
According to him, it is possible to make a compromise on territories,
refugees, infrastructure and other questions, but it will not solve
the problem. "The point is that Karabakh gained independence both
constitutionally and in an imposed war, it is an independent state.
Without signing a paper, this independent state cannot be part of
a state where it does not want to be. In other words, there is no
compromise," says Vazgen Manukyan. He presents the proposal which is
acceptable for him.
"If Azerbaijan accepted that Karabakh is not part of Azerbaijan,
the other questions would be agreed on. If Azerbaijan did not accept
that negotiations cannot lead anywhere, I am 100 percent sure,"
states Vazgen Manukyan. He says in this case the talks need to be
prolonged as much as possible. Vazgen Manukyan says temporizing is
favorable for Karabakh because Armenia and Azerbaijan did little to
grow powerful as states.
"In terms of political psychology time favored Karabakh. In what
sense? If in the beginning everyone thought that Karabakh separated
from Azerbaijan by chance, and it should be joined to Karabakh again,
they know that if a state remains separate for 15 years, it cannot
be made to join another state," says the leader of the NDU. He
says although Azerbaijan possesses oil, Armenia may play down this
factors if it adopts a right policy on internal management. Vazgen
Manukyan mentions that after the ceasefire the battlefield was moved
to the sphere of economy, where Armenia and Azerbaijan did not have
significant success.
For Armenia, the leader of the NDU points out four directions: economy,
law enforcement, civil sphere, Armenia-Diaspora relations.
But the processes underway in these spheres are not sufficient
to gain a favorable position, thinks Vazgen Manukyan. Otherwise,
he says, the factor of the Azerbaijani oil cannot be an advantage,
although it may also be a disadvantage, he says.
Vazgen Manukyan disagrees that economic progress in Armenia is hindered
by the unsettled conflict over Karabakh. "For the development of the
Armenian economy, the factor of Karabakh which led to blocked roads,
is in the fourth or fifth place. The first is corruption, monopoly,
bad management," says Vazgen Manukyan.
According to him, the economic state would not change essentially
if the Karabakh issue were resolved in 1997. The leader of the NDU
believes that Armenia would not become an route for transportation
of oil because it is a geopolitical matter. "The Turkish-Armenian
border would open, but I think at that time the Armenian economy was
less prepared for it than now," says the leader of the NDU.
He states that if Robert Kocharyan signs the present document, he will
demand his resignation because Kocharyan came to power being against
the stage-by-stage settlement. "What was the point of the marasmus
of the past eight years?" asks Vazgen Manukyan. He is convinced,
however, that Robert Kocharyan will not sign the document.
Though Vazgen Manukyan says that over the past years Robert Kocharyan
has made the West understand that the problem is reaching agreement
with him, and he will solve the problem of agreement between Armenia
and Karabakh. Vazgen Manukyan thinks the consequence of this is that
the participation of Karabakh became secondary. The leader of NDU,
however, assigns everything to the boyish character of the head
of state.